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.
Luxury retailers are taking advantage of rent bargains in Manhattan’s Soho neighbourhood.
Chanel, Amiri and La Perla are among tenants that signed leases in the fourth quarter in Soho, where about a third of store space was available, leading many landlords to drop prices, according to a report by Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.
Average asking rents dropped more than 15 percent from a year earlier, JLL said, while 13 new retail listings drove up the supply of space in the neighbourhood, known for its ritzy boutiques and galleries.
The luxury deals were “heavily incentivised” and included free rent and kick outs, meaning a tenant can terminate the agreement either at its discretion or based on a sales-performance threshold, the brokerage firm said.
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Manhattan’s famed retail districts have taken a big hit over the past year as the pandemic forced countless stores to close for good. Social distancing measures continue to hurt sales at businesses that remain, and tourists and office workers have been slow to return to the city.
Other major shopping corridors, such as Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue, also have seen rents tumble amid a surge in available space. Across Manhattan, leasing plummeted 81 percent last year from 2019 and concession packages are growing larger, with landlords offering more than a year of free rent in some cases, JLL said.
By Natalie Wong
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.
Manhattanites had little love for the $25 billion megaproject when it opened five years ago (the pandemic lockdowns didn't help, either). But a constantly shifting mix of stores, restaurants and experiences is now drawing large numbers of both locals and tourists.