Bloomingdale’s to debut small store concept

Bloomingdale’s is going to try on a smaller size. 

The Macy’s-owned upscale department store company will open a new format called “Bloomies,” which has long been shoppers’ nickname for the retailer, at the Mosaic District lifestyle center in Fairfax, Va., reported Women’s Wear Daily. The 22,000-sq.-ft. store, expected to open in fall 2021, is a fraction of the size of Bloomingdale’s full-line locations, which typically range from 150,000 sq. ft. to 250,000 sq. ft.

The new store concept will be a “smaller, highly edited and service-driven location,” the report said, citing Bloomingdale’s sources. If the prototype is successful, additional Bloomie’s could be built. 

“The idea is to provide fill-in locations in cities and suburbs that support full-line Bloomingdale’s department stores, and to provide consumers with an alternative destination to shop, make returns or pick up packages ordered online,” the report stated.

Bloomingdale’s has previously opened several smaller-sized stores, including one in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood, but none as small as the new concept. The SoHo store is about 80,000 sq. ft.