North Face opens global flagship store on Fifth Avenue
The great outdoors arrived on Fifth Avenue today. At least that’s what North Face is shooting for with its new global flagship store in the old Manufacturers Trust Company building, a New York City landmark of modernist architecture.
Though the canyons outside the expansive windows on the second floor of store are formed by skyscrapers and not rock bluffs, North Face’s VP of direct-to-consumer retail Erik Searles finds the airy atmosphere a fitting backdrop for the high-end camping and climbing gear being merchandised there.
“This is our biggest full-price brick-and-mortar store outside of Chicago and Anchorage, and it is meant to showcase the North Face brand. We expect people to walk into the store and experience how they will engage with North Face in the outdoors,” said Searles during a pre-opening tour he gave to Chain Store Age.
Today is a soft opening for the 20,000-sq.-ft. store. A grand opening is planned for Oct. 26.
Passersby on busy Fifth Avenue figure to be engaged before crossing the threshold. The first thing one sees in the front window when approaching the shop from the north are embroiderers on sewing machines weaving intricate designs into pricey down jackets.
“We have 20 designs we’ve created that can be sewn into the garment without compromising its functionality. We want people to be able to customize the product, to go a little wild with it,” Searles said.
North Face will debut its new high-performance Summit Series at the store, and intends to use the high-street New York platform to debut other new products as they emerge.
While North Face is not allowed to make any changes to walls or floors at 510 Fifth because of its landmark status, it’s capitalizing on the situation to treat the space like a natural outdoor setting and use it to display its gear as it would in the wild. When finished, the second floor will feature a “base camp” patterned after the kind set up by top climbers and a “campsite” where visitors can relax with a cup of coffee and access Wi-Fi. Fitting rooms sit mid-floor and are constructed of pipe and the same fabric used in North Face tents.
“You’ll come up the escalator and you’ll feel you’re in the outdoors,” Searles said.
North Face signed an 8-year sub-lease for the space with Joe Fresh, the previous tenant. Canadian grocer Loblaw’s, the owner of the apparel brand, announced last year it would close 52 Joe Fresh locations.
Connect with me on LinkedIn | Follow me on Twitter