The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
NEW YORK, United States — Forty Five Ten is coming to New York. The Dallas-born multi-brand boutique that was founded in 2000 and is known for its distinctively curated mix of luxury clothing, accessories, beauty, books and gifts from both established and emerging labels, will open its 16,000-square-foot space, located in Manhattan's $20 billion-plus development Hudson Yards, in March 2019.
"It's coded in the DNA of a retailer to [spread] your message to a broad audience," says Nick Wooster, men's fashion director at Forty Five Ten. "I think New York retail has been in a bit of a slump, but with all of the activities happening, there has been a renewed interest in the opportunities that the city can provide."
"Forty Five Ten offers an approach to luxury that the big department stores aren't offering," adds Webber Hudson, executive vice president of Related Urban, which is curating the shops and restaurants at Hudson Yards. "They're going to bring a unique, very luxurious assortment focused on the collection rather than the designer, and for us, it's a new name."
The boutique's New York outpost — designed in collaboration with New York-based firm Snarkitecture — will be the second-largest for the brand, which currently has five stores across Texas and California. Its venture into the New York market is a testament to the retailer's ambition to scale beyond secondary and tertiary American cities, following its acquisition by Headington Companies in 2014. In four years, sales have tripled and 40 percent of its weekly transactions currently come from new customers.
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The unveiling of a new four-storey Dallas flagship in November 2016 quickly became a symbol of the city's retail renaissance, an effect it will aim to recreate in New York's newest neighbourhood by targeting local residents, people working in the area and tourists.
However, like in the rest of New York, the luxury retail market in Hudson Yards will be highly saturated — also in Hudson Yards, Neiman Marcus will open its first 190,000-square-feet New York store in the same complex as Forty Five Ten, together with Coach, Tory Burch and Stuart Weitzman. In addition, like every other retailer, Forty Five Ten risks consumers leaving its store empty handed to subsequently search for discounted offerings online.
By offering experiential retail and aligning Forty Five Ten's digital footprint with its Hudson Yards store, the retailer sets to differentiate itself from competition, according to Wooster. "I know that many retailers are in the midst of turning the battleship around and some might not survive. We're going to re-launch our website this summer, coupled with a physical manifestation in New York six months later, and this is going to be a very potent combination," he says.
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