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 — The picture's getting bleaker for some key Manhattan shopping districts.
Lower Fifth Avenue, running from 42nd to 49th streets, had the biggest drop in retail asking rents in the second quarter, sliding 30 percent from a year earlier, according to a report by brokerage Cushman & Wakefield. Soho and Madison Avenue were among areas with declines of more than 14 percent.
Landlords were struggling even before the pandemic as more consumers embraced e-commerce and large retailers went bankrupt, leaving gaping vacancies along Manhattan’s shopping corridors. The pain only worsened after measures to stop the spread of Covid-19 shuttered stores for months starting in March.
Just a handful of new leases were signed in the quarter, including an agreement by Aritzia Inc., a clothing chain favoured by Meghan Markle, to take over Dean & DeLuca’s former Soho flagship.
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Rents fell 6.6 percent on Upper Fifth Avenue, home to some of the world’s most prestigious luxury merchants. Lower Fifth, by comparison, is dominated by big national chains.
The only neighbourhood where asking rents rose was Lower Manhattan, with a 8.7 percent increase from a year earlier. Rents were unchanged in the Meatpacking District, which benefited from tourist traffic on the High Line before the pandemic.
By Natalie Wong.
The rental platform saw its stock soar last week after predicting it would hit a key profitability metric this year. A new marketing push and more robust inventory are the key to unlocking elusive growth, CEO Jenn Hyman tells BoF.
Nordstrom, Tod’s and L’Occitane are all pushing for privatisation. Ultimately, their fate will not be determined by whether they are under the scrutiny of public investors.
The company is in talks with potential investors after filing for insolvency in Europe and closing its US stores. Insiders say efforts to restore the brand to its 1980s heyday clashed with its owners’ desire to quickly juice sales in order to attract a buyer.
The humble trainer, once the reserve of football fans, Britpop kids and the odd skateboarder, has become as ubiquitous as battered Converse All Stars in the 00s indie sleaze years.