Designer Brands Fendi and Bally Ink Leases at Bal Harbour Shops
By Julia Echikson December 21, 2021 2:44 pm
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A lineup of designer brands, including Fendi and Bally, are shaking up the retail landscape of the exclusive Bal Harbour Shops, Commercial Observer has learned.
Luxury brand Fendi, whose leather goods cost thousands of dollars, will expand its existing boutique at the outdoor shopping center in Bal Harbour, Fla. The Italian fashion house “entered into a lease” in August to not only retain its current store on the first floor, but to also occupy the one next door, a public lease provision shows.
Fashion brand Bally, whose clothes and accessories typically cost hundreds of dollars rather than thousands, is set to make its Bal Harbour debut. The Swiss brand “entered into a lease” for store unit 257 in June, according to public documents.
It’s unclear how the new ventures will affect the stores currently occupying those spaces, whether they will relocate within the mall or close altogether. Menswear brand Canali currently occupies Bally’s upcoming second-floor boutique. On the first floor, another menswear label, Kiton, inhabits Fendi’s new store unit.
Representatives for the Bal Harbour Shops, owned by the Whitman Family Development, and luxury giant LVMH, which owns Fendi, declined to comment. Representatives for Bally’s owner, German conglomerate JAB Holding Company, as well as did not respond to a request for comment.
Fendi and Bally aren’t alone in making moves at Bal Harbour Shops.
Beachwear line Haremlique à la mer will take residence on the third floor. The firm, founded by Caroline Koç, widow of Turkish billionaire Mustafa Koç, signed a lease for store unit 308 in June, according to a public lease provision and state corporate records.
On the first floor, Swiss luxury goods company Richemont, which owns Montblanc, Cartier and Chloé, among others, inked a lease deal for store unit 150 in December 2020.
It’s unclear which Richemond brand will use the store or when the outpost will open since Italian menswear Cesari Attolini still occupies the space.
Spokespeople for Canali, Kiton, Richemont, and Haremlique à la mer did not respond to a request for comment. A representative for Cesari Attolini declined to comment.
The Bal Harbour Shops is considered one of the country’s most prestigious malls thanks to its Chanel, Balenciaga and Saint Laurent stores. The outdoor shopping center boasts an impressive sales per square foot, hovering at or above $3,000, according to the Miami Herald and Women’s Wear Daily, though the figure could not be independently verified.
The luxurious 463,477-square-foot complex is in the midst of expanding. The Whitman Family Development is building an additional 340,387 square feet of retail space after securing a $400 million loan in 2019, per the South Florida Business Journal.
Julia Echikson can be reached at Jechikson@commercialobserver.com.
