Note: Kevin J. Ryan, staff writer at Inc., is stepping in for Cameron while he is away from the computer this week.

Good morning,

For many businesses right now, expanding their physical footprint seems all but out of the question. But some companies are doing just that--with an eye on the data, of course.

Like millions of other retailers, menswear brand Buck Mason has experienced a sales dip during the pandemic. Still, that didn’t stop it from opening a new store in Austin last month. The new South Congress Avenue location, co-founder Sasha Koehn says, is “neighborhood driven,” as opposed to, say, the company’s stores in Los Angeles’s Venice Beach and New York’s West Village. "One of the big things we're all trying to figure out, six to 12 months ahead,” Koehn says, “is, of the retail locations we have, how many were dependent on tourism and travel to get to those locations?"

As it turns out, Buck Mason’s calculated gamble has paid off so far: Sales at the new store are doing just fine. Read our story for more on businesses on why are opening new physical locations during the pandemic--and how they’re faring.