Yahoo Lifestyle Cremieux Inks Lease for Madison Avenue Flagship
Cremieux is making the move onto Madison.
This spring, the upscale French men’s brand will open a flagship at 650 Madison Avenue. The entrance to the 1,200-square-foot space will be on 60th Street.
More from WWD
Stephane Cremieux, chief executive officer and son of founder Daniel Cremieux, said he expects to have a grand opening of the space in May with a soft opening earlier. It will join other apparel and accessories brands in the neighborhood including Tod’s, Celine, Moncler, Roger Vivier, Brunello Cucinelli and Hermès.
Cremieux has had stores in different parts of New York City over the years including SoHo and Hudson Yards. The SoHo store closed in 2018 and the Hudson Yards unit in August, Stephane Cremieux said. After the Hudson Yards store was shuttered, the company started negotiating for the Madison Avenue location, he said, and signed the lease at the end of last year. “We get the keys on Monday,” he said.
The store will join others in key cities around the world including Palm Beach and Bal Harbour in Florida; Paris; London; Capri, and Saint-Tropez, where the company got its start in 1976. To support the new Madison Avenue unit, Cremieux recently relocated its U.S. headquarters from SoHo to 445 Park Avenue.
Several years ago, Cremieux was preparing an aggressive store-opening strategy, but Stephane Cremieux said those plans have been scaled back as rents continue to rise in key locations. In 2021, he had said the goal was to have 30 stores around the world within five years. But now, he said, “we’re not on that timeline anymore. The market has shifted and changed and the rents in 2021 were friendlier than they have been in the last 24 months.”
That being said, Cremieux said the company is still seeking locations in “very curated areas” where its customers live or play. That includes Aspen and Dallas.
For more than a quarter century, Cremieux has had an exclusive licensing arrangement with Dillard’s where its men’s collection has been among the retailer’s top performers. He said that thanks to that relationship with the Southern department store chain, shoppers in cities such as Dallas have become familiar with the brand.
The Dillard’s collection, however, is lower priced than that carried at the Cremieux stores. Stephane Cremieux described the mix at the company-owned stores as “complementary” to that at the department store since prices start where they top out at Dillard’s. “It’s the same taste level that my dad and I have, but [the selection in our stores] is more elevated,” he said.
To celebrate the 25th anniversary this spring, Cremieux is creating a special collection for Dillard’s, he said, that will include some re-issued pieces from the first season in 1990.
He said the line continues to perform for the retailer while business at its own stores has also been strong. “The last 12 months have been really good for us,” he said. “We do well in our own stores.”
Top sellers include unconstructed sport coats, shirts with the brand’s signature one-piece collar, and cashmere sweaters and hoodies.
The Madison Avenue lease was executed by Retail by Mona, a leasing and advisory firm. “Madison Avenue has experienced a significant retail revival since 2021, with availability having dropped to a record low of 5.9 percent in early 2024, attracting both established luxury and emerging brands,” said Brandon Singer, founder and chief executive officer of Retail by Mona.
Best of WWD
Sign up for WWD's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
