It’s time to target the guys.
Both Hirshleifers, the Manhasset, N.Y.-based retail powerhouse, and Angela’s, a boutique in suburban Rye, N.Y., are opening new concepts this fall with a clear focus on men.
Hirschliefers is a family-owned specialty store that is operated by the fifth generation of the founders. It carries high-end brands including Chanel, Brunello Cucinelli and Jimmy Choo and currently offers men’s wear from Givenchy, Balenciaga, Rick Owens, Y-3 and other brands in an area called the Men’s Market.
But on Saturday, the store will open MRKT, a new concept that will offer a “mix of street and high-end,” according to David Sills who is overseeing the new space with his wife, Lori Hirshleifer Sills.
The 3,500-square-foot space will offer both men’s and women’s wear and will include brands such as Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Off-White, John Elliott + Co, Public School, Yeezy, Baja East, Thom Browne and Haider Ackermann. It will be housed in a delineated location within the 25,000-square-foot Manhasset store in a space with a modern design featuring steel, concrete and glass.
Hirshleifers has been in men’s wear for more than three years and Sills said it “has been the fastest-growing category our store has seen in our 100 years of selling luxury. The luxury fashion category for men is on fire and we’ve seen our business double in volume every year. It’s been meteoric, so we decided to triple the space.”
Angela Guitard, owner of Angela’s in Rye, is also capitalizing on the growth of the men’s category. She has operated a 2,100-square-foot women’s store at 24 Purchase Street since 2011 and was able to acquire the space next door at 22 Purchase to open Fred’s. It formerly housed a tween store that recently vacated the site and the landlord approached her about taking the space.
“I’ve been here four-and-a-half years and the husbands of my customers would come in and ask what I had for them,” she said. “And there’s a big resurgence among men about how they look.”
“We broke through the wall so they could connect,” Guitard said. Fred’s will be 1,600 square feet and will have a “very masculine” design with a navy blue and black color palette. “It’s going to be like a men’s closet, very warm and inviting,” she said.
Fred’s will be a “mirror of our women’s” and will focus primarily on sportswear, furnishings and accessories. Brands will include Rag & Bone, Ferragamo, Ralph Lauren, Margiela, Sand, Moncler, Herno, VK Nagrani and Tomas Maier.
Although Fred’s will carry sport coats, Guitard will not offer suits, but plans to host made-to-measure events.
She said the store is expected to open no later than Oct. 21.
