Yahoo Lifestyle Sotheby’s, Dolce & Gabbana and Vince Among the Many Businesses Coming to Madison Avenue in 2025
Twenty businesses — from restaurants and clubs to galleries and fashion brands like Goyard, Dolce & Gabbana and Vince — are slated to launch on Madison Avenue this year.
That’s according to the latest report from the Madison Avenue Business Improvement District, provided exclusively to WWD. The openings come on top of the 41 businesses that set up shop on Madison Avenue last year, including Boucheron, Michael Kors, Todd Snyder and Giorgio Armani.
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The report covers openings happening within the Madison Avenue BID which extends from East 57th to East 86th Streets along Madison Avenue, including blocks just to the east and west of the avenue.
Madison Avenue is no longer riddled by deserted storefronts and has seen its vacancy rate drop down to 8 percent this year from 10 percent in 2023 and over 16 percent percent during the pandemic. The figures include retail sites in buildings just east or west of those on Madison Avenue.
Once seriously lacking in nightlife, Madison Avenue has seen a flock of restaurants, hotels, bars and clubs arriving or soon-to-arrive within the boundaries of the BID. Last year, Casa Tua, the Giorgio Armani Ristorante and The Surrey hotel opened, and this year, the Robin Birley dining club is seen launching. In 2026, the Plaza Athénée Nobu Hotel & Spa New York is expected to open.
“There have been periods of time when Madison Avenue has witnessed tremendous flurries of investment,” said Matthew Bauer, president of the Madison Avenue BID. “But most recently, it’s been special in terms of the brands new to the avenue that have arrived or will arrive, and the brands that are also making new statements on the avenue — like Giorgio Armani and Michael Kors that are upping their investment here by opening bigger stores and new concepts.”
Giorgio Armani developed a retail, restaurant and residence complex at 760 Madison Avenue, while Michael Kors relocated to a larger site at 667 Madison Avenue. International brands choosing Madison Avenue for their first U.S. stores include jewelry brand Sauer from Brazil, Marfa Stance fashion from the U.K. and skin care brand Maison Orveda from France.
Bauer also observed that in the first half of the year: “We saw quite a few contemporary brands opening on Madison Avenue, particularly in the ’70s and ’80s. But this more recent batch in the second half of 2024, heritage luxury brands from Boucheron to Van Cleef & Arpels, also opened on the avenue…all the fashion openings are from the luxury world,” whether a high-end designer brand or a contemporary luxury brand.
“The biggest thing in common is that they are trying to reach the Upper East Side consumer,” Bauer said. Collectively speaking, “There is an acknowledgement that the Upper East Side client likes to shop local, likes going to bars and restaurants here and also uses all of the services in the neighborhood,” be it a spa or barbershop.
“It’s a more private and demure experience here,” Bauer added.
Nightlife on Madison seems to be picking up. “What you are seeing are a variety of new hospitality venues from private clubs to restaurants to salons geared to this customer who wants a real New York experience with sophistication and elegance. It’s a vibrant community that wants to go out and wants special places to go to, but the community also wants the experience to be relaxed and have a sense of being private. You hear that in terms of shopping for fashion, but also in terms of the night life here.”
According to the CBRE report on 2024 retail leasing in Manhattan, “The largest deal was signed by the jewelry brand Kwiat which leased a 8,900-square-foot, six-story building at 713 Madison Avenue. Additionally, the Los Angeles-based apparel brand Frank & Eileen signed for 6,200 square feet at 753 Madison Avenue, its first New York City location, and luxury apparel brand Vince leased a new 5,000-square-foot location at 1009 Madison Avenue.”
CBRE also reported that in the fourth quarter of 2024, the average asking rent for retail from 57th to 72nd Streets along Madison was $904 per square foot, just 0.3 percent more than in the 2023 period. In recent years, the Madison Avenue BID has developed a robust schedule of events and activities through the year, among them the Gallery Walk, the Metropolitan Opera festival and a celebration of the Chinese New Year. The Madison Avenue BID also staged “Shop With Your Dog” days to encourage people to adopt dogs and support the Humane Society of New York. And this year, for the first time, the BID will stage “Fragrance Week” in conjunction with Fragrance Day, which is March 21.
Soon-To-Arrive on Madison Avenue in 2025
Akris: 772 Madison Avenue (fashion and accessories)
Birley Bakery: 20 East 69th Street
Dolce & Gabbana: 695 Madison Avenue (fashion and accessories)
Farm Rio: 1055 Madison Avenue (fashion and accessories)
Goyard: 699 Madison Avenue (leather goods)
Jessica McCormack: 743 Madison Avenue (jewelry)
Jennifer Fischer: 1159 Madison Avenue (jewelry)
Jones Road: 1071 Madison Avenue (beauty)
Lalique: 21 East 63rd Street (home decor)
L’Agence: 956 Madison Avenue (fashion and accessories)
Messika: 727 Madison Avenue (jewelry)
Cami: 1113 Madison Avenue (women’s fashion)
Parfums de Marly: 800 Madison Avenue (fragrance)
Robin Birley Dining Club: 850 Madison Avenue
Santoni: 667 Madison Avenue (shoes)
Gianvito Rossi: 729 Madison Ave. (shoes)
Sotheby’s: 945 Madison Avenue (auction house)
Varley: 1156 Madison Avenue (fashion and accessories)
Vince: 1003 Madison Avenue (fashion and accessories)
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