Chanel challenges LVMH at Fifth Ave property

Luxury brands eyeing Paramount’s 745 Fifth Avenue

Chanel Challenging LVMH’s Fifth Ave Property Pursuit

From left: LVMH’s Bernard Arnault and Chanel CEO Leena Nair along with 745 Fifth Avenue (Getty, Google Maps, LVMH, Chanel)

French conglomerate LVMH isn’t the only luxury retailer with its eye on a specific Fifth Avenue property.

Chanel is also in talks to purchase Paramount Group’s building at 745 Fifth Avenue in the Plaza District, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. It’s not clear where the talks stand for either company, but the news follows January reporting on LVMH’s interest in the property, when it was believed not to be the only bidder.

All three parties declined to comment to Bloomberg. 

The 35-story building is at the corner of 58th Street along an iconic retail corridor.

Among the tenants at the Fifth Avenue property are Bergdorf Goodman, which operates a men’s store on the building’s first three floors. 

Paramount refinanced the building in 2020 with $250 million from Deutsche Pfandbriefbank. German investment firm Wilhelm von Finck owns 99 percent of the property, while Albert Behler’s firm owns the minority stake. It’s not immediately clear how much the building last traded hands for.

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The area has attracted tons of attention in recent months from luxury retailers jockeying to own their own spaces.

Jeff Sutton and SL Green sold the retail section of 715-717 Fifth Avenue for $963 million to Kering, the French luxury group owner of Gucci, Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen. 

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Weeks prior, Sutton sold 724 Fifth Avenue to Prada, which already operated its flagship store at the property. Prada paid $425 million for the building, as well as $410 million for adjacent 720 Fifth Avenue, stitching together one of the city’s largest deals of the year in its final days.

Chanel recently opened its first location on Fifth, launching in 7,000 square feet on the ground floor of the ritzy Aman Hotel at 730 Fifth Avenue.

Upper Fifth Avenue boasted the highest asking rent last quarter among Manhattan submarkets at $2,163 per square foot, according to a recent JLL report.

Holden Walter-Warner