Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Doing it for the boys



While India is still grappling with shortage of space for luxury retail, Hermès has gone ahead and opened its second store in New York, this time targetting the men on Wall Street. So while the people who live in the financial district of Manhattan do not have a major supermarket to shop in, they can easily slip into the new Hermès store across the New York stock exchange to get a $47,000 limited edition alligator briefcase or a $4,700 custom made leather dressage saddle. And article in the New York Times says:

The traditional arrangement of merchandise has been reconfigured to bring men’s clothes and accessories to the front of the store and to the attention of potential male shoppers. The silk twill scarves and signature handbags for women that are usually right inside the door have been edged aside by colorful rows of neckties.

"We sense a lot of potential with that clientele and we want to be able to serve them quickly with shirts, ties, suits and shoes," said Robert B Chavez, the president and chief executive of Hermès USA.

Hermès Wall Street is the first of several high-end retailers coming to the neighbourhood. They include Thomas Pink, which opened within the last month, as well as Tiffany & Company and the Italian menswear companies Canali and Brioni, which are scheduled to open in the next year.

Image courtesy: nytimes.com

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