Alan Victor, EVP of the Lansco Corporation, and a veteran retail broker who helped to pioneer the concept of the pricey luxury retail flagship store, died on Friday at the age of 80 from complications of Parkinson’s disease.
Mr Victor closed more mega deals and accomplished more for Manhattan’s retail renaissance than any other real estate broker.
In one of the most high profile and influential retail transactions in the past quarter century – a feat that could ultimately define his extraordinary career – he brokered a 49 year lease of the 24,000 s/f Rhinelander mansion located at 72nd Street on behalf of his client, Polo Ralph Lauren.
This 1986 deal marked the first time a world famous designer leased a super flagship store in Manhattan, not only changing the Madison Avenue retail market, but also paving the way for other designers to follow.
Mr Victor went on to broker the net lease of 601 Madison Avenue (the former George Jensen Building) for Emporio Armani, as well as the net lease of 42 East 57th Street for Turnbull & Asser.
He also played a major role in shaping the character of many retail districts in New York. On 57th Street, he represented Alfred Dunhill of London at 450 Park Avenue, negotiated the 95,000 s/f NIKETOWN net lease of the former Galleries Lafayette site and the 75,000 s/f Warner Bros. Studio Store.
Mr Victor’s contributions to the return of retail elegance along Fifth Avenue includeed encouraging Gianni Versace to lease the former Olympic Airways Building for its giant world flagship store and advocating the launch of Cole Haan’s second Manhattan store at 630 Fifth Avenue in Rockefeller Center.
A graduate of Boston University, Mr Victor also attended Boston University Law School.
