Luxury retailer Gucci is doubling down on Buckhead with plans to open a second store. Already with a popular boutique in Phipps Plaza, the company intends to open a second store just outside Neiman Marcus at Lenox Square, according to a recently filed permit with the City of Atlanta. Plans indicate that Gucci will spend an estimated $275,000 to convert the roughly 3,300 square foot former H. Stockton space on the first floor of the Luxury Wing.
Gucci in late 2018 expanded their boutique at Phipps Plaza from about 5,200 to about 8,200 square feet. While the addition of a second store in the market is not unheard of, Gucci does likely represent the most upscale brand to have dual representation. [Louis Vuitton operates a "shop in shop" within Saks Fifth Avenue at Phipps Plaza in addition to their flagship store in the Luxury Wing of Lenox Square.]
Tory Burch added a Lenox location in addition to their Phipps store in 2015, while Sunglass Hut continues to operate a location in Phipps Plaza as well as two in Lenox Square. Both primary "main mall" locations of Starbucks remain "temporarily closed," while a satellite location within the Macy's at Lenox Square remains open.
Coach, Williams-Sonoma, Gap, and Chick-fil-A, among others, previously closed their Phipps Plaza locations in favor of remaining open at Lenox Square. Armani Exchange and Abercrombie & Fitch moved from Phipps to Lenox, while Kate Spade and Bally moved from Lenox to Phipps.
Are you surprised to hear that Gucci plans to open a second store in Buckhead? Have your shopping habits in Buckhead changed over the past year? Do you think Buckhead City would solve all the challenges Buckhead is currently dealing with?
Please share your thoughts below.
3 comments:
While not surprised I do wonder if this is just the first step in relocating entirely. I fear Phipps has lost the exclusivity, or whatever, that mad it such a nice place. With additions like Lego Land, loss of the Tavern and several other stores it just does not seem the same. Maybe this is just progress, but I see less and less reason to visit.
I'll be interested to see how this plays out in the long run. On one hand Gucci does do really well in Atlanta, but on the other hand stores like this don't typically have multiple locations in a city, especially this close together. I could see it being a precursor to closing at Phipps if they think the demographics are stronger at Lenox.
I think Gucci will do fine having a location in both malls. The Gucci in Phipps gets so much traffic and there's always a wait to get into the store, so a location over at Lenox could give the Phipps store some relief. Louis Vuitton has a presence in both malls too (The LV at Phipps is a store-within-a-store inside of Saks) and they both are doing well.
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