Hot Mama to open Detroit store

At Shea, we've been design partners to Hot Mama since they developed and opened their first store in Edina in 2004. We love the association, simply because EVERYBODY LOVES THEM! What's so impressive about onwers Megan and Mike Tamte is that they are growing the company rapidly nationwide...and this year, the pair is planning to open eight more (!) stores...all from operational cash flow! Read below for the announcement about the new Detroit store.

HOT MAMA TO OPEN ITS FIRST STORE IN DETROIT
Seven years ago, Megan Tamte was so convinced that moms wanted designer clothing with unparalleled service that she and her husband, Michael Tamte, opened their first Hot Mama store in Edina, Minnesota. Today, Hot Mama has 22 stores in eight states. Each year Hot Mama receives hundreds of customer requests to add a Hot Mama store in cities across the United States—which affirms the founding couple’s belief that the U.S. is filled with hot mamas.


Hot Mama signed a lease this week to open a store this spring at the Village of Rochester Hills in Oakland County, MI. Megan and Michael were attracted to The Village’s surrounding demographics and its ability to draw Hot Mama’s core customer of fashion forward moms. This will be Hot Mama’s second Michigan store. The retailer already has a footprint in Michigan with its store in East Grand Rapids.

Megan and Michael have assembled a team of 300 uniquely trained employees, who are committed to the company’s core purpose of empowering moms through its merchandise, store layout, and interactions. Hot Mama and its companion website, shopmama.com, have been noted in magazines such as Fast Company, Shopping Centers Today, InStyle, Real Simple, Self, Pregnancy & Newborn, People StyleWatch. In the past few years Hot Mama won critical praise, evidenced by its selection in "Top of the Town" by Denver’s 5280 magazine, “Best of Cincinnati” by Cincinnati magazine, “Best of Grand Rapids” by Grand Rapids magazine, and “Best of the Twin Cities” by Minnesota Monthly magazine.

Hot Mama was created to be an upscale boutique that is a fashion resource for moms by offering contemporary designer clothing and premium denim that fits a mom’s age and lifestyle. In describing why she opened Hot Mama, Megan Tamte explains, “I need clothes that are quick and easy to wear that can take me from a board meeting, to my son’s baseball game, to a date night with my husband. I’ve learned over the years how important it is for me to take care of myself physically, mentally, and spiritually so I can be the best mom I can be.”

Within its “mom” niche, Hot Mama focuses primarily on a customer who wants to stay current in fashion, parenting, and lifestyle. Michael Tamte estimates the domestic “designer mom” apparel market to be worth over $15 billion a year, comprising of hip moms between the ages of 25 to 50. In a recent survey, Hot Mama found that half of its customers were in their thirties while 40% were forty years old or older.

Hot Mama’s sales have more than doubled in the past two years. With surging sales Hot Mama continues to be in expansionary mode. In 2012 the company plans to open eight stores, all from operational cash flow. Besides its current stores in Minnesota, Illinois, Colorado, Oregon, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Dakota, the company recently signed leases to open stores in Kansas City, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and two more stores in Cincinnati.