“The Fifth Avenue model seemed to work for a while,
and then it got to a point where it just doesn’t work at this price anymore,” said Barbara Denham, a senior economist at Reis, a real estate data and analytics firm.
“The question is, where do those sales originate?”
The retail industry faces turmoil, and not even Fifth Avenue from 49th to 60th
Streets, one of the premier shopping strips in the city, has been immune.
At the end of last year, the average asking price for a square foot of retail space from 49th to 60th Streets
was more than $2,900, up from $2,283 at the end of 2012, according to data from Cushman & Wakefield.
Stores Take Flight From Fifth Avenue in Manhattan -
By RACHEL ABRAMSAPRIL 4, 2017
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.
From 49th to 60th Streets, the availability rate of leases — one gauge of turnover — reached
15.9 percent at the end of last year, up from 6.1 percent five years earlier.
On Tuesday, Ralph Lauren became the latest retailer to pull up stakes, announcing
that it would close its flagship Polo store at Fifth Avenue and 55th Street as part of a previously announced effort to reorganize the company.
