NYC Must-See Retail: The best of 2024
From a luxury fashion brand to a natural foods grocery giant, New York City has been abuzz with new store openings this year.
As the industry prepares to travel to Manhattan in January for the annual NRF Show, here’s a recap of some of the city’s new must-see stores.
•Balenciaga: And now for something completely different …. the luxury brand’s new, 9,795-sq.-ft. U.S. flagship is located in a landmark building constructed in 1908. The interior features the “most comprehensive example of the brand’s Raw Architecture concept,” according to the company. The store holds true to the concept, which is meant to be reminiscent of construction sites and abandoned spaces and is built using existing elements. Original lime-wash bricks, concrete masonry, cement panels, bare drywall, exposed plaster, stucco, steel and glass are all included in the space. (110 Greene St.)
•Dyson: The British brand, best known for its bagless vacuum cleaners, blade-less fans and and high-tech hairdryers, opened a sleek, ultra-modern outpost in SoHo. Designed to enable customers to get hands-on with Dyson technology, the store include styling stations to try the company’s latest beauty products and an interactive customization wall for its line of headphones. (155 Mercer St.)
•GU: The lower-priced, more trend-driven sister brand of Japanese apparel giant Uniqlo made its U.S. debut with a 10,225 sq. ft. two-level location in SoHo. The store features women’s and men’s clothing, along with shoes, bags and accessories. GU (pronounced as the letters “G” and “U” and derived from the Japanese word for “freedom”) features women’s and men’s clothing, shoes, bags and accessories. (578 Broadway)
•H&M: Multi-sensory fitting rooms are among the new features in H&M’s revamped flagship in the heart of Times Square. After nearly 25 years in operation, the store has been been given a complete redesign that features elevated aesthetics and materials, along with immersive experiences designed to showcase the brand’s fashion DNA.(151 West 42 St.)
•Hoka: The on-fire athletic footwear brand made its flagship debut with a 9,000-sq-ft. store on Fifth Avenue. Designed to reflect the brand’s origin in the French Alps (and complete with a rock wall), the outpost offers an immersive experience that includes digital foot-measuring services, product demos, dedicated programming and events. The lower level includes a gathering space for athletes. (579 Fifth Ave.)
•Leica Camera: A destination space that is part that is part retail store and part photo gallery, Leica Camera offering an immersive retail experience for customers to explore and purchase the renowned camera maker’s full range of products. The space includes a photo gallery with exhibitions showcasing the work of renowned photographers and emerging talent. There’s also a photo studio where photographers can test and experiment with Leica's technology, and a library boasting an extensive collection of photography book. (406 W. 13th St.)
•Serendipity3: One of New York City’s most iconic restaurants moved into Times Square for its second Big Apple location. Famous for its “Frrrozen Hot Chocolate” and other decadent desserts, the new Serendipity3 is a sight to see, with a bold and colorful design that brings the brand’s long-time Andy Warhol connection to life through reproductions of the artist’s signature pop art depicting Marilyn Monroe, the late Queen Elizabeth II and more across its walls. (157 W. 47th St.)
•Skims: The $4 billion shapewear brand co-founded by reality TV superstar and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian, has made its long-awaited brick-and-mortar debut in New York City. The 6,570-sq.-ft., four-level flagship is lcoated near Rockefeller Center, in a space that formerly housed Versace. (647 Fifth Avenue)
•Warby Parker: The eyewear brand has given its first permanent store — a pioneer of online brands entering brick-and-mortar — an art-filled makeover. Opened in 2013, the revamped location includes a permanent exhibition paying tribute to more than a dozen talented artists that Warby Parker has featured in its stores over the years. (121 Greene St.)
•Whole Foods Market Daily Shop: Designed for dense metropolitan markets, Whole Foods launched its first “quick-shop” smaller-store concept on the Upper East Side, with two more Big Apple locations in the works. The new format will range between 7,000 to 14,000 sq. ft., about a quarter to half the footprint of an average 40,000 sq. ft. Whole Foods store. (1175 Third Ave.)
