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Goodbye Clary & Co.: Coach to Officially Transform Bleecker Into a Mall

Claryco

We knew it was inevitable, In fact we just mentioned it only a couple of weeks ago. Clary & Co. the charming antique shop at 372-374 Bleecker Street couldn't be long for that address as rents were skyrocketing on those few precious blocks. And just last week it was announced that Coach would be taking over the location, because Manhattan needs another Coach store. Apparently the NINE we have already aren't serving the market adequately. Of course, this being Bleecker, it will not be any regular coach store. Obviously it will be small, and this branch will be a "Legacy Store". It will carry a special collection that is 45% more expensive that the regular collection. Coach, like so many more reasonably priced prestige labels is not content to simply have a massive business. They must produce an expensive "premium" collection to prove that they are really a designer label too. Since Coach transformed itself from a sleepy, classic brand to a more aspirational fashion driven label, they have been gunning for recognition as a designer brand despite the fact that their products are in a decidedly lower price category. We get the feeling that the folks at Coach get together periodically with Tommy Hilfiger and Max Azria to try to figure out how they can get Calvin, Ralph and Donna to play with them.
We liked Clary & Co. because, never having shopped there before, we purchased a gift there a few years ago with a check. When we asked if they wanted to take a credit card number for ID or security, the saleslady said, "Oh, it's not necessary. Our customers never bounce checks." We were sort of astonished and charmed at the same time, and even though we are not a big antique buyer, we always held that little shop in high regard for its gracious service. We hope they are just moving instead of being driven totally out of existence.
Now that Coach is moviing in, it only reinforces what we said before. Bleecker is officially over.

Comments

I blame Magnolia Cafe and their crappy sex in the city over-hyped cupcakes for the demise. I used to live on Bank street and had to move 2 years ago lest I begin picking off the losers standing in line around the corner for something you could make from a box.
This is the neighborhood Jane Jacobs used as a case study for how cities can thrive. I can't even walk down Bleecker anymore without remembering what it used to be like when it was just a quiet street of charming antique stores and familiar faces.
Very, very sad.

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