CHAIN GANG:

MUJI Unveils A Major Makeover For Its Original U.S. Store

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Photo courtesy of MUJI

Has really been over 10 years since the Japanese concept retailer MUJI made its American debut on a slightly offbeat block of Broadway in SoHo? That was way back in November of 2017, and since then, the chain has charmed shoppers in New York, Boston and up and down the coast of California with its deceptively sophisticated mix of minimalistic merchandise ranging from apparel to kitchenware to home furnishings to a plethora of pens and paper goods. It's hard to walk through a Muji store without pondering where one might find a place for a sleek stack of polypropylene drawers just to make things a bit tidier around the house. As the chainlet expanded through a series of increasingly spacious stores throughout the city, its original location began to feel a little bit cramped. Despite the fact that it has remained the highest volume location in the U.S., the past few months have seen the store undergo a dramatic update that added a new shopping floor and a multi-fold expansion of its square footage. With the new expansion unveiled over the weekend, SoHo shoppers now have the full assortment of Muji offerings including fragrances and skin care and extra services like an embroidery station for personalization. Now that Muji's most productive location has been upgraded, the company will turn its attention towards other unexplored U.S. regions. The East and West coasts have discovered and embraced the concept of simple but well designed, useful things, the next Muji stores will start appearing closer to the middle of the country to see if the midwest takes to the stores with the same enthusiasm as the coasts have.

See below to browse a gallery of the newly revamped SoHo store at 455 Broadway (Between Grand and Howard Streets)
Scroll and click each image for a larger view.
Images courtesy of MUJI


FLAGSHIP FLASH:

Apple To More Than Double The Size Of Its 5th Avenue Flagship

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We have known for months that Apple was planning a major renovation for its busiest 24-hour flagship store on Fifth Avenue, but now comes word that the refresh will include a doubling of the store's size from 32,000 to over 77,000 square feet —and it's going to take a while. Apple's current store incorporates what was once a below-grade open-air plaza in front of 767 Fifth Avenue, better known as the General Motors Building. one presumes that the renovation will capture basement, or possibly sub-basement space that is beneath the GM Building itself, which should be an elaborate feat. None of the changes are expected to be visible from the street, and the view of the signature "Cube" entrance should remain unchanged. As earlier reported, Apple will be temporarily taking over a substantial part of the former FAO Schwarz store in the GM Building along West 58th Street (pictured above) while renovations proceed, but it is expected to be there until well into 2018, meaning that it will be a while before the space's next designated tenant, Under Armour, is able able to take over and build out its own store.

(Commercial Observer)


RETAIL RENEWAL:

Have A Look At The Long Overdue Renovation For Macy's Brooklyn Store

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Rendering: FRCH Design Worldwide

A few renderings have appeared for the radical $100 million renovation currently underway at the long neglected Fulton Street Macy's store in Brooklyn.
The former A&S flagship had been essentially left to languish in creeping decrepitude until on-and-off plans for a refurbishment were announced around the same time that dramatic renovations were fully unveiled at the mammoth Macy's Herald Square store. Finally, a scheme was revealed to shrink the Brooklyn store to a still sizable five selling floors including the basement and to turn the upper floors into office space. A glimpse of what this will look like is now out there. The renovation is being undertaken by FRCH Design Worldwide and includes new steel and glass awnings over the entrances on Fulton Street outside (pictured above) and a more extensive redesign on the inside. As at Herald Square, old, dingy ecru-colored walls will be transformed to sleek optic white, presumably with modernized lighting to create a brighter interior with HD video screens lining a refreshed escalator atrium (below). It's hard to tell which floor we are looking at in the rendering or how much, if any, of the remaining historic art-deco detailing of the main floor will be preserved, including a lavish elevator bay in the center of the main floor that may just hold more elevators than the newly reconfigured store will need. Last time we passed through, renovations were well underway, and however it turns out, it can only be an improvement for the store which in recent years has found itself in the backyard of some of Brooklyn's increasingly affluent neighborhoods. Eventually, it will be in a position to better serve those potential customers, and help continue to upgrade the Fulton Street shopping corridor.

Details, renderings of Macy’s DoBro overhaul unveiled (The Real Deal)

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Rendering: FRCH Design Worldwide

WORK IN PROGRESS:

Bergdorf Goodman's New 57th Street Entrance Is Unveiled
—But Not Finished

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We have been actively following the progress of Bergdorf Goodman's current exterior renovations partly because we are interested and partly because we happen to have walked by the place a lot in the past few weeks. Today, we noticed that the last remnants of the plywood covering has been removed from

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Click image for a larger view in a new window

the newly remodeled 57th Street side of the store including a new entrance into the store's re-conceived jewelry salon. The store has faithfully replicated the 58th Street (pictured at left) entrance on the other side of the store to create a grander entryway (pictured above in the best shot we could get over Midtown traffic). While the 58th Street door is technically the store's front entrance dating back to the building's completion in the late 1920s, more customers tend to enter through the more heavily trafficked 57th Street and Fifth Avenue doors, so it makes practical sense to upgrade the entryway. Despite the completed construction being exposed, it is clearly not totally finished and ready for its close-up just yet. The wrought iron railing at the window above the door and new awnings over the reconfigured windows have yet to be installed, but what has been revealed seems to answer one questions. The new, pristine white marble visible between the windows and on the new entryway appears not to be decorative, but a practical measure. We now can safely presume that the new stone will ultimately be toned to match the color of the building's original facing to create a seamless effect once the finishing touches are applied. As we have noted before, how all of this remodeling will affect the building's chances at being named a City Landmark remains to be seen, but by the end of this year, by which time a final designation is expected to be made, the building will look substantially different from when it was initially proposed for Landmark status.

Previously:
Extended Transformation: Bergdorf Goodman's 58th Street Side Is Getting Redesigned, Too 


EXTENDED TRANSFORMATION:

Bergdorf Goodman's 58th Street Side Is Getting Redesigned, Too

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While the revamping of Bergdorf Goodman's 57th Street storefront as part of the store's current top-to-bottom renovation has still not been completely unveiled, it looks like the 58th Street side is up for a revamp that is almost as dramatic. This week, plywood scaffolding (pictured above) appeared covering the ground floor exterior and what is officially the store's front door. As on 57th Street, a life sized rendering covers the construction area showing the familiar big display windows (visible on the right side of the photo below) replaced by a series of smaller vitrine-type windows which are more suitable for showing off accessories, shoes or other small merchandise items. It would appear that the windows will be framed with green marble to match the arch around the main entrance that they flank, though it remains to be seen if any of the white marble accents that have been added to the 57th Street renovation will be used here. The new windows on both sides will now reflect the reconfiguration of the main floor selling areas with the fine jewelry salon on 57th Street and a consolidated handbag and accessory department on 57th.  It took until the late 1960s for Bergdorf's to expand enough to fill up the entire building it currently occupies, but the 58th Street side has been part of the store since the building was completed in 1928. Since then, it has remained essentially intact architecturally, windows and all —until this week.
When the construction is completed, the building will have lost the original storefronts on all three of its street-facing sides. As we have pointed out before, the entire building is on a fast track to be considered for City Landmark designation before the end of this year which would preclude any further alteration to its exterior. The more it is altered, however, the less likely it is to be landmarked —which would please both the store and the building's current owner who are not in favor of landmarking. The redesigned façade should be finished in less time than its counterpart on the other side of the building since the dramatic arched entrance is expected to remain intact, but that will one of the few architectural elements left on the exterior street level from when the building was originally finished.

Previously:
Slow Reveal: Bergdorf Goodman's New 57th Street Façade is Coming Into Focus

 

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SLOW REVEAL:

Bergdorf Goodman's New 57th Street Façade is Coming Into Focus

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The reveal of Bergdorf Goodman's new 57th Street storefront is happening at a very protracted pace, but recently part of the redesign has been revealed (pictured above), and it looks even more different than we expected. The new Jewelry Salon which spurred the renovation has been open for weeks, but the unveiling won't be complete until the exterior is fully visible.
While the design of the new jewelry display windows is rendered on the plywood scaffolding covering the construction area (pictured below), the three actual windows that have been uncovered show details that aren't necessarily evident on the two-dimensional preview. Unlike on the rest of the store, the outer borders of the new windows are a contrasting gray stone rather than metal creating a more varied look on this side of the store than we were anticipating. Lighter gray marble surrounds the actual windows whose frames are made of beveled glass tiles, another material not found elsewhere on the building which should create a striking effect once the display lights are activated. The design echoes the faceted display cases inside the store. The biggest surprise is the expanse of white marble between the windows, an element that is not depicted on the rendering which suggests a more seamless looking update. What has yet to be revealed, and appears to be under wraps for a while longer, is the redesigned entryway meant to replicate the store's front door on 58th Street along with the Juliet balcony above it. Once it has been revealed and the lighting fixtures and new awnings are installed, we will have the full picture of the store's new 57th Street face. The only other thing that remains to be seen is how the dramatic alteration to the building will affect the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission's decision regarding the entire building. Last week, it was selected among a series of buildings put on a fast track to be considered for city landmark designation. Neither Bergdorf's nor the building's owner are in favor of the designation, which would disallow any further alterations. The costly new construction shows that two of the building's three street facing exterior walls have now been substantially changed from their original with stylistic elements that are not strictly in keeping with the period architecture of the building. That could potentially disqualify it as a historical landmark. It may be months before we learn the commission's final decision, but hopefully it will be only a few more weeks before we see the rest of the new storefront.

Previously:
Frozen In Time: Bergdorf Goodman's Building On A Fast Track For Landmarking

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EXPANSION TIME:

Wempe Is Going XXL On Fifth Avenue

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Even though retail has been tough for the past unseasonably warm season, one category seems to weather consumer glitches a bit better than most. The highest end jewelry and watches will always hold appeal in New York if not for the locals then for the endless stream of tourists that pass through the city at any given moment. We have already seen Bergdorf Goodman unveil a bigger, better precious jewelry salon, and just a few blocks down Fifth Avenue, a similar expansion is under way at Wempe, the city's most prestigious watch store.
You may be thinking that Tourneau is the leader in that category (and it's really a matter of opinion), but while the big T has more locations, more brands and generally more flash, Wempe is the one with the more concentrated  focus on the most luxurious and exclusive watchmakers without all of those designer and mid-range, mass brands. While they have never tried to be all things to all people like their great competitor, they are about to get quite a bit bigger. It all came about last year when it came time to renegotiate its 15-year lease on the Fifth Avenue side of the Peninsula Hotel at 55th Street. Rather than getting the old rent-hike heave-ho that so many of its longtime neighbors —even major designers— have recently been faced with, Wempe was offered the opportunity to take over the Lindt Chocolate and Swarovski stores next door. Well, those guys got the heave-ho, obviously, but we're pretty sure they will be fine. Wempe will now be extending its red carpet to around 5,550 square ft. to transform itself into the newly dubbed Wempe XXL. Rather than broadening its assortments to fill all that new space, the store is expected to maintain its current lineup of watchmakers, but offer a greater depth of merchandise. That will mean more option for customers in search of the perfect Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and , of course, Rolex and the like. Look for the store to reveal its renovation sometime this summer, just in time to take advantage of summer tourist season, or, as we like to call them at the high end, non-local clients.


RENOVATION ANTICIPATION:

Bergdorf Goodman Raises Its Jewelry Game

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The main floor at Bergdorf Goodman will be a construction zone for a while as a major overhaul continues through next year, but the first phase of the revamp has been unveiled (mostly). Not only does it consolidate the store's somewhat scattered jewelry display into a coherent salon, but it aligns the store with its immediate neighbors like Bulgari and Van Cleef & Arpels as a major player among the city's purveyors of precious baubles. While the previous arrangement which interspersed the handbag and jewelry offerings made for an entertaining meander through the main floor, it wasn't the most efficient format for selling either category, and specifically lacked the kind of intimacy expected from major jewel purchasers. Consolidating jewelry into the 57th Street side of the floor is a more conventional arrangement but gives the department a new potency that will be emphasized with a redesigned entryway and façade on that side of the store that will actually eliminate the large display windows in favor of smaller windows more suited to  jewelry. New plywood covering the ongoing construction (pictured below) shows the updated exterior design which will mimic 58th Street's main entrance. Despite its heavy traffic, the 57th street entryway was actually considered the store's "back door", but now that West 57th Street in being developed, for better or worse, into a "Millionaire's Row" of extravagant luxury towers, an upgrade seems to be in order. 
But back inside, the new Jewel Salon quietly opened over this past weekend revealing a 1930's French Moderne-inspired interior featuring a pearl-gray based palette that will eventually extend throughout the main floor. Now set off from the bustle of the rest of the floor, the new salon has a more hushed ambiance, but still has its share of visual excitement with a pair of  glittery, starburst chandeliers and paneled walls with beveled edges that recall gemstone cuts. Hexagonal display pieces also subtly allude to the shapes of the stones they contain. Another addition less apparent to the casually browsing customers is a private viewing room, a mainstay of the highest-end jewelers, for exceptional clients and special trunk show events. 
The new salon is only the first element of the store's elaborate "2020 Vision" plan which will include more renovations throughout the store and eventually allow it to capture two more floors of selling space as executive offices and other behind-the-scenes facilities are moved into an adjacent building next door on 58th Street. The whole project is meant to position the store for the future. "Timelessness is a very important mantra for us will all of our design decisions," senior vice president, women’s fashion and store presentation director Linda Fargo tells WWD, "What we do today in my lifetime is not going to be touched again for a long time. With something like a main floor, my feeling is this is definitely going to have to last another 20 years.”

Bergdorf Goodman Unveils Updated Jewelry Salons (WWD)

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CONSTRUCTION REPORT:

Barneys Will Have A Whole New Storefront In Chelsea

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We were all pretty excited to hear that Barneys New York will soon be re-inhabiting the location on Seventh Avenue in Chelsea where it became a world-renowned retailer during the 1980s. If you think, however that the new store will simply slide into its old home with minor renovations, then you don't know Barneys these days. While the exterior of the store has remained relatively intact while construction crews ripped out any trace of the former Lehmann's flagship that took over what was the larger part Barneys' original Men's Store, plywood scaffolding went up a few weeks ago to obscure what looks like a major redesign of the store's façade. The Shophound got a peek inside yesterday afternoon through door left carelessly ajar that shows that the entire ground floor of the store's frontage has been demolished including the grand entrance and the windows that once housed Simon Doonan's infamous Holiday displays. Rumors have the second floor exterior blown out as well, but, so far, that remains to be seen?
What will the new Barneys look like?
Chances are it will have a lot of glass, steel and slabs of marble like its Madison Avenue counterpart, so anyone hoping for a nostalgic feeling when the store finally reopens may have to adjust their expectations.
And about that opening date . . .
About a year ago we heard that the store was pushing it's projected opening forward to January of 2016, and while that was promising news at the time, it seems hard to believe that a new façade could be completed in three months, not to mention that the store's interior space still looks completely gutted.
We may have to cool our heels for just a little bit longer before Barneys once again graces Chelsea with its presence. 


RENOVATION ANTICIPATION:

Macy's Announces New Renovation Plan For Historic Brooklyn Flagship

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The fate of the lumbering behemoth known as Macy's in Brooklyn has been decided, and while the store will stay put, it will be both shrunken and dramatically overhauled.
Over the past couple of years, the Shophound has been following the state of the huge and historic but woefully out of date Macy's store in Downtown Brooklyn. The centerpiece of a renewed Fulton Street shopping corridor, the enormous nine-floor store is one of the largest in the chain, but has failed to keep up with both the newer influx of retailers to the area and the increasingly affluent population inhabiting the Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens neighborhoods that are literally in its backyard. About a year ago, Macy's officials announced a long overdue renovation for the neglected store, which began its life in 1865 as the Abraham & Straus flagship, that would renovate it from top to bottom. Surprisingly, the plan was put on hold a scant few weeks later as the store began to explore other real estate options for the valuable site including a possible sale or redevelopment of the building and a move to a smaller site nearby. The newly updated plan will include a combination of several options. Yesterday, Macy's CEO Terry Lundgren revealed a scheme that will shrink the floor from its current nine floors to the first four levels plus the basement. The upper floors will be sold to real estate developer Tishman Speyer for $170 million who will also cover the costs of the renovation below with another $100 million over the next three years.
While it sounds like the store will be substantially reduced in size, it will actually only go from 378,000 square feet of selling space on nine floors to 310,000 square feet on five. Upgrades are said to include uncovering windows to allow more light as well as renovated bathrooms, escalators and elevators along with a general refurbishment of the of the space. A walk through the store today would reveal an ungainly patchwork of poorly sequenced departments as well as an ill advised mezzanine level on half of the main floor that creates cramped shopping spaces and obscures parts of the building's original architecture. However, a closer look reveals striking Art Deco architectural details like a lavishly decorated bank of elevators at the store's center (pictured below) and carved marble frieze work framing the main entrances on Fulton and Livingston Streets (pictured above). Ultimately, it will be a few years before we see the results of the renovation, but given the store's rapidly gentrifying locale, the opportunity for a freshly made-over Macy's in Brooklyn to do big business is huge.

Macy's will spend $100 million making over outdated downtown Brooklyn store (Crain's)
Previously:
Retail Renewal on Hold: Macy's Brooklyn Renovation Might Be Off Because...Real Estate

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