Ralph Lauren Wins Fight for SoHo Storefront in $132M Purchase

After a long bidding war with some deep-pocketed buyers, Ralph Lauren has won the fight to keep its longtime SoHo storefront.

The luxury fashion brand purchased the retail condominium units at 109 Prince Street from Swiss investor and art financier Jean-Pierre Lehmann for $132 million, according to city records made public Monday.

Lisa Parmelee, chief financial officer for North America at Ralph Lauren, signed for the buyer, while Lehmann himself signed for the seller, records show.

“We recently closed on the purchase of 109 Prince Street, including the space currently occupied by our Polo Ralph Lauren Store — which has proudly been a part of the SoHo community since 2011 — preserving our presence at this iconic location for many years to come,” a spokesperson for Ralph Lauren said in a statement sent to Commercial Observer.

It’s unclear who brokered the deal. A spokesperson for accounting firm Citrin Cooperman, which completed the deal on behalf of Lehmann, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The closing of the deal comes after a long fight over the prominent SoHo corner retail spot between French retail giant LVMH, which wanted the space for Tiffany & Co., and Ralph Lauren, which had occupied the storefront since 2010.

Ralph Lauren, whose lease at the property was set to end next year, was said to be most likely to purchase the spot, as CO first reported.

The deal marks another failed attempt for LVMH to move Tiffany from its current spot at 97 Greene Street over to Prince Street half a block to the north. In the past 12 months, LVMH has tried, and failed, to lease the former Nespresso store at 92 Prince Street, which is now occupied by Ferrari, and the Apple store at 103 Prince Street.

A spokesperson for LVMH did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lehmann bought the coveted building on the corner of Prince and Greene streets in 1991 for $3 million and completely renovated the French Renaissance-style facade, CO reported.

Under Lehmann’s Prince Street Realty, the five-story property functioned as a live-work artist condominium in 1997, with retail on three floors and three upper-floor residences. Ralph Lauren signed a lease for the retail units in 2010, and now owns the space following the most recent sale.

And Ralph Lauren isn’t the first luxury brand to buy storefronts in New York City.

Last year, Prada bought three Fifth Avenue retail condos — 720, 724 and 730 Fifth Avenue — for a total of roughly $848 million, while Gucci owner Kering bought the retail condo at 715-717 Fifth Avenue for $963 million. Both purchases were from Jeff Sutton’s Wharton Properties.

Chanel is also in talks to buy the retail space at Gary Barnett’s proposed tower at 655 Madison Avenue for around $450 million, as CO first reported in March.

Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.