By Faith Hope Consolo, Chairman, Retail Leasing and Sales Division, Douglas Elliman Real Estate
Manhattan is in the midst of a department store explosion.
Just this year, in February, Barneys New York opened its 58,000-square-foot Chelsea flagship.
It is a sprawling, five-floor emporium, 101 Seventh Avenue at 17th Street; the landmark store has returned to its original home.
The spectacular experience includes men’s and women’s ready to wear, footwear, accessories, cosmetics, a Blind Barber barbershop, and a Freds restaurant, with a luxurious and modern aesthetic.
Straight from Barneys “To further elevate your shopping experience, find state-of-the-art technology to integrate digital aspects into the brick and mortar store. Barneys is the first luxury retailer to launch iBeacon technology as a way to share rich multi-media content like videos, look books and designer interviews to inform and entertain the customer. Beacons throughout the store have the ability to deliver to a customer’s mobile device to send personalized recommendations of content from The Window, Barneys’ luxury editorial site, to users who choose to opt-in for this experience.
“Barneys also built a custom clienteleing system, which uses customer-centric personalization that connects online and offline behaviors and preferences so that sales associates may better serve their clients. The clienteleing app is available on associates’ iPads, which are also used as mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) devices with Apple Pay, the easy, secure and private way to pay with iPhone or Apple Watch. With this new feature, Barneys will be able to enhance the customer experience through highly-informed associates, better background information on brands and products of interest to each individual consumer, and ease of purchasing.”
On September 9, 2016, Saks Fifth Avenue opened a shiny new 86,000 s/f flagship in Brookfield Place.
Not to be outdone, Saks Fifth Avenue on Fifth is doing a fancy facelift continuing through 2019. Saks is also preparing for the launch of its nearby 17,000 s/f men’s store on Vesey Street next March and a 55,000 s/f property at One Liberty Plaza.
Saks wants to blanket the City and become Lower Manhattan’s premier department store destination.
Bergdorf Goodman opened its renovated main floor to the public on September 6, marking the latest step in a five-year overhaul.
This is the first major remodel in 30 years as part of a plan to modernize and reimagine its women’s store.
Historic architecture is meshed with modern luxury creating a fabulous floor of accessories and jewelry.
Inspired by Bergdorf Goodman’s Beaux Arts exterior and France’s Art Moderne movement of the 1930s-40s; the cherry on top was an expansive window added to the 58th Street entrance, displaying a view of the Pulitzer Fountain and Central Park.
Bergdorf Goodman will also increase the number of products it offers. From jewelry and sunglasses to handbags and leather goods. A visit here is a quintessential Fifth Avenue experience!
Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom will launch their inaugural Manhattan outposts, set to open over the next two years.
Dallas-based Neiman Marcus headlining the Hudson Yards development with more than 240,000 s/f. The three-level Neiman Marcus will anchor the one million square foot Shops at Hudson Yards.
Integrated into the heart of the neighborhood, customers will have multiple access points throughout the complex including from the east, west, north and south and a dedicated entrance on 10th Avenue.
The store will have jaw dropping views of the public plaza and monumental meeting place being designed by Thomas Heatherwick and Thomas Woltz, the unique Culture Shed, the planned home of New York Fashion Week and the High Line.
Seattle’s Nordstrom is adding a total of three new sites for its first Manhattan flagship, headquartered at 225 West 57th Street: 1776 Broadway, 5 Columbus Circle, and 3 Columbus Circle. 3 Columbus Circle will be a 363,000 s/f store expected to open in 2019 and is made up of four properties along Broadway between West 57th and West 58th streets, including existing historic buildings and new construction.
The interiors of three of the properties will be connected, while the fourth will be across Broadway and will house the Nordstrom Men’s store.
Department stores galore in Manhattan : Real Estate Weekly
