H&M founder buys Benetton’s Fifth Ave. building for $137M

Six-story building in high-end retail corridor houses Benetton's only Manhattan store

601 Fifth Avenue in Midtown
601 Fifth Avenue in Midtown

Two of the world’s most visible clothing retailers are involved in a Midtown property transaction, with an entity affiliated with H&M chairman Stefan Persson acquiring a prime Fifth Avenue building from the Benetton Group for $137 million.

The six-story building, at 601 Fifth Avenue, houses the United Colors of Benetton’s only Manhattan store. The property has been in the Benetton family for decades and is located less than a block from where H&M opened its largest global store last year.

It is not immediately clear whether Benetton’s location on the ground floors of the 12,420-square-foot building would close as a result of the deal, according to the New York Daily News.

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Treviso, Italy-based Benetton opened its store at 601 Fifth Avenue in 2002. Retail Values On The Fifth Avenue corridor have skyrocketed since – with space between 42nd and 49th streets climbing 17 percent over the last year to $1,200 per square foot, according to the Real Estate Board of New York.

H&M sued the landlord of its new flagship Herald Center store for more than $11 million earlier this year, claiming work on the location’s façade ran contrary to the lease agreement. [NYDN]Rey Mashayekhi