By Katie Davis T he retail rumor mill has Lululemon in advanced talks for a one-year lease for a new store to be opened on Man- hattan’s Fifth Avenue. This comes as welcoming news as many retailers are opting to shutter brick-and- mortar locations and areas like Midtown Manhattan suffering recently from store vacancies as merchants are unwilling to pay the higher rent, pushing space availability rates in the area from 32.8 percent to 17.4 percent as landlords in Man- hattan overestimating retail tenants’ willingness to pay premium prices. On Fifth Avenue from 49th and 59th streets it is said to be the world’s most expensive shopping corridor. However, it is also said to also have more foot traffic than anywhere else and just a block north is where Lululemon is said to be looking at taking 8,000 square feet of retail space that was vacated in March by Sephora, which has moved to another location on the east side of Fifth Avenue.
Lululemon is definitely betting that the large volume of foot traffic will turn into increased sales wfor the retailer.
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MAY 2017 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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