Friday, May 8, 2015

Tory Burch Bringing Second Store to Buckhead

The existing Tory Burch store at Phipps Plaza
Tory Burch doubles down in Buckhead

New York-based Tory Burch is planning a second location in Atlanta.  The new Tory Burch will open in place of the current Guess store which is relocating.  Ironically, the Guess store is relocating to the former C.Wonder, a store started by Chris Burch, ex-husband of Tory.  C. Wonder, referred to by many retail observers as "revenge retail," was seen as by many as a cheap imitation of the Tory Burch brand.  C. Wonder ceased operations earlier this year after heavy expansion and sluggish sales.  

The current Atlanta Tory Burch store is on the first floor of Phipps Plaza.  Tory Burch expanded and relocated in 2012 to its current location near Starbucks.  Before relocating, the store was a few storefronts away and was one of the original stores outside of New York. Kate Spade, a store that would seem to compliment Tory Burch, recently relocated from Lenox Square to a space adjacent to Tory's Phipps Plaza location.  

According to a building permit filed this week with the City of Atlanta, $200,000 will be spent to convert the space to Tory Burch.  The new store is roughly 4,400 square feet, significantly larger than the current store.  A Tory Burch store representative claims that both stores will offer largely the same merchandise and that the new store is to open in late October.

After opening their second location, Tory Burch will join Sunglass Hut, Tumi, Teavana, Starbucks, Mori Luggage & Gifts, Soma Intimates & Michael Kors in operating stores in both Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza.  

Since launching the brand in 2004, Tory Burch has grown her namesake label to a billion dollar brand with dozens of stores around the world.  

Do you find it odd that Tory Burch is bringing a second location to Buckhead rather than opening at Perimeter Mall or Avalon?  What are your thoughts on the Tory Burch brand?  Do you miss C.Wonder?  

Please share your thoughts below.  

5 comments:

Ham said...

I realize Lenox/Phipps isn’t going to turn down a paying merchant, but I do wonder what their strategy is. I know at one time they seemed to be marketing the two malls as sort of an extension of each other. However, with more common merchants is there really any motivation to cross the street? Do the two malls see their clientele become more diverse and less likely to visit the other mall? Of course the most likely motivation is to simply fill empty spots with major brands.

As for why Tory Burch would place two stores across the street from each other I guess it goes back to the previous question about whether the malls draw different shoppers. Also, could the older location simply remain open until the lease is up and then close? I guess we’ll see…

Anonymous said...

This makes no sense to me at all???

Anonymous said...

I think it's about capturing more customers, plain and simple. I think Lenox and Phipps are similar, both having high end shopping, but with different customers. Phipps is clearly smaller mall and is great because you can run-in and out quickly. Lenox feels like an all day event, it's harder to get in and out of and has so many more stores. It's a destination mall for many shopper. Being in The old Guess will position them to be close to the "luxury" wing and they can capture those customers. Another thought could be they are just seeing which store, if either, does better and then closing one.

Anonymous said...

The traffic is in Lenox. TB has already expanded once, their performance in the market is obviously strong. Doubtful they go past Perimeter Mall in the future.

Mikelark said...

Didn't you meant to say: The new Tory Burch will open in LENOX SQUARE in place of the current Guess store which is relocating?

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...