Brit Retailer Wanted Soho, Takes Old Pop-Up Haven

High-end Brit retailer Mulberry Fashions is coming to Soho, lured by its cobblestone streets, restaurants and art galleries (or at least the memory of them).

The 10,700-square-foot store will sell more than purses, Karen Bellantoni, of Robert K. Futterman & Associates, told The Commercial Observer. Though Ms. Bellantoni, who represented the landlord, said she was not familiar with its plans, though some of Mulberry’s larger locations in Britain also sell shoes and women’s wear.
Mulberry currently has two much smaller locations at 387 Bleecker Street and 605 Madison Avenue.

Europeans love “the accessibility and beauty of being down there,” Ms. Bellantoni said. She declined to discuss the details of the deal, but it was a long-term one, and she said asking rents on Spring Street are between $325 to $350 a foot annually.

The space was originally a shoe store, and more recently has served as a pop-up for retailers such as Chanel while it was renovating space across the street. It’s been a challenge filling such a large space in the past couple of years, Ms. Bellantoni said, as “the big flagship went to the wayside.”

But Soho is bouncing back in a big way. There was competition for the space from high-end fashion retailers, Ms. Bellantoni said, but the landlord “really liked this tenant, really wanted to do the deal.” The real advantage of the space for them, she said, was being across from places like Burberry and Chanel.

Ms. Bellantoni and Beth Rosen of RKF represented the landlord, Calliope Associates LP. Mulberry was represented by Joel Isaacs and Joshua Lewin of Isaacs and Company.

lkusisto@observer.com