The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘A great opportunity’
Barneys at Saks joins lineup on Greenwich Avenue in CT town
GREENWICH — Amid the upheaval hitting the retail sector, a luxury icon remains in style on the town’s premier shopping thoroughfare.
The past week marked the opening of Barneys at Saks, a 14,000-square-foot store at 200 Greenwich Ave., with Saks offering men’s merchandise for the first time in the Greenwich market. The debut reinforces Saks’ longstanding presence on Greenwich Avenue and shows that even during the coronavirus crisis high-end retailers still believe in brick-and-mortar business.
“Our top clients always ask about men’s merchandise. This gave us a great opportunity to launch Barneys at Saks and introduce men’s in Greenwich at the same time,” Bo Kim, general manager of the four Greenwich Saks stores said in an interview this week at the new store.
“And if you look across the street (at the flagship Greenwich Saks store), we have ready-towear, we have beauty. Then across the street from that, we have jewelry,” Kim said. “Now we’re able to offer anything for men and anything for women.”
The new store is the second Barneys at Saks location. The first debuted Jan. 15 on the fifth floor of Saks’ flagship store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Saks secured the Barneys name through a licensing agreement reached after Barneys New York filed for bankruptcy in 2019.
Barneys at Saks is at 200 Greenwich Ave., succeeding The Collective, a specialty story featuring contemporary women’s merchandise that had operated since 2017.
“The marriage of these two high-end brands is an excellent fit,” said Marcia O’Kane, CEO and president of the Greenwich Chamber of Commerce. “It certainly speaks to the optimism of Saks about the near-term future of our local retail community.”
The first floor is a showcase for men’s merchandise, with most of the space allocated for shoe displays featuring Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Givenchy, New Balance, Off White, Prada, Saint Laurent, Salvatore Ferragamo, Tod’s, Ugg and Valentino.
“There’s something for everyone. The age range is very wide,” Kim said. “We have everything from a house slipper to a Balenciaga sneaker. We definitely cater to different clientele lifestyles.”
The men’s level also features accessories such as sunglasses, wallets, watches and other jewelry, as well as luggage and fragrances.
It is not carrying men’s clothing, but Saks officials do not rule out eventually expanding the selection.
“There’s always conversation,”
Kim said. “I don’t think it’s something that is off the table. Anything is possible.”
The second floor is dedicated to women’s merchandise, including clothing and jewelry, with a focus on contemporary collections.
Amenities include virtual shopping; same-day deliveries for local customers; appointments for in-store shopping before and after regular hours; and VIP styling, with private dressing suites that are prepared with personalized selections.
The store sports a bright and sleek décor with flourishes such as a mural on the first floor’s back wall that features Greenwich icons such as the World War I memorial obelisk and street clocks on Greenwich Avenue.
“We didn’t want to overwhelm the space,” Kim said. “We wanted to make it feel homey and welcoming to our clients.”
Among the store’s visitors this week was Lisa Malin, of Scarsdale, N.Y. She bought a doublebreasted wool camel coat made by Stella McCartney.
“I think the whole store is beautifully curated. It feels special when you walk in,” Malin said. “I like how you can see everything. In so many stores, everything is so crowded, and it’s hard to make your way through the racks. But the way this is displayed is really user-friendly. It draws you to the clothing.”
At the same time, customers are only steps from the other Greenwich Saks stores. A Saks jewelry store, The Vault, has operated next door since 2017. Its opening followed the 2016 debut of a Saks shoe shop, yards away at 20 E. Elm St.
Saks’ flagship Greenwich store stands across the street at 205 Greenwich Ave., which opened in 1996.
The past couple of years have seen major shifts in the high-end retailing segment in Connecticut.
Last year, Lord + Taylor, the country’s oldest department-store chain filed for bankruptcy and subsequently decided to close all of its locations. Those shutdowns include establishments in Stamford, Danbury, Trumbull and Farmington.
The previous year was highlighted by a landmark addition when the SoNo Collection mall opened in October 2019 at the junction of Interstate 95 and Route 7 in Norwalk. It is anchored by Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom department stores.
In addition to those newcomers, the family-owned Mitchells and Richards department stores have, respectively, operated for many years in Westport and Greenwich. Richards stands at 359 Greenwich Ave., a few blocks down the street from the Saks stores.
“Saks will compete with other high-end retailers already in town,” said Tom Torelli, managing partner for the Greenwichbased commercial real estate firm Allied Property Group. “But their presence and added options for consumers typically bring more consumers, thereby enlarging the pie that each retailer will get a piece of.”
The presence of Saks has also boosted real estate investment in the town.
In 2019, 200 Greenwich Ave. sold for $67 million, in one of the largest commercial property sales in Greenwich in recent years. Saks is operating on a long-term lease in the nearly 63,000-squarefoot property, which also houses space for other retailers and offices.
Luxury retailers such as Saks are anticipating that in an era of super-casual sartorial choices suited to working from home that they will still draw enough customers who take a longer view.
“This (pandemic) isn’t going to last forever,” Kim said. “If people see something they like, they might not wear it n the next couple of weeks, but I think they are saving it to wear down the line.”
At the same time, Saks has helped Greenwich Avenue maintain its status as one of the country’s top suburban retail destinations. While the coronavirus crisis has contributed to the departure in the past year of some notable tenants such as Brooks Brothers, the majority of Greenwich Avenue’s storefronts remain occupied.