Sustainable retailer FD Market is going online only

A woman who has operated three eco-friendly stores in the Lehigh Valley will now sell her goods and services strictly online, she said this week.

FD Market Co. will shutter its final store on May 18 at Promenade Saucon Valley. Owner Jacquelyn Bassett of Lower Macungie Township moved in her store in April 2023 from Main Street in Emmaus to the Promenade in Upper Saucon Township.

The 2,053-square-foot space sits between Carter’s/Oshkosh and LensCrafters. Before that, the space housed an accessories boutique.

Bassett on April 14 posted a reel on the business’ Facebook page saying, “Thank You, Lehigh Valley.”

“After over 5 1/2 incredible years as the Lehigh Valley’s one stop sustainable refill shop, I’ve made the intentional decision to close our retail store,” she posted. “This is not failure. This was a thoughtful and difficult, yet empowering decision to make.”

Bassett told lehighvalleylive.com last week she is moving to New York City for a new job. She hopes to simultaneously continue FD Market‘s online store, its manufacturing business and wholesale businesses.

Bassett is selling novice entrepreneurs consultation services and her store assets.

“While I’m no longer offering the full torch, I’m happy to offer a spark,” she said.

E-commerce growth

FD Market sells handcrafted beauty and skincare products.

Bassett, a 2018 graduate of Emmaus High School, launched the market online. Her first brick-and-mortar shop opened in November 2019 on Main Street in Emmaus.

Bassett closed the Emmaus site in April 2023 for the Promenade relocation. She opened a second site in Easton in spring 2022, before shuttering the store in early January.

When she closed the Easton store, she said she struggled to find staff for both of her stores.

She hoped to sell her Promenade store but couldn’t find anyone to take over the business.

“I failed to find a good fit,” Bassett said.

FD Market‘s online and wholesale continues to boom.

“The business was successful, I am just choosing to move on and don’t want to limit myself to the Lehigh Valley,” she said.

FD Market‘s online store will offer a scaled down inventory.

They’ll sell perfume and shower steamers. Popular scents include orange + mint; lavender + tea tree; and fresh floral. Online shoppers will be able to find lotion bars and laundry powder in such scents as fresh linen and lemon.

There’ll also be a wide range of household items and cleaning products.

The online store will discontinue selling shampoo bars, conditioner haircare bars, bottled shampoo and conditioner. Some accessories previously for sale online won’t be offered.

The store’s popular zero-waste “refillery” system will be discontinued. Patrons who bought dish soap, laundry detergent, shampoo or conditioner were previously able to buy a glass or aluminum container or bring something from home to be refilled.

“I am aware that losing the only refill store is a loss for the community, but this is a positive change for me,” Bassett said. “I’m excited. It wasn’t an act of desperation or going out of business, just deciding to move on to what‘s next.”

Bassett in January accepted a full-time job working with two sustainable brands she sold at her stores.

“I am so excited to be part of something bigger, and for this next step in my career,” she said.

More coming and goings

Centennial took over the management and leasing of Promenade Saucon Valley in spring 2022.

Since then, the company has worked to fill vacant storefronts.

Other tenants leaving the Promenade this year in addition to FD Market include: Lucky Brand, next to Capital Blue Cross, which left the mall at the end of March; Go! Calendars, Toys & Games; and Lashes by Gab; both of which left the center in late January.

Promenade marketing manager Madeleine Convery told lehighvalleylive.com this week they’re still looking for a tenant for the FD Market space. Lucky Brand also remains vacant.

“Our leasing team is actively working on (leasing the FD Market vacancy) and has some exciting leads in progress,” she said.

Convery said a new tenant is lined up for the Lucky Brand sapce. That tenant will be announced soon.

Sephora is slated to move into the vacant Go! Calendars, Toys & Games site. That site, however, won’t be open until spring 2026, Convery said.

Color Me Mine plans to move into the 1,400-square-foot former Lashes by Gab space, next to Batch Microcreamery, this summer.

The paint-your-own pottery franchise is expected to make a return to the shopping destination after vacating in 2015. The pottery studio operated at the Promenade for about six years before moving to its decade-long location in South Bethlehem.

The most recent tenant to open at Promenade Saucon Valley was The Hive Local Marketplace. The multi-merchant retailer celebrated a grand opening on April 26. It relocated from Allentown’s ArtsWalk to space that previously occupied Aeropostale, near Ruby Tuesday and AMC Theatres.

In March, the shopping center welcomed Dolly’s Boutique, which moved into the former Sweet Diehl Boutique space, next to L.L. Bean. The new boutique offers wedding gowns and a trend-driven selection of prom dresses, Convery said.

Relux, a consignment boutique, has moved into the former “Promenade Pop-Up Shop” program space. Owner Coleman Nichelson of Bethlehem told lehighvalleylive.com he plans a May 16 grand opening celebration.

Two more businesses will open in the coming months.

Mental Strength Ritual will open this summer in the former Evolve Salon and Spa space next to Altar’d State. Evolve Salon & Spa closed in the summer of 2022 and moved to B Chic Salon on Pennsylvania Avenue in Allentown.

Mental Strength aims to help guests “reset and restore” physical and mental well-being through “transcranial mental stimulation,” Convery has said. The FDA-approved process uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain to improve symptoms of major depression, according to the Mayo clinic.

Barley Creek Taproom is expected to open this summer in a 3,119-square-foot space between Melt and Kome. The restaurant pairs drinks with flatbreads, burgers and other pub fare.

A Promenade Saucon Valley directory map shows a handful of additional vacancies.

Two more tenants should be announced within a month as leases are ironed out, Convery said.

Promenade Saucon Valley is in the Stabler Corporate Center. The center was renamed “Stabler Pathways” in 2022 to reflect the 1,000-acre campus’ sidewalk network that connects dozens of businesses. Stabler Pathways includes Promenade Saucon Valley, Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital, Penn State University Lehigh Valley, two hotels and various corporate offices.

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Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at [email protected].