By Faith Hope Consolo, chairman
Retail Sales, Leasing, Douglas Elliman
Black Friday? What Black Friday? The holiday selling season is more like Black November these days.
With Thanksgiving just days away, kicking off the official holiday shopping season, we’re looking at a very different retail landscape from just a few years ago. The most recent news, that Amazon.com and the U.S. Postal Service will be testing Sunday deliveries here in New York and in Los Angeles is a sign of how time-pressed we all are, and how critical e-tailing is becoming to taking care of all our gift giving needs.
It’s also why Black Friday (traditionally the start of the holiday sales season, though it no longer is the busiest retail day of the year) is becoming more of a fondly recalled myth, as more stores are beginning their holiday selling seasons earlier.
Much has been made of the news that Macy’s (even the flagship) is joining the flood of retailers opening on Turkey Day itself. They have to, in order to compete with Amazon and other Internet giants. But that doesn’t mean I won’t be avidly watching what’s happening on Black Friday!
I’m also continuing to watch the leasing scene in New York, and there is much to report. Menswear designer Todd Snyder’s City Gym long-term pop-up opened at 242 Elizabeth Street. Moleskine’s Soho unit at 436 West Broadway has opened.
Givenchy will open a new boutique somewhere uptown (likely Madison Avenue) next year. At press time, Intermix was to have opened at 140 Smith Street on the 15th..
Divine Details, a collaboration of design studio Little Fury and AIGA The Professional Association for Design, will operate at 164 Fifth Avenue through the holidays. Two new outposts are planned for European Wax Center: 2409 Broadway and 805 Columbus Avenue. Chris Burch’s daughters Pookie and
Louisa will continue the family fashion tradition by opening apparel and accessories shop Trademark on Grand Street in February.
Broadway Plaza, set to debut in the Bronx next fall, will be anchored by TJ Maxx, Sports Authority and Aldi’s. Versa Vintage is relocating to 71 White Street in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The Owl & Thistle General Store will relocate to 833 Franklin Avenue. Home furnishings shop Room & Board has taken three levels at 249 West 17th Street. Fairway is coming to 255 Greenwich Street.
The holiday event season is revving up, too. NYCREW’s year-end Annual Gala and Vanguard Awards Celebration has been set for Tuesday, December 3, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., once again at The Columbus Townhouse, 8 East 69th Street.
With food, drink and honoring our outstanding members, this is our most joyous celebration, where we celebrate the year’s successes and look forward to the year ahead. As before, visit www.nycrew.org for registration.
You still have time to register for the Women’s Special Industry Group year-end program at the International Council of Shopping Centers’ New York National Conference, as well as for the conference itself.
The SIG will be held Monday, December 9 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the New York Hilton’s Mercury Ballroom, where I’ll be moderating “Building the Boroughs: Lessons in Urban Development,” with speakers Richard Bearak, Director of Land Use, Office of the Brooklyn Borough President; Seth Bornstein, Executive Director of the Queens Economic Development Corp; Melissa Burch, Executive Vice President, Commercial and Residential Development, Forest City Ratner Cos.; Paul Camella, Director of Development, Welco Realty; Donald Capoccia, Managing Principal and Founder of BFC Partners; Marlene Cintron, President of the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corp; Patricia Dunphy, Senior Vice President, Rockrose Development; and Caroline Pardo, Director of Leasing for Jamestown Properties.
Attendance is included in your conference registration, but also is available for a nominal fee if your plans don’t include the full meeting.
For more information isit www.icsc.org.
