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New York City - America’s retail barometer
Back in the US of A, Karl McKeever, brand director of visual merchandising consultancy Visual Thinking, reviews the experience in store for anyone visiting the city considered by many to represent the pinnacle of American retailing: New York.
For many people, New York City tops the list of favourite places for a weekend break. But for the retail professional, NYC or Manhattan is an essential business destination (along with Tokyo and London) to witness the latest retail trends - both real and perceived.
As the most densely populated county in the USA, Manhattan is a true cultural melting pot with every race, creed, profession and social demographic crammed into a meagre 22 square miles of hard American rock. And New York is a city where retailing doesn't come cheap. With some of the most expensive retail real estate on the planet concentrated between Manhattan's mighty rivers, if a store concept doesn't succeed here, there's a fair chance it is doomed to fail in lesser retail destinations.
It is for this reason that brands see New York as the ultimate 'test bed' for their ideas. Here, retailers learn very quickly about the success of their concepts, with decisions on whether to roll-out or abandon their thinking often made by taking into account what happens in NYC.
To appreciate the extent of change within a city, you have to get to know it well. The guidebooks will get you started, and hotel maps can give you the confidence to call a cab, but it's only when you start walking the streets that you literally find your feet locally.
Visiting on a regular basis, with time spent working for various clients, I know NYC better than many UK cities. And with changes both large and small happening on a daily basis, an infrequent visitor will find themselves quickly out of date with what's going on.
Like many European cities, recent months have seen New York facing up to the effects of the credit crunch. One consequence of this has seen some high-profile brands vacating their prestigious flagship properties, as retailers have sought to consolidate their portfolios, down-size and reduce costs - cutting the 'froth' from their store estates.
Some brands have reduced their overall retail presence, with fewer branches now of some chains such as Gap, Banana Republic, Pottery Barn and others, compared to the same time 12 months ago. Some may argue this is no bad thing, providing there's an opportunity for innovative new brands to take up the newly vacant sites, ultimately extending the choice of stores over time.
Even the best locations such as premium addresses in 5th Avenue have seen the removers stop by, with some big names packing up shop completely. However, new names such as Juicy Couture, have moved in quickly to fill the space, with headline-grabbing store concepts and VM schemes filling the unattractive voids left behind.
One recent and impressive new store, Armani 5th Avenue, has taken over the former space left by the short-lived Hugo Boss flagship. This new shop has an incredible exterior light show, adding a mesmerising textured layer to the outside of the building, which draws many onlookers, with noticeably fewer people actually making it inside!
These changes have hit some city locations worse than others. Typically, the areas commanding the highest footfall have survived the downturn well, but many secondary locations have seen rise to more vacant properties and shop leases taking longer to reassign.
However, even in the most badly affected areas, New York has not suffered the same 'gap tooth' effect that is now blighting many UK towns and cities, with hundreds of vacant retail properties reducing the quality and attractiveness of our own retail high-streets. NYC may be a little down, but it is certainly not out.
Encouragingly, there's now evidence of store development work in progress again, with new retailers and concepts coming to town. This Autumn will see the first Hollister store open in Manhattan, taking over the former Pottery Barn store in Soho. Expect a little California sun to shine on this part of the street by October.
And despite the ever present economic gloom and chilly April showers, Soho also played host to the American launch of Topshop - Sir Philip Green's first retail foray into the US clothing market. Whilst the store makes an impressive addition to the street, its presence here is yet another example of how trade in this part of NYC is changing.
Soho used to be ultra 'hip', which was its defining USP. The run-down premises, uneven streets and off-beat location kept the tourists out, and reserved the area for those strictly 'in the know'. It was the place for independent designers who occupied the cheap downtown premises, and for major brands to launch their diffusion collections in quirky 'non corporate' properties. Early pioneers to the scene being the likes of Ralph Lauren and Armani Exchange - now a local grandee with over 15 years of trading in this neighbourhood.
One late fashion label to the Soho party was Prada, although their flagship brand store (come art gallery / museum space) remains one of the most dramatic openings in recent years with its incredible retail design and VM delivery.
Today however, the Soho area seems to be morphing into a giant outdoor shopping centre. Yes, the designer brands are still here, but increasingly the area is full of familiar and predictable retail chains, simply keen to cash in on the area's formerly 'uber trendy' fashion credentials. So, where once there was high-end catwalk fashion, now there are all kinds of everyday clothing brands (think J Crew, Club Monaco, French Connection etc) and even homeware stores, sports brands and electronic retailers too.
There's no question that the area is still good, but it's not as exciting and unpredictable as it used to be. For me, it's the same thing that has been happening to London's King's Road for many years. The same gradual change that has taken the area from being predominantly occupied by specialist, niche retailers, has been replaced by mainstream, mass brands. Overall, Soho now offers fewer 'edgy' retail experiences in favour of corporate brands and grown-up ideas.
However, if in New York's Soho, be sure to visit the following stores for strong brand propositions, great store concepts and successful retail delivery - my personal 'best of the best': Design Within Reach (two stores - one for furniture and one for accessories), Farrow & Ball, Agatha Ruiz del la Prada, Prada, Lucky Brand Jeans and Armani Home. Others worth seeing for market intelligence include: Adidas Originals (new store concept), Tommy Hilfiger, Room and Board and American Apparel.
Of course, this Soho evolution just means that the 'edgier' brands move on to find new ground. And in NYC, this is evident in Bleeker Street and its surrounding areas, including the unglamorous, but gauche, Meat Packing District. In recent years, designers such as Marc Jacobs, Reiss, Mulberry, Stella McCartney and others have chosen these areas in preference to having pricier Madison Avenue addresses. This is where New Yorkers go at the weekends, avoiding the crazy mid-town crush.
Visit Anthropologie in Rockefeller Plaza for 'shabby chic' fashion and outstanding VM and for contemporary home style, try West Elm on 6th Avenue. But also try to visit the Upper East side for the independent boutiques, craft stores and eateries for a much more relaxing part of the city.
History shows New York to be a competitive survivor, but like all good businesses, here retailers have to be fit, agile, and in peak performance to stand a chance. In my view, this city sets a retail barometer with a truly invigorating round-the-clock effect, but we should expect change, and much more of it. For some businesses, it means moving sites, closing stores or reducing their profiles, but there's also plenty of innovation and reinvention going on, with the excitement of new brands and concept developments taking place to look forward to, both now and in the future.