New York City has a PR problem. The media portrays the city as overrun with crime and with policing thin on the ground. Complicating an already complicated picture is the influx of illegal immigrants.
A recent poll by Siena College tells the tale. Some 70% of New York City residents believe crime is a serious problem in their community versus 39% of those who live in the suburbs and 54% who live upstate. And an equal number of city residents are concerned they might be a victim of crime with 57% expressing fear for their personal or family’s safety in public places, including stores.
It’s put a chill on people’s likelihood to visit the city. The Conference Board just released a report, “New York City: Rebuilding a Future-Focused Economy,” and found that in 2022, visits to NYC were 15% below 2019 levels, with the sharpest drop (30%) among international visitors. Domestic visits were down 10%.
While it predicts visits will improve in 2023, reaching about 63.3 million from 66.6 million in 2019, it won’t be until 2024 that NYC fully recovers.
Set against this landscape, New York City is ready to welcome over 230,000 guests and 70+ fashion brands to this fall’s New York Fashion Week, running from Friday, September 8 through Wednesday, September 13. NYFW is one of only four cities to host major biannual fashion week celebrations, including Milan, London and Paris.
And it’s not just the fashion industry that benefits from the exposure. Fashion United reports that the spring and fall fashion extravaganza contributes over $900 million to the city’s economy.
America’s Largest ‘Virtual’ Luxury Mall
New York City’s Fifth Avenue corridor, bounded by 46th and 61st Street on Fifth and from Madison to 6th Street on 57th Street, is rolling out the red carpet to welcome NYFW guests. It is arguably America’s largest virtual outdoor luxury mall, with anchors Bergdorf Goodman to the north and Saks Fifth Avenue to the south and a slew of luxury brand flagships in between.
But it’s not just luxury brands that play on this street. Zara, Uniqlo, Victoria’s Secret, Sunglass Hut, Abercrombie & Fitch, Aldo, Lego and Banana Republic also make it their home.
Fifth Avenue merchants have been fighting against the onslaught of online shopping for years, but it went into overdrive with the pandemic when visits to the area tanked. But over the past two-to-three years, its merchants have been refurbishing their stores, polishing their windows and adding experiences to make a visit something to remember, not just when opening the closet.
These retailers are at the vanguard of the experiential retail trend.“The stakes for success are higher here than just about anywhere in the world,” Fifth Avenue Association president Marie Boster shared with me.
“Companies make critical investments to be here, so they are innovating and doing very exciting and compelling things in retail to make it about more than just shopping,” she continued.
She points to the six-story Nike
The brand-new, made-over Tiffany store is sure to attract many NYFW guests. Besides all the wonderful products to be tempted by, it includes exhibition space on each of its newly expanded ten floors. For example, Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany manuscript is on display, as well as some 40 original artworks. The building is capped by a rooftop garden.
“Every floor is extraordinary,” Boster added. “It is the largest store dedicated to a single LVMH brand in their portfolio.” That’s saying something since the Louis Vuitton store up the street is no shrinking violet.
“When people step onto Fifth Avenue, we want it to feel a little different. They may not be able to put their finger on it, but we want them to feel it,” she declared, adding that its security team keeps the streets clean and guests safe.
On The Move
Different is what it will be for NYFW guests. There are new Bond 9, Tag Heuer and Abercrombie & Fitch stores and Burberry has moved to a temporary location while its flagship is renovated. Coming soon are Citizen Watch and Swarovski stores, and early next year, Chanel High Jewelry and Harry Winston will open.
Demand for prime real estate on Upper Fifth Avenue is high, and availability is at its lowest historic level since 2016, according to real estate advisory firm JLL
“There’s been a huge investment in the Fifth Avenue area that started before the pandemic and continues today,” shared Richard Hodos, JLL’s vice chairman, retail brokerage, who has specialized in NYC retail real estate since the early 1990s.
“There’s a lot of newness coming because the area is the ‘Main and Main’ of New York City.” He added that prime real estate in the area has rebounded quicker than anyone predicted and the benefits will pay off for years to come.
“Billions of dollars are being invested here, so five years from now, you won’t know the place,” he promised.
Halo Effect
In closing, Fifth Avenue Association’s Boster added that when new stores open, all the other retailers in the area benefit.
“When stores make investments, it has a halo effect that gives more people a reason to come to frequent all the stores,” she said. “When Tiffany reopened and brought their scaffolding down, the Gucci store in the same block got more foot traffic to their store.”
Year-to-date Placer.ai reports the Fifth Avenue Association’s region is seeing a mid-teens increase in foot traffic over 2022 levels. But it is still running around 20% below 2019 levels.
Yet Boster and her association’s members expect the area’s newness will draw more people to visit and if all goes to plan, allow the Fifth Avenue area to exceed The Conference Board’s 2024 visitor recovery prediction.
