Luxury retailer Giorgio Armani plans to shutter their first level boutique at Phipps Plaza Christmas Eve. The store, located alongside Valentino and Philipp Plein in the Saks Fifth Avenue wing, informed employees only recently of the closure. The end of the retailer's lease was reportedly the explanation for the closure. There are no liquidation sales at the store in advance of the closure as product will instead be transferred to other stores.
The store, which has been in Phipps twenty years or so, has never undergone a complete renovation - something most high-end designer stores do every ten years - and its appearance shows its age and not in a good way.
Fellow Phipps luxury retailers including Gucci, Valentino and Versace have all in recent years undergone complete renovations or relocations within the mall, to update their looks.
The Italian designer will still operate a store in Buckhead, with the company's Armani Exchange to remain in business at Lenox Square. The more approachable, entry level label was previously located on the second floor of Phipps Plaza before relocating to the first floor of Lenox Square in 2011. A second Armani Exchange was located at Mall of Georgia in Buford, but it has been closed for several years. The company also operates a multi-line Armani Outlet at North Georgia Premium Outlets in Dawsonville.
While there are no plans for an imminent return of the Giorgio Armani brand to Atlanta, sources close to the retailer indicate the company may bring their slightly more approachable Emporio Armani line to Atlanta in the coming years.
There is no word yet as to what may be replacing Giorgio Armani at Phipps Plaza. Its first floor location between Nordstrom and Saks should make it appealing to luxury designers looking for space in the mall, perhaps even ones currently in the market, in The Shops Buckhead Atlanta for instance, who may be seeking to relocate.
Whomever replaces Giorgio Armani would also likely get the opportunity to have its logo featured alongside Tiffany & Co., Versace, Bottega Veneta and others on the mall's recently improved Peachtree Road entryway.
Simon Property Group, owner of both Phipps Plaza and Lenox Square among other malls, will no doubt be very selective about who gets the space and the signage, so it will likely be a marquee name.
What retailer would you like most to see open in the soon to be vacant Armani space? What is your favorite store in Buckhead? What is your favorite mall/shopping center/ lifestyle center in metro Atlanta?
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1 comment:
Did this closure come as a surprise to you? Do any other stores seem likely to follow?
I really wish the SAs well...
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