BLOOMINGDALE’S BRIGHTENS UP
Byline: David Moin
NEW YORK — The main floor of Bloomingdale’s 59th Street, one of the most productive settings in retailing, has begun a $12 million renovation that will extend the B-way, brighten the environment, alleviate some of the claustrophobia and remove years of wear and tear.
“This is the single biggest visual change since I’ve been here,” said Michael Gould, Bloomingdale’s chairman and chief executive officer since 1991.
“There will be a dramatic difference. This will open up the store, make it brighter, and it will be easier to find and touch the merchandise,” he said.
It will be done by extending sight lines and allowing customers to get closer to the goods, but that also heightens the need for more sales associates. According to Bloomingdale’s executives, they’ll be brought in as sales go up.
The plan is also designed to boost the already-high rate of sales — $1,000 per square foot.
Gould expects to see double-digit gains on the 59,000-square-foot main floor immediately after the project is completed, though he wouldn’t elaborate. The target date for completion is Sept. 1.
Most affected by the main floor redo are designer handbags, accessories, hosiery and jewelry, covering a total of about 12,000 square feet. The ceiling above cosmetics is being redone.
Gould added that a section called Democracy Wall, which extends 120 feet along the 60th Street side of the store, will be knocked out “so you can see all the way to the elevators.” It’s been used for displaying photographs of merchandise promotions and charity events, but the memorabilia will be planted on either side of the elevators.
Construction began last week and will be conducted in four phases, each lasting approximately two months. The project is an addition to the $20 million Bloomingdale’s spends chainwide each year for new shop construction, redo’s and maintenance.
The first phase involves the 9,000-square-foot luxury handbag arcade on the Lexington and 60th Street side, which will be brought closer to the 59th Street side. The second phase involves the rest of the arcade and jewelry. Phase three is for fashion accessories, including scarves, eyeglasses, sunglasses and costume jewelry, and the final phase is hosiery.
“There will be a whole new environment for Chanel, Fendi, Ferragamo, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Judith Leiber,” Gould said, referring to the handbags. “We’re incorporating ideas that work very well in our California stores to rethink the New York strategy.”
Last fall, Bloomingdale’s opened its first three stores in California with open-sell environments. With its renovation, the 59th Street flagship will reflect the concept. “Back islands” behind counters that served as focal points of display for country promotions will be removed, cutting the distance between customers and products.
In designer handbags, Chanel will be the most visible shop upon entering the store from Lexington Avenue. The shop will be built with more limestone and suede and less mirroring than the current incarnation.
“There will be a clearer differentiation of key resources, blending their identity with our identity,” Gould said.
However, 59th Street isn’t getting too Californian. Compared with the pale-wood look out West, 59th Street will be more decorative and architectural, with added Art Deco touches as a backdrop to vendor installations. For example, there will be cove ceilings with silver leaf above the designer handbags and elevator bank. Aluminum-plated doors will appear on the elevators.
“It’s a very active, dynamic building that we want to keep changing,” said Jack Hruska, senior vice president of store design and visual merchandising. “But it’s a hard floor to do because there is so much business.”
However, not a single business will be halted during the construction, Hruska noted. Merchandise will be placed in temporary homes as areas are redone.
The flagship is also difficult to redo because it consists of seven separate buildings. It’s hardly seamless, and there does not exist a set of plans, Hruska said, adding, “The connectivity is very difficult.”
Simultaneously, the men’s store on the lower level is being renovated, with more space and better lighting. This week, the columns were stripped, revealing children’s illustrations.
“It’s like an architectural dig,” Gould said.
Among the key elements of the renovation:
Cosmetics will get a new nickel and luminous glass ceiling above the B-way, following last year’s Bobbi Brown, MAC and Prescriptives shop openings.
Fashion jewelry linear footage will grow to 290 from 170, while hosiery unit capacity will be lifted 50 percent. New pull-out hosiery drawers, allowing for more stock and sizes, will replace old-style “greeting card” compartments. Calvin Klein, Wolford and Donna Karan hosiery shops will be added.
A new customer service area will bring credit, coat and package check, watch repair, gift wrap, translators and an ATM together on the balcony.
The B-way — the signature checkerboard marble floor — will be extended along the face of the elevators and along the 59th Street side, in addition to the middle of the floor.
A new restaurant on the lower level, called 59th and Lex, will open in July.
Dark burl wood ceilings and dark polished marble walls will be replaced by white glass and luminous ceilings. There will be more color on the floor, including a glazed lacquer red bay for watches.
A new elevator to the metro, arcade, main and balcony levels on 60th Street and Lexington Avenue will be installed.
Ceilings will be flattened out to their highest heights, for a sense of spaciousness and improved lighting above cosmetics. A system for suspending giant blowups and decorative items to promote trends will be built.
“All those ceiling breaks cause the architecture to be in competition with dynamics of the environment,” said Hruska. “It will be a cleaner environment. But we don’t do this just for decorative value. It’s based on productivity. There has to be a payback to justify the costs.”
The last major overhaul of the main floor — a setting for historic visits by world leaders, top designers and movie stars over the years, as well as huge import promotions and product launches — was 20 years ago, when the redesign was inspired by Broadway and Radio City Music Hall. It added plenty of sparkle and glitter with its recessed, multileveled black ceiling, and introduced the B-way to guide customers through the store.
“It was controversial. Everyone talked about it,” Hruska recalled. “But it was also very dark and black and very glitzy. Now the merchandise will take a more prominent position. But in its own way, the main floor will be just as exciting.”