H&M DISCARDS DOWNTOWN STORE
Analyst: Primark took customers
Amid a turnaround in Downtown Crossing, one longtime retailer has pulled out, closing its store after 15 years in the shopping district.
Sweden’s Hennes & Mauritz AB on Sunday closed its 35,000-squarefoot fast-fashion H&M store that opened in September 2001 at 350 Washington St.
In a statement, H&M said it’s “always looking for the best locations for our brand, and store closings are a natural occurrence as we continue to grow in the U.S., especially in relation to stores within close proximity to each other.”
H&M referred to its Newbury Street store that debuted in 2006 and has since been expanded by 50 percent to 36,000 square feet, and its 17,000-squarefoot Cambridge store that opened in 2004.
But Ani Collum, partner at Norwell consulting firm Retail Concepts, questioned H&M’s statement, noting shopping pattern differences between Downtown Crossing consumers and those of Newbury Street, more than a mile away. “The competition with Primark probably put some pressure on (H&M),” she said, referring to last September’s opening of Irish value fashion chain Primark’s first U.S. store in Downtown Crossing. H&M also shared its building with off-price retailers Marshalls and T.J. Maxx.
“There’s a lot of discounters in general,” Collum said. “It was probably a combination of the competition, and fact that the footprint was so large, there would be a reinvestment needed — at least in terms of the buildout — that maybe they didn’t think was worthwhile if the market share was being lost to Primark.”
And with the recent and coming improvements in Downtown Crossing in terms of new residential properties and restaurants, Collum said, “I think the writing on the wall was that their rent would probably increase. They probably looked at the (return on investment) and felt like it maybe wasn’t worth it.”
Building owner Invesco Real Estate Advisors and broker CBRE/New England declined comment.
Collum said she doubts they would have trouble filling the space. “It’s a very hot area that a lot of people are talking about,” she said. “The rents are probably still below-market, so you can probably get some competitive pricing there, and there’s a big marketing push from the city to keep this area growing.”
Rosemarie Sansone, president of the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District, said many retailers are looking at empty Downtown Crossing spaces and “really want to make an impact.”
“There’s a lot of movement, and there’s a lot of deals coming together,” said Sansone, who would not cite specifics. “I’ve never had more calls of people interested in looking at retail space in the neighborhood than I have over the last six months..”