NEW YORK — Thomas Pink plans to open a Wall Street store in June in a prime location just steps from the New York Stock Exchange.
The boutique at 63 Wall Street is Thomas Pink’s first in lower Manhattan, the brand’s 17th in the U.S. and its 48th worldwide. The downtown area is filled with stockbrokers, financial analysts, attorneys and other professionals, precisely the brand’s target audience, said president Robert Dundon.
Thomas Pink finished building a store in the World Trade Center a day or two before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Now that the neighborhood’s retail scene, housing rentals and condominium development are on the rise, the company thought the timing was right, Dundon said. Hermès and Tiffany plan to open stores in the lower Manhattan Financial District, as well.
“We have three stores in Midtown, but there is a whole contingency of our core client downtown,” Dundon said. “Many commute from Westchester or New Jersey and go straight downtown. Due to the nature of their jobs, there’s no lunch hour so they wouldn’t get to our Midtown stores. This [Wall Street location] will give access to people who know the brand, but haven’t had easy access to our stores.”
Widely known for its men’s button-down shirts, Thomas Pink plans to dedicate about 800 square feet of the 3,000-square-foot space to women’s apparel. Thomas Pink is expanding its knitwear and whites to try to attract more female shoppers, who typically account for 20 percent to 25 percent of its business, Dundon said.
Unlike its existing stores, which resemble a gentleman’s wood-paneled library, the new one uses more glass and metal for a linear, modern look. Thomas Pink is relocating its store in Boston’s Copley Plaza to another space within the shopping complex to duplicate the updated look. The retailer plans to open two more stores in the U.S. this year, and Las Vegas was a potential site, Dundon said.