NEW YORK — Celo, a women’s apparel manufacturer based in Milan, is opening a 2,100-square-foot store, its first in the U.S., at 100 Wooster Street in SoHo.
Celo will join Laundry and Patagonia in the neighborhood and will be one door away from Chanel, which occupies a corner space at 139 Spring Street.
The firm, which is owned by Hemisphere, operates a wholesale showroom on West 35th Street. Walter Iglesias, president of Hemisphere, said the showroom will close once the boutique opens, which should be some time in the next two months.
“We are very important in Europe,” Iglesias said. “We sell all over the world, to the U.K., Italy, France and South America.” The company, which has a showroom and factory in Milan and operates other factories in Argentina, does $4 million in sales outside the U.S., he said.
Iglesias declined to discuss projected volume for the SoHo store. He did say that he’s paying $20,000 a month in rent.
Iglesias, who designs the collection with his wife, Elisa, also a designer, started the company 18 years ago. He said the target customer is 25 to 50 years old.
Prices for Celo range from $100 for T-shirts to $1,000 for dresses. Jeans are $100 to $200; jackets, $600, and pants, $200.
“The Celo customer is in SoHo,” said Marc Shapiro, a broker at Prime Manhattan Commercial Real Estate, who represented Iglesias. “A lot of European women and other tourists are visiting the neighborhood.”
Iglesias is eager to introduce more people to Celo. “I may do a runway show here next season,” he said.