Dive Brief:
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After more than two decades on Madison Avenue in Manhattan, Crate & Barrel says it will close its flagship store in that location, near Bloomingdale’s.
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The mid-price retailer, facing rising rents and a spot increasingly out of place amid burgeoning luxury stores, negotiated an early end of its lease.
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The retailer also operates a store in the Soho neighborhood, and said it won’t relocate its upper Manhattan store.
Dive Insight:
Look for the vast space used by Crate & Barrel on Madison Avenue to be divided up to accommodate luxury stores, which are increasingly entrenched on Madison Avenue in New York. The home goods and furniture retailer was among the first to bring affordable European design to Americans, and it’s struggled somewhat in recent years.
But this move is more about skyrocketing rents in New York than the retailer's fortunes. Crate & Barrel is taking important steps to improve, like applying nimble metrics from in stores to boost its e-commerce and making bold moves to establish its brands via social media.
