Parisian Jeweler Leases First Standalone Store on Madison Avenue
By Terence Cullen August 10, 2015 2:12 pm
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A French jeweler has opted for one of the swankiest retail strips for its first stand-alone location, Commercial Observer has learned.
Djula, which is based in Paris, is slated to open into 300 square feet at 922 Madison Avenue this week after inking a deal earlier this summer. Asking rent in the 10-year lease was $380,000 per year, according to the company.
The company selected 922 Madison Avenue, which sits between East 73rd and East 74th Streets, because it wanted to be where the action was for similar retailers and to launch in the United States with gravitas.
“Madison Avenue location is the epitome of prestige and luxury shopping in New York,” a Djula spokesman told CO in an email. “We could not imagine a worthier place for the first freestanding store in the U.S.”
This will be the first U.S. location for Djula that’s not located within a high-end shopping center or larger retail store. Its products are currently sold by Cellini Jewelers at 509 Madison Avenue between East 52nd and East 53rd Streets, the company’s website shows, as well as by Cellini Waldorf at 301 Park Avenue between East 49th and East 50th Streets.
Fritz Kemmerling of The Dartmouth Company represented the tenant. The identity of who represented the landlord, Friedland Properties, was not immediately known. Friedland didn’t immediately return a call for comment.
Madison Avenue has been a draw for some foreign retailers jumping across the pond, especially as of late. Roland Mouret, a United Kingdom-based women’s wear company, last month took the entire 5,250-square-foot townhouse at 1006 Madison Avenue a few blocks north of 922 Madison Avenue, as CO reported. A little further south between East 61st and East 62nd Streets, Italy-based men’s fashion retailer Brioni took 7,000 square feet at 680 Madison Avenue in May.
