Nine West Group Inc. is testing a new store concept in Manhattan.
The country's largest maker of women's dress shoes picked the
downtown insurance district as the first place in the city to open a
Bannister Shoe Warehouse.
This outlet-style store is stocked with an array of the company's
brands, including Nine West, Easy Spirit, Bandolino and Enzo Angiolini.
The shoes are bargain-priced at around $15 to $40 a pair to move fast.
Nine West rented 11,200 square feet of ground-level and basement
space at 80 Nassau St., between Fulton and John streets. Asking retail
rents in the area are around $100 a square foot.
The initial lease runs for just nine months. If the warehouse meets
with a favorable reception, Nine West can exercise a 10-year renewal
option and stay put. If New Yorkers don't warm to the concept, Nine West
won't be stuck in a money-losing situation.
Many building owners refuse to do deals of this sort because they
want to lock in long-term commitments from tenants at the outset, says Candice Dobbs, the
president of brokerage firm
Dobbs Associates Inc. She negotiated the 80 Nassau lease on Nine
West's behalf with building owner Time Equities Inc.
To find a landlord willing to accept Nine West's terms, she sought
out storefronts that had been vacant for a long time, so their owners
would feel they had nothing to lose by taking on a short-term tenant.
Though the Bannister site has been empty for a couple years, it's a
good location for the new store because of heavy foot traffic on Nassau
Street and the presence of other discounters.
Nine West is shooting for a late June opening for the outlet. In the
meantime, it is looking for Manhattan sites for one or two more of the
warehouses.
