Fifth Avenue Store Closings

While many brands rush to open new stores in New York before the holiday season, several new closings have also been announced. Sean John announced it will close its New York flagship at the end of 2010, reports Women’s Wear Daily.

Located at 475 Fifth Avenue, the 3500-square-foot flagship opened in 2004 and is the brand’s only freestanding retail unit.

A spokesman for Sean John confirmed the store will shutter on December 30 and cited inadequate selling space for the closure, reports WWD. The company is said to be looking new retail spaces in both New York and Los Angeles.

Another Fifth Avenue retailer, the NBA Store also announced its closing, expected in February 2011. The location opened in 1998.  “It does not make economic sense for us to remain in the current location given the increased rent,” Linda Choong, senior vp, global retail development at NBA, told WWD. “We are actively pursuing a new location in New York City. We are also considering a temporary store location during the build-out process.”

The building, at 666 Fifth Avenue and 52nd Street, has 85,000 square feet of retail space. Former retail tenants Brooks Brothers and Hickey Freeman closed their stores at the location in 2009. Both spaces have already lined up new retailers, including Uniqlo taking over Brooks Brothers’ 90,000-square-foot space, while a Hollister Epic flagship is slated to open in the former Hickey Freeman space, according to WWD.