Lenox Square/Phipps Plaza

[romania]

Doubt Black Label is going to open any new boutiques.

Zara is also opening at Lenox. Looks like 2 of the stores for the expansion have signed.

Zara is trendy ....we live in Bucharest (Romania) and there is one here ....women's store with men's next door. It is ultra-cool and popular. Most people think Bucharest and think poor, but there is money here and we have all these names I read here.... Miss Sixty and all those are everywhere here. BTW, from SC, so ATL was our 2nd home and Lenox was always a 1st choice for a day in the city.

[atlantakid25]

Yeah i think the new stores will give lenox a different out look i wish phipps and lenox was combined that would be awesome it would kinda be like the galleria in houston

[VistaLakes01]

You are always welcomed here metrowester! Phipps Plaza is in fact owned by Simon and is one of it's Flagship properties, the way the Bal Harbour Shops are to Miami. The A list is too long to go into but just visit:phippsplaza.com and you will see how well the mall is doing. They spent $125 million on a redue of the mall including all the marbel flooring imported from Italy. We as Atlantan's were hoping that Saks would take the Parisian space and Barney's New York would take the Saks spot, since Barney's said they were very interested in having an Atlanta presence, but I believe they want a stand alone location on Peachtree verses being in a mall, even upscale at that. So we will see how the Belk senerio plays out. Phipps is around 95% leased by the way.

Thanks! I thought I had read in a previous post that there was a large vacancy in Phipps, that's why I was wondering what was up, but I guess I misread the post.

[Manolos]

Manolos, you are correct on the losses with one exception. Jeffery Kazinski who is from Atlanta owns the famous Jeffery New York Boutique, so he also owned Jil Sander here in Atlanta, which did very well. He then decided to scoop up Jeffery Atlanta, starting at the entrance to Saks, and scooped up his Jil Sander Boutique and all the way down to his Bob Ellis Boutique and made the entire area Jeffery Atlanta, while still carying the Jil Sander label, and adding Prada, YSL, Dior and others. It's like a mini specialty retailer out on the mall, it covers a large amount of mall space. Phipps is pretty locked in, with only three spaces on level two of the Parisian wing vacant. So with Belk I don't know who would want to fill that space. GAP tried and failed horribly. And also as of note after these losses took place, Simon replaced Phipp's Director of Marketing and sent her to none other than Southpark. I don't have alot of info on their new Marketing Director however.

I do know that Jeffrey Kalinsky owned the Jil Sander Boutique and it was swept up; however, if i remember correctly, among his reasons to create a large Jeffrey retailer to carry a myriad of brands was to downscale the Jil Sander stock as it was no longer as profitable as it had been in the past. He still carries a bit of Jil Sander, though.

[Temeteron]

Just went to the Zara in Thessaloniki, Greece the other day....and realized I have been to Zara before, at the Aventura Mall in Miami a few years ago......it is nice clothing at a low price. But the quality isn't what most people might expect....

[SAV]

Atlanta should get a Marc Jacobs. Savannah has one

[Kenneth Disraili-Jean]

Ok, so we have Sony Style and Miss Sixty/Energie that have just opened. True Regilion and Deisel are under construction, and Calvin Clein's white label, Ralph Lauren, and ZARA are opening up boutiques. And the according to Marintman's findings Lush, and Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chich are going to open up boutiques. I have to admit I'm not familiar with the Shabby Chick and I hope when Manolos is around he can shed some light on what Shabby Chic is.

Edited July 9, 2007 by kennethdisraili

[Manolos]

Lush is an British soap store (but they make other products for like skin care, etc.) Ive only been in a Lush store a couple of times, so I don't know that much about it, but I do know quite a few people like their products.

Don't realy know anything about Shabby Chic, but from the website it looks like its a California home decor store.

Moreover, Marc Jacobs opens his Marc by Marc Jacobs stores in specific locations (Soho and SF) and then locations where he owns vacation homes (Savannah and Pronvincetown, but these two are seasonal stores and very small size). His main stores are his namesake label Marc Jacobs stores which I don't think have any real plans for expansion.

[atlrvr]

The wife loves Lush....it seems pricey to me for what it is (all sorts of natural/organic/enviromentally friendly) bath products, but I guess she thinks they are

Shabby Chic is the home decor equivalent of Heroin Shiek (think Kate Moss in the 90s)...weathered, worn, plain and folksy for the sake of style

[Kenneth Disraili-Jean]

I guess as far as Shabby Chic, that is what the 20 and 30 somethings must be into because the Assistant Director of Leasing for Simon Properties South said they were trying to bring in upscale that would cater to this age group, and she said that she catered Diesel for over a year before convincing the Itailian fashion house that this is what Atlanta caters too and in a "mall" enviroment because she noted that most Diesel Boutiques are not in malls. I have heard of Lush and I'm sure my girlfriend like so many others will be waiting for the doors of Lenox to open this fall when all these new boutiques come online.

[charlotte_bon_vivant]

Sorry for the delayed reply, M. I've been out of town. To answer your question I was born in Paris, but raised mainly in Atlanta and L.A. thanks to my parents divorce. Right now, I mainly split my time between Charlotte and L.A. But I consider myself more of a "citizen of the world".

As for the second part, don't get me started on "me too" fashion. L.A. is great for making money, but not so much for truly changing the face of fashion. The corporitization of fashion is one of my biggest pet peeves. It stifles creativity and produces something slightly better looking than the other mass produced merchandise. I'm not anti-mass merchandise, but I don't pretend it's more than it is either. This is terribly OT. If you'd like, we can move the discussion over to TFS or a similar (and more appropriate) forum.

Lush has been confirmed for a couple of years now. The American partner was looking for the perfect location.

[JerseyBoy]

Sounds like some exciting new stores are coming to the Lenox/Phipps area! I'm going to have to come down again to Atlanta real soon.

[Manolos]

Sorry for the delayed reply, M. I've been out of town. To answer your question I was born in Paris, but raised mainly in Atlanta and L.A. thanks to my parents divorce. Right now, I mainly split my time between Charlotte and L.A. But I consider myself more of a "citizen of the world".

As for the second part, don't get me started on "me too" fashion. L.A. is great for making money, but not so much for truly changing the face of fashion. The corporitization of fashion is one of my biggest pet peeves. It stifles creativity and produces something slightly better looking than the other mass produced merchandise. I'm not anti-mass merchandise, but I don't pretend it's more than it is either. This is terribly OT. If you'd like, we can move the discussion over to TFS or a similar (and more appropriate) forum.

Lush has been confirmed for a couple of years now. The American partner was looking for the perfect location.

Its all cool. I definitely agree, I don't like most of those brands that I threw out there. LA has produced a number of strong designers but many of their most well-known designers fit into your description right there. But, even though I dislike those brands (Juicy in particular, hate hate hate) I don't think anyone can say LA isnt a fashion power house (as they definitely have some of the power contemporary brands and a huge influence on contemporary fashion). Yes, its not haute couture or known for the eccentric fashion shows, but haute couture fashion is quickly becoming outdated and its these mass produced, skimpy, designer "trash" clothing that are quickly becoming more popular

Edited July 11, 2007 by Manolos

[Kenneth Disraili-Jean]

Sounds like some exciting new stores are coming to the Lenox/Phipps area! I'm going to have to come down again to Atlanta real soon.

Please do DaAchiever we welcome you and on that note, I'm going to have to see Southpark and Charlotte. I have never been to Charlotte before, the only thing that got Charlotte on my radar was when it started buying up all of our banks, and as I think I told you before Atlantan's jokingly call Charlotte, Atlanta's evil twin sister lol!!!!

[JerseyBoy]

Yes, Charlotte is gaining some ground on Atlanta but we're a far way off from becoming as big as you are. But, to get back on topic does anyone have any spy-photos of the renovation at Lenox? (I know it's hard to take photos in places such as this but there are always those one or two people that do.)

[Lady Celeste]

...and as I think I told you before Atlantan's jokingly call Charlotte, Atlanta's evil twin sister lol!!!!

In my 34 years as an Atlantan, I have NEVER heard anyone here (either first hand or second party) refer to Charlotte in such a manner (either jokingly or otherwise).

Edited July 11, 2007 by Lady Celeste

[Kenneth Disraili-Jean]

Well getting back OT, I think all the new boutiques confirmed so far are going to be a great addition to Lenox Square, and I like others look forward to hearing even more news about the final boutique lineup that will comprise the massive and wonderful mall.

Edited July 12, 2007 by kennethdisraili

[VistaLakes01]

Um, not sure where you are from, but yes, many fashion forward people consider LA a HIGHLY influential city in fashion. Perhaps not haute couture, but definitely contemporary wear that is growing more and more popular around the country. Whether that be denim like True Religion, Citizens, Sevens, casual wear like Juicy Couture, Ella Moss, or more formal like Max Azria, Uriel Saenz, Bijan, Nanette Lepore, Charles David, St. John.

Moreover, LA is probably the most influential in regards to contemporary fashion in the US, contributing to the international popularity of UGGs, velour, John Deere, Von Dutch etc. Kitson and Fred Segal remain as two of the most famous clothing boutiques.

Dozens of international designers choose to open their first American boutiques in LA. What better exposure than celebrities and red carpet events?

Moreover, yes, many retail rankings are done by "square footage of current retail space." None of these rankings ever claim these cities are "fashion centers" of the US. Otherwise, Phoenix would be at the top of this list.

Let's face it , LA is probably the MOST influencial city in the world for fashion. Hello, the movies and television and the celebriities that wear them would be the largest influence for the US heartland as well as probably a large portion of the globe. That only makes sense. Plus celebrities have the cash and their "image" and it's what the public expects of them. Sure people in the cosmopolitan cities in the world know what's up in fasshion, but LA lets everyone in BFE know wuzzup!

[Martinman]

A couple of pics from when Lenox was a " lifestyle center" well before the term existed.

[spfld751]

I agree; I would shop at Bergdorf's over a suburban Neiman Marcus; Bergdorf's is huge; I don't know the exact sf of it, but there is a massive women's store and a smaller men's store across the street. The Neiman Marcus corporate website has a list of all of the NM/Bergdorf stores, their opening dates and the square footage of each.

Perhaps it's just my impression but Bergdorf's seems even more upscale than Neiman Marcus, if that's possible- at least a lot more upscale than the one in downtown Dallas, which seemed kind of like a 1950's version of a moderately upscale department store (not as chi-chi as the one at Lenox).

Guys....i am from the northeast and i would take Bergdorf's and Barney's New York over Neiman's any day of the week.I also worked for Neiman's Atlanta for 8 years and i have yet to see why they rank Neiman Marcus so high compared to department stores in New York.It can't be based on just selection.

[atlantakid25]

we are talking about lenox not whats in NYC ok we all know NYC is th king when it comes to shopping more people shop at neimans than barneys

[Manolos]

Um, I'm not sure what Neimans you are going to. Neimans owns Bergdorf. Bergdorf is essentially Neimans' only outpost in NYC. Most of the top quality Neimans carry almost the same goods as Bergdorf.

Barneys is different from Neimans. While some things overlap, they cater to a different fashion taste.

[spfld751]

we are talking about lenox not whats in NYC ok we all know NYC is th king when it comes to shopping more people shop at neimans than barneys

That doesn't make it better.

[spfld751]

Um, I'm not sure what Neimans you are going to. Neimans owns Bergdorf. Bergdorf is essentially Neimans' only outpost in NYC. Most of the top quality Neimans carry almost the same goods as Bergdorf.

Barneys is different from Neimans. While some things overlap, they cater to a different fashion taste.[/quote

Edited July 18, 2007 by spfld751

[spfld751]

OMG!!!!!!!, That is awesome news to hear, and a two level boutique, very incredible. And of course Ralph Lauren I'm sure will have a larger selection of his signature "Purple Label" line. Have you heard of any other retailers going in the new wing?

I've been waiting for this...big Purple Label fan here..i love it