Daffy's --> Top Shop/Eataly?

Just some various articles that have been popping up in my inbox -- apparently TopShop is in negotiations to rent the former Daffy's Herald Square space, which would probably be a good fit. Additionally, the former Times Square spot (one of the nails in the Daffy's coffin) is being marketed for lease at $2.2 Milllion -- the article states Daffy's lease was only $800,000/year. The company that owns the property wants to try and attract something along the lines of Mario Batali's 'Eataly.'

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/13/realestate/commercial/hectic-times-square-is-keeping-the-developers-busy.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

http://ny.racked.com/archives/2013/03/11/could_topshop_move_into_the_old_daffys_space_on_34th_street.php

As for Philly, prior articles have stated that the two bidders on the space are one that ones to use the entire building, and another that only wants the first four floors plus the basement, with the fourth floor as office space.  Additionally, one of the bidders is supposedly a European company, while both are clothing retailers. Just a hunch here, but my guess is that the two bidders are C21 and Topshop. C21 did a similar deal in Paramus, where they took the lease of the former Stern's/Macy's and did not use the entire space, and converted some of it to office space. As for Topshop, it's a bit of a wild guess, but a Philly store would make sense after New York. Honestly, I'd love C21 down here, but could do without Topshop - we have plenty of retailers trying to sell us cheap junk that we don't need another retailer trying to sell it. Then again, I rarely buy much at C21 due to the prices other than ties. But such is why PEURIST was created, to fill that Daffy's gap, and it will hopefully be here for a long while to come. (good segue, no?)

More Discounter News

Century 21 just announced that they're moving into Jersey Gardens soon. IMHO, one of the worst decisions ever made, considering the clientele that goes to that particular mall, and the merchandise C21 carries. Their price points are simply too high for that kind of situation.

From the map on the Jersey Gardens website, they'll be moving into the old Daffy's location.  I can't imagine how that will be anywhere near big enough to house a Century 21 -- perhaps they'll have a much more limited selection targeted at the local crowd.

Would love to hear any details or comments.

Philly Daffy's Update

News coming out of Philly this week is that the Daffy's Philadelphia location is in the final two weeks of bidding between two apparel retailers. No names were given, but I would very much venture a guess that one of the two is likely to be Century 21. I honestly can't think of a store that would fit better into that space, outside of maybe a Target (Marshall's already moved in at 10th & Market, and Burlington is located there as well).

Link for more info: http://www.phillymag.com/realestate/for-sale/daffys-center-city-is-down-to-2-bidders/

PEURIST Update

Been a while since my last YB blog update. Wanted to give everyone a quick update on PEURIST, and other items of interest. PEURIST is going well, but slow. Still a good number of items to get up on the site, a few suits from Papa & Sons, pants and shorts from Royal Hem, and an assortment of items from Alessandro Dell'acqua. The goal is to get the remaining RH and Papa & Sons items up by the end of the week, and be able to say 'Bottoms Up!' very soon (Get it? I know, it's corny). Along with that goal, we are going to start an advertising campaign for the site, probably a small directed campaign on SF, and a more general one through Facebook/Google.

The broader goal w/the ad campaign and final merchandise push is to get a large chunk of inventory moved by the end of this month/beginning of April that would allow for a potential trip back to Italy at the end of April. I am very interested in some new opportunities that have arisen there, though am debating about whether to pick up more S/S items or start buying for Fall/Winter at that point. I have the chance to get a good selection of items of Daniele Alessandrini and Paolo Pecora items, but they are all for Fall and it's hard to sit on merch. for a long time, especially when we are going to transition into what will hopefully be a fast turnover business (and you would not believe the beautiful items that Copen Group has from last Fall - I saw it in October, and was drooling at the quality, including a new brand they started called Borgo Veneto).


And if everything goes according to plan, the site photography will mostly transition to a professional photographer. The hope is that once more people know about the site, there will be a need to get the merch. up quicker, and in better shots that I can do myself. Still a ways out but it is on the list.

Finally -- the reason PEURIST has been on such a slow move since its grand opening -- the full time job. For those that don't know, PEURIST is not my day job. It's what gets done with the little spare time that I have after working 9-XX everyday in the office (often including weekends). I'm an attorney by day at a large firm, and for better or worse, I am often left with either no time at the end of the day, or just enough to come home, eat, watch an hour of tv and go to bed. It's especially bad right now given that several people are out of my department w/new babies - great for them, but I'm stuck picking up the slack. If anyone out there is in need of a trademark attorney w/a few years of experience, I am looking for a change of venue, as it were ;)

So that's it for now. Please do check out PEURIST if you haven't already done so, and feel free to share a link to the site on your own social media platforms. We could use the free publicity.