'Recommerce' Fashion Retailer To Open New 60K SF Office In Chelsea
While some companies may be moving out of New York, some are seizing the moment to move in.
Luxury fashion reseller and e-commerce company Fashionphile is setting up shop in the Big Apple for the first time in its 22-year history at RXR Realty’s Starrett-Lehigh Building at 601 West 26th St.
The California-based company signed a 10-year, 60K SF office lease at the building, it announced Thursday.
“Over the past year, FASHIONPHILE has enjoyed tremendous growth, and we simply need more space to grow,” Fashionphile CEO Ben Hemminger said in an emailed statement. “Over half of our customers are from the East Coast, especially the Northeast and we felt it was finally time to serve them more locally."
Hemminger also said that New York state has been friendly to Fashionphile’s type of business. The company took part in the state's Excelsior Jobs Program, Commercial Observer reported.
“The State of New York has been instrumental in creating the types of incentives we needed to make the economics work for a processing facility to be located in such a great location in the heart of the City,” he said in the statement. "We are truly a bi-coastal company and we’re excited to arrive in a big way in the city that has been so loyal to us over the past several years.”
Asking rent for the space was $70 per SF, per the release, making the asking rent around $4.2M overall for the Chelsea space.
Fashionphile, which resells designer brands such as Alexander McQueen and Burberry, joins fellow fashion companies like Under Armour and Ralph Lauren as a tenant in the building.
The company was on the hunt for a space with a single-story floorplate with at least 50K SF in a building that matched its brand, Hemminger told Bisnow. The space allows for a retail element as well, which Fashionphile already has in its headquarters in Carlsbad, California.
“It had to be accessible to our customers who want to buy and sell in person,” he said in the statement. “The amazing views, stunning window lines, and lively vibe at the Starrett Lehigh building were really just a home run for FASHIONPHILE.”
CBRE’s Jason Frazier and Jesse de la Rama negotiated the deal for the tenant, while RXR was represented in-house by Dan Birney and Denise Rodriguez. The 2.3M SF, 19-floor building has over 30 available office spaces spanning from around 2K SF to over 70K SF, according to its website.
Fashionphile joins a handful of other companies in expanding the presence and prominence of their offices in New York. Jim Beam owner Beam Suntory signed a 100K SF lease at 11 Madison Ave. last year, which will serve at its global headquarters — a move out of Chicago.
At the same time, other companies have been downsizing their office footprint in Manhattan or leaving the city altogether. Marlboro cigarette maker Philip Morris International announced plans to move its Americas headquarters to Connecticut.
