Having closed its SoHo store last spring, Bogner has returned to the Upper East Side with a new outpost.
Having opted to not renew its lease for the West Broadway Street boutique, the company has set up shop at 755 Madison Avenue. Coincidentally, the location is just across the street from where Sonia and Willy Bogner Jr., the husband-and-wife team that built up and modernized the family business in the ’80s, ’90s and 2000s, once had an apartment. (Sonia Bogner died in 2017 and Willy Bogner stepped away from the day-to-day operations of the business in 2019.)
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Bogner expects the uptown store to remain open “for many years to come,” according to Linda Ashman, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Bogner of America. The company has done some belt-tightening in recent years, selling its corporate headquarters in Munich and shuttering some stores. Strengthening sales in the U.S. is being approached with a renewed focus.
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Eager to open the outpost in time for the key holiday season, rather than wait for a proper multimonth build-out, Bogner secured an eight-month lease while it hammers out details about renovating the space. “That was just to buy a little time. But all of our plans are to stay on Madison,” she said, adding that the foot traffic is busier in the new location.
Shoppers will find sportswear items and sport styles with versatile jackets and outerwear that can be worn on or off the mountain. The pandemic has prompted many to discover outdoor activities, and that interest has fueled sales of outerwear and sweaters, with consumers spending $1,500 to $1,800 for jackets on average and $400 to $1,000 for sweaters, Ashman said. More elevated items that are not logo-laden are of interest and the one-piece ski suit has made a comeback, she added.
Designed to have a chalet-like feel, the store plays up the company’s 90-year history with an anniversary video. Shoppers will also find the “Frozen Riviera” capsule collection, a mix of sport and fashion that pays homage to Willy Bogner’s mother, Maria, who first infused chicness into skiwear decades ago. She and Willy Bogner Sr. created the namesake company in 1932 as an importer of ski-related goods.
There will also be select items from a “James Bond”-inspired capsule collection. A two-time Olympic skier and filmmaker, Willy Bogner Jr. combined those skills to capture action ski scenes for “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” in 1969. This year, the James Bond franchise is celebrating its 60-year milestone, since “007” debuted in a film — “Dr. No.” (And 70 years have passed, since Ian Fleming penned his first Bond novel — “Casino Royale.”)
Bogner executives have also been crafting a collaboration with Fred Segal and Harden Cashmere that will debut in mid-November.
Bogner is keen to open a SoHo store for its more adrenalin-driven Fire + Ice label, but has yet to find the right location. The U.S. business accounts for about 20 to 25 percent of Bogner’s overall business, Ashman said. Last year, Bogner generated overall sales of about 164 million euros. Looking to build U.S. sales, Bogner opened a showroom at 26 Mercer Street in New York 18 months ago.
The company recently relaunched its site and is gearing up for its second collaboration with LoveShackFancy, which is slated to bow in December. The rollout will feature more styles and will be sold online and in stores. Last year 3,000-plus units of the collaborative products sold out online in 35 minutes, and this year more than 8,000 units are expected to be sold, Ashman said.