ROOM TO BREATHE
Taubman Centers’ Mall at Short Hills in New Jersey has opened the first American Express Members Lounge, providing shoppers a break from mall traffic. The 3,400-square-foot space on the first level of the upscale mall is for American Express card members and offers refreshments, a coat check, rest rooms, couches, gift-wrap services, iPod and cell phone charging stations and an e-mail station, all complimentary.
“We are focused on creating unique and meaningful experiences for our card members, and the Members Lounge provides a relaxing environment where they can get the services they need during a very hectic holiday shopping season,” said Ralph Andretta, senior vice president and general manager of Membership Rewards for American Express.
TIME FOR AN EXPLOSION OF RETAIL
Sub Chrono, a manufacturer of high-tech, modern Swiss watches, opened its first New York location at 580 Fifth Avenue and 46th Street. The Tel Aviv-based retailer, which currently only has one other U.S. store, in Miami, expects to open 30 more stores in the country within the next three to five years. The expansion will more than double its portfolio.
“They are a very funky, fashion-forward brand,” said Jeffrey Roseman, executive vice president at Newmark Knight Frank Retail, which represented Sub Chrono in the deal. “They are targeting stylish, younger, hipper shoppers.”
The next target markets for the retailer include Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Chicago. Sub Chrono currently has 23 stores globally. In addition to its Stateside stores, it operates boutiques in Spain, Israel, Hong Kong, Holland, Mexico and Greece.
ICONIC CHANEL, 10 STORIES HIGH
The Chanel Tower in the Ginza district of Tokyo will showcase Israeli artist Michal Rovner through the end of the year — not with a piece within the store, but in the shape of a massive video installation against the exterior of the 10-story tower, which opened in 2004. “Tweed, Tokyo” will project abstract, moving images on a backdrop of the iconic Chanel tweed pattern through 700,000 LED lights in the Chanel Tower.
Rovner and New York-based architect Peter Marino, who designed the Ginza building, have installed the similar “Tweed, Osaka” in Chanel’s Osaka boutique.