The Future of Flagship Stores

Flagship stores in New York have served one purpose: to display the brand and its extravagance. Most of these flagship stores were on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, a place where everyone goes to the shop, and well, these days, to look and they buy online. As many of these close or get remodeled, we may be seeing the end of traditional retail as we know it.

Brands like Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, and so more are closing their 5th Avenue stores. Brands like Tiffany & Co and Nike are launching their new stores. Nike has opened up a new store in November that doesn't use cash registers but has customers use the mobile app instead. Tiffany's remodeled store will open up again in 2021. These stores have historically relied on these flagship stores to show off their merchandise and attract wealthy buyers. 

However, the profit margin for these elaborate stores have always been slim, and they've only grown slimmer as consumers moved toward online purchasing. It doesn't help that Manhattan rent's keep rising. With slimmer profit margins, these companies either have to move out or find a way to draw in more revenue, which means taking a bold step and thinking out of the box.

That doesn't mean that these stores are gone forever. They're opening up places in other neighborhoods, like with Nordstrom opening up a store in the West Side. The target audience has grown and now everyone wants to attract the millennials and Gen Z. Few stores can rely on the traditional layout and structure and have to find ways to expand not only the profit margins in their flagship stores but also the whole brand itself. Think about it, the flagship store represents the ultimate representation of their brand and represents their best shot.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/12/business/calvin-klein-store-gap-nike-new-york/index.html