MAC wants to sublease 4 NYC stores

Cosmetics brand recently opened locations in Hudson Yards, American Dream mall

MAC Cosmetics has made four of its closed New York City locations available to sublease. (Google Maps)
MAC Cosmetics has made four of its closed New York City locations available to sublease. (Google Maps)

MAC Cosmetics is the latest brand to try its hand on the retail subleasing market.

The four stores that the cosmetics brand is looking to sublease are located at 165 Smith Street in Brooklyn, and at 210 East 86th Street, 853 Broadway and 689 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Cushman & Wakefield is handling marketing for all four locations.

The subleases mean MAC has abandoned 10,000 square feet of space across the city. The lease terms range from 2024 to 2029, depending on the location.

The four stores closed permanently prior to the pandemic, according to a representative for Estee Lauder Companies, MAC’s parent company.

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“As the brand pivots their business to meet evolving retail dynamics and consumer preferences, MAC is investing more in retail experiences and focusing on key locations, which involves new openings, closures, renovations and relocations,” the representative said.

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Last year, the brand opened new locations at the Shops and Restaurants at Hudson Yards, as well as the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It also renovated a location in the Queens Center Mall.

In the second quarter of last year, Estee Lauder Companies reported net sales of $14.29 billion for its fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, a decrease of 4 percent from $14.86 billion in the prior-year period. On an earnings call at the time, the company’s CFO noted that the brand would be closing more “underperforming” stores in an effort to cut costs.

Subleases have become increasingly prominent in the retail sector as retailers empty out their physical locations amid the coronavirus pandemic.