The Diane von Furstenberg (DVF) store at Lenox Square is closing. The roughly 2,000 square foot boutique on the mall's main level opened in early 2015. The store is currently liquidating all in-stock merchandise with savings of 40 to 60% off. It is witty and rather fitting that the store - whose founder Diane von Furstenberg is credited with the "creation" of the now iconic wrap dress - chose to display a sign saying "THAT'S A WRAP!" to announce the closure.
DVF revealed in mid-June that it planned to close 18 of its 19 stores with the lone surviving outlet being the company's flagship store in New York City's Meatpacking District in a building that the designer owns. The brand is shifting to almost exclusively e-commerce in the US and Europe, while wholesaling in China.
The closure of DVF is especially unfortunate for Lenox Square when you consider that its nearly 8,000 square foot neighbor Microsoft also recently closed, as did basically the company's entire retail network. Better burger joint Zinburger also recently closed basically all of their east coast restaurants including their roughly 5,600 square foot outpost at the front of the mall.
Lenox Square owner Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG) has seen its share price cut in half from more than $149 per share in January to less than $69 this week. The real estate owner and mall powerhouse is facing a series of new headwinds with a growing number of restaurants and retailers either closing locations, filing for bankruptcy protection, or seeking rent relief, or in some cases, all three.
In normal times, spaces on "main mall" command some of the highest prices and are often also in high demand. Given today's climate, however, and the ultimate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic still very premature to project, it will be interesting to see just how quickly the soon-to-be vacant spaces at Lenox Square are filled and by whom.
What would you like to see open in place of DVF and Microsoft at Lenox Square? When was the last time you visited Lenox Square? Have your shopping habits changed permanently due to current events?
Please share your thoughts below.
3 comments:
Even her billionaire "husband" has a breaking point...he bankrolled her business for years.
In the covid-era, no indoor mall is safe. Even the most venerable will struggle.
I never went into DVF only window shopped because I knew it was way out of my price range.
The last time I went to Lenox Square was around the Holidays 2019.
All my shopping is online for items I would get a shopping mall. I have a feeling this is going to be my new normal, especially since so many retailers are closing up shop due to pandemic
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