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Lululemon eyes Yigal Azrouel Meatpacking space
Athletic retailer nears deal for store, as neighborhood goes mainstream
Yoga-inspired retailer Lululemon Athletica is near a deal for the space now occupied by the high-end designer Yigal Azrouel on a rapidly changing block in the Meatpacking District, several industry sources said.
If the deal is finalized, Lululemon, the Vancouver, Canada-based designer known for its whimsy athletic-wear popular with the Pilates set, would take about 2,500 square feet on the ground floor and about 1,500 square feet on the lower level at 408 West 14th Street,Between Ninth Avenue And Washington Street, the sources said.
The asking rent, according to several sources, was $425 to $450 per square foot, but a deal would likely be done under $400 per square foot, several sources said.
Yigal Azrouel was a pioneer to the once-edgy Meatpacking District, which has gone more mainstream in recent years, in part because of the broad popularity of the High Line park.
Two sources said the deal was completed, while several others were only aware of the deal being in a late stage of negotiations, leaving its exact status unclear.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Robert K. Futterman & Associates, which represented the building and — according to insiders — Lululemon as well, declined to comment.
The 39,500-square-foot, three-story commercial building is co-owned by two long-term landlords, the Winter Organization, based in Midtown and Heller Properties, based in Lower Manhattan. Winter Organization declined to comment. Heller Properties did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Yigal Azrouel is leaving the Meatpacking District for 1011 Madison Avenue on the Upper East Side, and plans to close its 14th Street store on Aug. 28 and reopen on Madison Avenue Sept. 6, a company spokesperson said.
The likely Lululemon storefront is next to Levi Strauss & Company, which in turn is adjacent to the new space Patagonia signed for last month at 414 West 14th Street.
Lululemon’s annual global revenues have more than doubled over the past two years to more than $1 billion, the company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission show.
As of April 29, 2012, the company operated 112 company-owned stores in the United States including eight in New York state. The company has six stores in Manhattan including locations in Soho and Lincoln Square. The firm has a total of 180 company-owned stores in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand, corporate filings say.