The New Retail Thread

[Ron Newman]

Thanks. But are Back Bay and South End a typical habitat either?

[czsz]

It's probably more geared toward wealthy Back Bay office workers/rich suburbanites who shop on Boylston/Newbury on weekends.

[commuter guy]

Yes sometimes, I would suspect Vinyard viners may ocassionally be spotted frequenting Newbury St and the Copley area to access dining and shopping opportunities not otherwise available in their seaside villages, However, this would not be the preferred habitat of such persons. The Boylston Street is a bit edgy for there tastes with all those Euro looking people traipsing all over the place talking loudly into their cell phones. More importantly the Back Bay is far from conveniently located given the nearest decent yacht club at least 15 miles away in Marblehead.

[Ron Newman]

Actually there are yacht clubs in Dorchester, Southie, Chelsea, Somerville, Cambridge, and maybe Charlestown as well.

[statler]

He said 'decent'.

[CDubs]

Originally Posted by Ron Newman

Actually there are yacht clubs in Dorchester, Southie, Chelsea, Somerville, Cambridge, and maybe Charlestown as well.

And Eastie.

[LowerRoxbury]

Originally Posted by Ron Newman

High-end boutiques replacing an Army-Navy store seems like the wrong move in this economy.

Ed Hardy is actually moderately priced in comparison to the high end labels... It has quite the following with youth, club goers, and those in the entertainment and "flash" industries. They should do well enough IMO. I do miss the Army Navy store along with Allston Beat, and the store that used to occupy the present Stels' boutique space next to Condom World.

[PaulC]

FAO Schwarz will be opening 11/8/08

http://www1.macys.com/store/event/in...4&eventId=6509

(thanks Ron)

[Ron Newman]

that's "FAO Schwarz" -- which Macy's misspells in its press release!

[Oakley]

Originally Posted by LowerRoxbury

Retail updates in higher end...

Gucci is set to open their new store bymid November for the holida season in the corner space of the Mandarin next to the Pru entrance. Both stores, that and the Copley location, will remain open through the holiday season.

Cartier is set to open its second location once Gucci vacates its Copley space.

Prada pulled its epi-center store from the Mandarin long ago in favor of the garage next to Burberry on Newbury street.

Ben Sherman and Ed Hardy are both in the process of getting their stores open on Newbury; Sherman near Dartmouth and Ed Hardy in the od Army Barracks space on the top block.

DKNY has made space for Donna Karan ready-to-wear at its Newbury location which is located on the first level of the building and DKNY above.

Still waiting for Adidas!!!!

A few questions:

1) Is the new Gucci boutique going to carry everything in new Mandarin space? I know Gucci has a 6,750-square-foot space, Frette at 2,776-square-feet in space, Lululemon at 2,800-square-feet, and salon Mizu has 3,000-square-feet. That's 15,326 square feet taken. With Prada out, doesn't the hotel has 14,674 square feet in retail space left? I'm guessing a lot of high-end retailers would have to be interested in it?

2) When will the Prada space open? Will it still be an epi-center?

3) Any other luxury brands close to signing any leases or opening? I know that the Louis Boston store is garnering a lot of interest. If an existing label in Boston already takes it over, I'm guessing it will open a prime retail space for other brands.

[Ron Newman]

Where is Louis moving to, and why?

[PaulC]

They said that the quality of the store in the area has gone down hill. Filene's Basement at the Newbry? Marshalls has been in the area for decades so I don't believe that. I think it's the arrival of Barney's. I heard that the building is a real mess.

[underground]

The Louis store's already a mess from the outside with plaster peeling off all over the place. It's pretty disgraceful that a high-end retailer has let their historic building fall to pieces. Although, maybe they're kinda going for the Disney's Haunted Mansion feel?

[Lurker]

Louis has been badly managed, has exceptionally rude staff, the building has been in decline since the last days of Bonwit Teller, and is over priced compared to the competition at Barney's et all. They tried to stay in business on their legacy reputation alone without changing a damn thing to be competitive. When one is being out sold and provides horrible service in comparison to the competition, how one can expect long time customers to remain loyal forever?

[Batterymarch]

Louis "moving" is simply a reflection that the store has become a "has been" and cannot afford to pay rent at current market rate for their existing prime location.

[Ron Newman]

Moving *where* ?

[PaulC]

I believe the phrase they used was that they wanted to move to a more cutting edge area like the south boston seaport or the south end. I also believe the woman running it is third or fourth generation. To me that usually means there's not a lot of drive.

[Ron Newman]

But isn't this a fairly new business, which opened only after Bonwit Teller closed?

[Batterymarch]

Louis had been in a building across the Boylston st for decades. The Boylston street bulding was demolished. To entice Louis to terminate the Boylston St lease early, the landlord subsidized a lease at the Bonwit Teller bldg. That is the lease that is now coming upon termination. To renew, they would have to pay market, which there is no way they could.

[Ron Newman]

Ahh, that explains a lot. Thanks. I had somehow been unaware of Louis entirely before it moved into the Natural History building.