Wednesday, March 6, 2019

[ALERT] Retailer Zara to Triple Size of Lenox Square Store

Fast fashion retailer Zara plans to more than triple the size of its current store at Lenox Square in Buckhead.  The existing store, located on the second floor of the Neiman Marcus "Luxury Wing," is due to increase is size from just over 10,000 to over 30,000 square feet.  To accomplish this, the retailer is taking over a total of five adjacent spaces, including the vacant second floor of the Ralph Lauren store.  ToNeTo Atlanta first reported that Zara was eyeing the Ralph Lauren space upon their closure last January.  
The current Zara at Lenox Square 

Zara will also assume the spaces currently occupied by The Walking Company, Diesel and Adidas.  The True Religion space is also being taken over, but the premium denim company has already relocated to its new space across the hall where Penguin recently closed.  (A "sale" Pure boutique has occupying the former True Religion space for the time being.)  new larger Adidas space is currently under construction with the company planning to reopen in May in their space near Nike on the first floor.

Discussions are reportedly still ongoing as it relates to if and where the affected tenants will relocate within the mall.  One possible landing spot for some of the displaced stores could be the current Apple store, not far from the Zara expansion.



ToNeTo Atlanta exclusively reported this past September that Apple was looking to relocate and expand their current store to a multi-level "flagship-like" storefront at the front of the mall along Peachtree Road.  Anthropologie's December closure [to both renovate and reconfigure their Lenox store] is reportedly related to the planned Apple expansion.  

One store that may not reopen is Diesel.  Diesel USA Inc., the U.S. division of the Italian  denim and accessory brand known for its jeans, filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday, blaming, among others things, mounting losses, a sales plunge and expensive leases.  In a court filing, "Chief Restructuring Officer" Mark Samson said Diesel USA has no plans to close entirely, but intends to shutter some of its 28 stores, where landlords’ refusal to offer lease concessions has reportedly led to heavy losses.
The current Diesel store at Lenox Square 

The existing Zara, which opened in what was then the new second floor of the Luxury Wing, debuted in late 2007 as part of the mall's $12 million expansion.  Permits filed with the City of Atlanta indicate that the new store will be 32,800 square feet and that construction will cost at least $2.64 million.

Among the new offerings expected at the expanded Zara are a wider variety of options for both men and women as well as the addition of kids' clothing and accessories and the Atlanta debut of Zara Home, with fragrances, decor, kitchen, bathroom, and other home furnishings.

Zara's new size will make it the mall's largest non-anchor store.  Fellow fast fashion retailers in the mall XXI Forever and Topshop both operate large format stores, but Zara will be the biggest.  XXI entered the mall in late 2011 with a 27,400 square foot store above the food court (Fashion Cafe) and was later followed by Topshop, who in early 2015 debuted their first and only Atlanta outpost, a 16,000 square foot store over two levels.

Inditex, Zara's Spanish owner, reportedly plans to focus on fewer, larger stores as well as ramping up their online efforts. 

Are you a fan of Zara and their clothing offerings?  Have you ever seen or purchased Zara home items?  What other retailer would you like to see open in Lenox Square?

Please share your thoughts below  

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

The upper level of the "luxury wing" is anything but. After the demise of Diesel and the expansion of Zara, the most luxurious thing on the upper level of the wing is the entrance to Nieman Marcus.

Anonymous said...

Isn't there also Cartier, Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Prada etc...on the luxury wing???

Skrybe said...

I can't say that I'm a fan of Zara clothing, but that's mainly because this is literally the first time I've even heard of them. They're doing big business in Lenox, though, so that probably means I haven't heard of them because they're outside of my price range. LOL

Anonymous said...

Lol Skrybe. Zara is on par with Forever 21, H&M, and Topshop. Not at all pricey.

But all of this expansion at Lenox shows that Atlanta needs more retail options in the city. I live in O4W and hate having to travel up to Buckhead and deal with Lenox crowds just to find a quick outfit. And Atlantic Station, with its very limited options, isn't too accessible for us on the eastside.

Anonymous said...

Down stairs

Anonymous said...

They need more shopping options in the inner city. Buckhead is so far north for anyone living around downtown and below. Everything that's in lenox should be available in town somewhere in the inner city within the beltline.

Anonymous said...

Agree with the others here wishing for more options for eastside neighborhoods. I hate going to Buckhead. I live on the Beltline but have no clothes options within walking distance except over-priced boutiques in PCM. Why don't some of the struggling department stores take a chance on a smaller-format store located in a walkable area? A mini-Nordstroms or Macy's would kill it at PCM, Madison Yards, or Dairies.

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