UPDATED: Wednesday, April 4 at 10:20 a.m.: Ralph Lauren is planning to Close Its Polo Store On Fifth Avenue, the company’s largest retail location, as it tries to right the ship amid declining revenues.
The struggling fashion giant will close its 39,000-square-foot Polo store at 711 Fifth Avenue and will move that location’s wares to Stores On Madison Avenue and downtown, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company said it will continue to operate its popular Polo Bar restaurant and seven other store locations.
Ralph Lauren signed a lease for the Fifth Avenue space in 2013. It had previously been a Walt Disney experience store, and building owner Coca Cola was considering opening a flagship retail store there. CBRE powerbroker Richard Hodos convinced the beverage maker to lease the space to Ralph Lauren – a deal that earned him a Real Estate Board of New York Retail Deal of the Year Award.
Jane Nielsen, Ralph Lauren’s CFO, said the company decided to close the store in order “to ensure we have the right distribution and customer experience in place.”
Under CEO Stefan Larsson, who quit in February, the company revamped itself by closing stores, selling off some of its smaller labels and cutting back on offering discounts. The fashion house is looking to create about $140 million in annual savings.
When Larsson took over in late 2015, he cut about 1,000 jobs and is looking at closing dozens of stores. [WSJ] – Rich Bockmann
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly noted Larsson’s status at the firm. He quit in early February.