Stores Take Flight From Fifth Avenue in Manhattan

The New York Times ^ | April 4, 2017 | Rachel Abrams

[GuavaCheesePuff]

Bergdorf Goodman. Tiffany & Company. Louis Vuitton. Fifth Avenue in Manhattan is to shopping what Broadway is to theater, defined by the marquee names that for decades have occupied some of New York City’s most prized real estate.

But lately, the avenue’s glittery window displays have been changing more quickly, as retailers have streamed in and out. Tourism has slowed while online shopping has sped up, making it harder for companies to justify the cavernous spaces and sky-high rents along the shopping strip.

[Robert A Cook PE]

How many more sentences will the writers need before they begin blaming this loss on Trump Tower, and the terror/hate/right-wingnuts/homophobia of the republicans in Trump Tower?

[Newbomb Turk]

I blame Desnudes, and the 6 foot tickle me Elmo.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

I would blame the rents on retail space on 5th Avenue and it is also occurring on Madison Avenue. The rent’s there must be just astronomical.

[BookmanTheJanitor]

Tourism has slowed

In DeBlasio's urine-soaked New York? Nah, that can't be possible.

[Slyfox]

And for the first time since the recession, New York City is expecting a drop in international tourism, citing President Trump’s recent travel ban and protectionist rhetoric.

So, most of their customers were from the Middle East? Yeah right.

[HiTech RedNeck]

And the surge in Internet commerce. Shopping in person is out. Shopping from your Apple tablet is in.

[magna carta]

BINGO many of our cities smell like urine as American homeless populations rise and IA’s stream in collecting welfare and jobs

[TBP]

Comrade DeBloodio must be ousted before there is nothing left of a great city.

https://nicolemalliotakis.com/

[proudpapa]

Amazon is killing the world of commercial real estate. We need a 5% National Sales Tax on all online purchases to protect brick & mortar stores.

[firebrand]

See, New York Times? Businesses have to declare bankruptcy sometimes. You just mentioned it without condemning the business owners as sleazy and crooked. Better get those copyeditors back—you’re becoming inconsistent.

[sphinx]

Mr. Cusick acknowledged that the turnover in the past two years or so has been higher than what he has seen in the past decade. But, he said, those spaces are not staying empty. “There are stores moving in,” he said. “In six months to nine months, if you walk up and down the corridor the same way you might today, you won’t see as many closed stores.”

Well, that's fair ... and I'm glad to see someone put a timeframe on the question. I'll look forward to an update in six to nine months. How many empty store windows will there be by Christmas? I'm going to guess that there'll be more than there are today, but time will tell.

[GailA]

For every online Amazon purchase I make I pay 9.25% state sales tax. Doesn’t stop me from shopping Amazon, don’t have to drive 2 hrs round trip, if it’d wrong easy to return UPS RETURN IS FREE, 2 MILES AWAY, they carry a few shoes in my size, I don’t have to go to a NO GUN ZONE CRIME INFESTED ZONE WITH VERY LIMITED HANDICAPPED PARKING. And products are usually cheaper, plus I get reviews. All our malls carry are Street Walker Ethnic clothes for 20 yr old’s, very little for 77 yr old females.

Just ordered a new keyboard for my laptop, you’d have to pay a IT professional to buy, mark up + time. Hubby now retired taught computers/electronics/math and can change it out easy. I can order filters for the fridge too, which are expensive if you can find them in a retail store.

[GailA]

I wouldn’t shop downtown Memphis, NO GUN ZONE, high crime, urine smell, bums, druggies, criminals. To many muzzies to.

[mewzilla]

Retail has 2 problems: first is government seeing it as a cash cow, and the second is the sector in general is unwiiling/unable to find ways to compete.

[mewzilla]

Cusick is also claiming that certain unspecified problems “have evaporated.” Uh huh. That guy puts me mind of Baghdad Bob.

[magna carta]

Was in downtown Memphis about a year or so ago-yes very dicey....

[GailA]

The other issue is they don’t carry clothing for over 20 either. I’m 67 do you think I’d wear that street walker ethnic crap, with rips, tears, ugly crap they have on their shelves? I wear nice Jeans and T’s mostly. My church dresses haven’t been updated in a decade, and those came out of the Salvation Army with the price tags still on them. Same place I got my jeans.

My taste run very conservative.

Nor do any shoe stores carry my 5 size in shoes that are affordable. We have 1 store that does, $200 for a pair of stiff, hard flats? I don’t think so. I want comfort in shoes.

[mewzilla]

Gail, I’m female and about the size of your average NCAAF place kicker. And my feet match the rest of me. I know what you mean about clothes. And shoes.