Reporter’s Notebook : New Ralph Lauren Designer Boutique Wows ‘Em in N.Y.
Customers of the elegant new Polo/Ralph Lauren boutique on Madison Avenue weren’t sure whether to focus their attentions one recent afternoon on the Oriental rugs, marble fireplaces and hand-carved mahogany balustrade--or on actor Anthony Perkins and his wife, Berry Berenson, looking quite at home trying on straw hats.
Wherever people looked, however, it was a feast for the eyes. Ralph Lauren has opened a merchant’s mansion straight from “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”--and all anyone need do to wallow in its trappings is be a shopper.
Lauren spent nearly two years and more than $14 million renovating the Rhinelander Mansion on Madison at 72nd Street, built of limestone in 1895 for society matron Gertrude Rhinelander Waldo. The building, a designated landmark modeled after Loire Valley chateaux, emerged as a paean to upper-crust sensibilities and pastimes. It is Lauren’s first free-standing store in Manhattan but about the 80th worldwide to bear his name.
Initially Riled Competitors
Its opening initially riled stores such as Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s and Saks that carry a wide range of Lauren merchandise. But they seem to be feeling more secure now that the boutique has been open for a couple of months.
“Our business seems to have bounced back after an initial two-week period when we felt the competition,” said Kal Ruttenstein, senior vice president of fashion direction at Bloomingdale’s, where Lauren is the single biggest designer vendor.
Ruttenstein acknowledges that the store, with 20,000 square feet of selling space, is “spectacular.”
“It’s very Ralph. It reflects his whole personality and beliefs and design philosophy,” Ruttenstein said.
Pampering and Detail
The emphasis here is on pampering and detail. A natty young man opens the door into a foyer fragrant with fresh flowers. The walls are covered with original oil paintings. Understated salespeople stand at the ready. Merchandise is everywhere--in cupboards and armoires, on bookshelves and desks, in glass cases and old trunks. Several rooms evoke an English men’s club, others an airy country cottage, with nearby a salon complete with leather sofas and chairs. Some things aren’t so subtle, like the ubiquitous pictures of old polo players and copies of old polo magazines. We get the message, Mr. Lauren.
Customers may request luncheon or tea, and tailoring and monogramming are gratis.
The clothes aren’t, of course. A two-piece khaki cotton suit costs about $500, while a handmade men’s wool suit is $1,200. Women’s dresses run to $350, and a pair of crocodile shoes is $550. But one can find a $20 tie or a $34 polo shirt as well.
Bedding, towels and other home furnishings are arranged in cozy rooms on the fourth floor. A British visitor marveled: “These are magnificent, but I wouldn’t want to have to look after them. You couldn’t get a duster around there.”
Lauren has been criticized as copying too closely traditional British designs and perhaps fearing to stray from a formula. But he has clearly proved to be an astute businessman as well as an enduring designer. Tobe Associates, New York retailing and fashion consultants, said of the store: “He presents a sound understanding and respect for what is pure American, deftly mixed with Southern traditional and Eastern preppy.”
According to Monroe Greenstein, an analyst with Bear, Stearns & Co., the store was doing more than $400,000 in sales during its first few weeks, a princely amount that was well above Lauren’s expectations.
So far, no retailers have canceled orders for Lauren merchandise, said Wendy B. Gerber, a Polo spokeswoman. “What we actually find is that it’s helpful for department stores’ merchandising and display because it shows them how Ralph wants (the merchandise) displayed,” she said.
ALONG COLUMBUS: Across Central Park to the west is Columbus Avenue, a retailing strip that is fast replacing SoHo as the address of choice for trendy shops and restaurants.
Robert Malkin is owner of a SoHo store called Think Big that sells whimsical, oversize crayons, teacups, tennis rackets, shoes and other objects. He recently jumped at the chance when a Columbus lease came up for renewal. The new branch, between 74th and 75th streets, will open in mid-August.
“The area has become a big mecca for tourists, and it also has a big residential area, which SoHo doesn’t,” Malkin said. “There are lots of nighttime strollers, very much like European cities. We think it’s a perfect audience for us.”
John Weiser, whose family owns several Charivari apparel boutiques on the city’s Upper West Side, said the company’s two locations on Columbus (at 72nd and 81st) have “helped legitimize” what used to be considered a tawdry, inelegant area. The stores showcase the work of innovative, high-price designers from Japan, Italy, England, France and the United States.
As a resident of the Columbus area, Weiser has mixed feelings about the street. “It’s getting very commercial,” he said, noting the presence of such shops as Aca Joe and Fizzazz.
Fizzazz, which sells only Murjani International’s licensed Coca-Cola merchandise, has recently had to cope with the street’s darker side. The store recently installed outside its door an electronic kiosk where customers can place after-hours orders.
The first machine, called ERIC (for Electronic Retailing Investment Corp.), was stolen, along with its delivery truck. The second machine was vandalized and removed. ERIC 3, which was equipped with a protective bubble, was also damaged by vandals but has been repaired and will operate until a new and improved ERIC 4, with extra security features, arrives.
“It’s a New York City story,” said Murjani spokeswoman Carol Fox. “It’s not exactly a Better Homes and Gardens testing laboratory.”
Some residents agree. Regina Schrambling, a free-lance writer, lived above a Columbus shop until she became frustrated with the noise and the crowds. She willingly accepted a near doubling in her rent to move 25 blocks north.
“It’s no longer a neighborhood. It’s a theme park,” she said. “You could see the same shops at a mall in Iowa.”
She noted that some elements of the old neighborhood remain, such as Frank’s Barber Shop. However, Frank couldn’t be reached for comment. He doesn’t have a phone.
LIBERTY LINGERS: Now that the Elvis Presley look-alikes have had their moment in last weekend’s limelight, will retailers retire their Statue of Liberty merchandise? No way. Bloomingdale’s, for one, still has new souvenirs coming in and intends to keep operating its second-floor Miss Liberty boutique right through Labor Day.
“We have plans to stay in the merchandise as long as we can,” said Constance Breslin, a merchandise manager overseeing the shop. As expected, Breslin said, foam Liberty crowns (“I had a man come in and buy 180 at a shot”) and flashlight torches outsold other items such as mugs, lollipops and pasta shaped like the statue’s head.
The Liberty centennial celebration resulted in a memorable transaction at M. H. Lamston, a drugstore on Sixth Avenue at 56th Street, where a couple from Italy bought more than $2,000 in souvenirs on July 4, according to assistant manager Stephen Nelson. The store said statue merchandise sells briskly all year round.
The Broadway in Southern California jumped on the bandwagon, shipping 21,000 foam rubber crowns to its stores.
“We had almost a complete sellout,” spokeswoman Dana Tibbitts said. Of the $1.50 price, 10% was donated to the statue restoration fund. Adagio, a Brentwood clothing boutique, didn’t fare so well. It sold only five of two dozen Liberty T-shirts.
