RUMORS CONFIRMED: Saks Fifth Avenue & Off-5th Both Confirmed For Downtown

Not to be upstaged by the retail game-changing announcement that Neiman Marcus will be coming to Manhattan, Hudson's Bay Company today confirmed the simmering rumors that Saks Fifth Avenue and its outlet offshoot Off-5th would indeed be coming to the Financial District. The luxury unit will be the first out of the gate less than two years from today. The city's second full line Saks store is set to open in Spring of 2016 in 85,000 square feet at Brookfield Place, serving as a valuable, traffic-generating anchor for the luxury mall that is slated to open there next year. While it will be dwarfed by the massive Saks flagship uptown, it will be much closer to the size of a typical Saks branch store, and will certainly be one of the largest retailers in the neighborhood. Next, in 2017, Off-5th will open a 55,000 square foot store at One Liberty Plaza, currently home to a Brooks Brothers branch, safely on the other side of the World Trade Center complex and right across Cortlandt street from what is bound to be its chief competitor in the area, Century 21.

In addition to the two new stores, HBC has also taken 400,000 square feet of office space in Brookfield Place for its New York corporate including space for both Saks Fifth Avenue and the also HBC-owned Lord & Taylor associates who will be relocating from midtown.

With the official announcement of an new Saks Store that makes a total of four major department store openings by the end of the next four years. Saks comes in 2016, Barneys will return to Chelsea in 2017 and both Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus are scheduled to open in 2018. Over the past few decades, the city has lost more department stores than it has gained staring with the demise of Gimbel's in the late 1980s, and then the closures of Bonwit Teller, B.Altman and A&S in the 90s. The new stores coming could potentially reshape Manhattan's shopping landscape. Let's hope there's as much business to go around as they are counting on.

Saks Confirms Downtown Opening (WWD)
Previously:
Rumor Confirmed: Neiman Marcus Plans A 2018 Arrival In Manhattan