Estée Lauder Leases Four Shops in SoHo

Estée Lauder Companies has leased four adjacent shops in SoHo at 120 through 126 Prince Street, which the cosmetics company plans to run as separate boutiques for its different brands, Commercial Observer has learned.

Estée Lauder’s retail footprint in SoHo will grow by about 2,000 square feet with the deal. Each of the shops is roughly 500 square feet, with around 400 square feet in a lower level. Sources said the asking rent was probably around $1,100 per square foot. 

Michael O’Neill and Jason Greenstone of Cushman & Wakefield represented Estée Lauder while the building ownership, led by Crown Retail, was represented in-house. Neither returned requests for comment. Crown partnered with Centurion Realty and Imperium Capital to purchase the spaces for $20 million in 2021.

Robin Abrams at Compass had been marketing the former Saje Natural Wellness space at 120 Prince Street, with an asking rent of $960 per square foot, equating to $40,000 per year, according to Crexi data. 

That spot had been sublet by lingerie seller La Perla, which declared bankruptcy last year and vacated the space. “We did reach out directly to Estée Lauder as we believed it was a perfect small space for one of their brands,” said Abrams, who declined to confirm any asking rents. “They had interest in the location but did not want to lease the Saje space independent of the neighboring spaces in the building.”  

At that time, two of the building’s storefronts were available to sublet with the potential of another being leased on a direct basis from the owners. Estée Lauder began talks with the owners to discuss leasing all four spaces. But as fashion retailer Wolford had time left on its lease at 124 Prince Street, negotiations were initially held up. Wolford representatives could not be reached for comment.

Ultimately, Estée Lauder leased all four spaces, where it appears the company intends to showcase multiple brands along the SoHo street. 

A spokeswoman for Estée Lauder told CO that the company plans to open on Prince Street in late summer to showcase its “luxury fragrance portfolio.” 

Since Stéphane de La Faverie became Estée Lauder’s president and chief executive officer in October, the company has been reviewing brands, working with influencers and reimagining some of its marketing. 

“The Estée Lauder brands should create a nice presentation and it will be a very good use of the four individual jewel-box spaces — synergistic with the jewelry and fashion co-tenancy on the street,” Abrams said.

Estée Lauder owns over 20 brands including Too Faced, Aveda and Clinique. Among its over 100 fragrance lines are Aerin, Bronze Goddess, Beautiful, Sensuous and Magnolia. 

Earlier this year, the company announced a partnership with Exuud for a “smart fragrance expression platform” that it said will aid in the customization of both the design and how people experience fragrances. 

Whatever goes into the Prince Street shops will join the company’s free-standing SoHo stores for Mac at 506 Broadway, Le Labo at 233 Elizabeth and The Ordinary at 410 West Broadway.