New Yorkers have a new place to buy their black and white.
White House|Black Market, the contemporary retail chain owned by the Fort Myers, Fla.-based Chico’s Inc., has opened its first Manhattan store at 136 Fifth Avenue. This brings the brand’s retail locations to 244, with about 70 more store openings planned in 2007.
This is the company’s largest store, at 3,550 square feet. Most of its other units are about 1,800 square feet. The design of the Manhattan space is different from the others, which are mostly in malls. Although it is still decorated in the signature monochromatic palette, there are new touches such as crystal chandeliers, a cozy fireplace, large dressing rooms accented with oversized silk curtains and plenty of seats for waiting.
“I think we are in a greater position of strength,” said Patricia Darrow Smith, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer of the company she founded in 1985. “So now was the perfect timing for us to come to New York.”
Darrow Smith said the store design shows the evolution of the brand and where it is headed, with upgraded quality at the forefront.
“Many of our other stores are a bit harder to shop, simply because of the sizes of them,” she said. “But this store is really easy and elegant, which makes the shopping experience better.”
Darrow Smith said she expects the Manhattan store to be in the top five performing locations. The top performer is in Puerto Rico and brings in more than $5 million in annual sales.
The chain began in 1985 as The White House with all-white assortments. It added separate all-black stores, Black Market, in 1995, and combined the two in 1997. In the late Nineties, with around 50 stores, White House|Black Market converted all product to private label programs sourced through various manufacturers. Chico’s purchased the brand in September 2003, with a mission to expand and open many more retail locations nationwide.