Off-White, which is owned by Bluestar Alliance, shut down its Mercer Street store last month when its lease expired and plans to move into a new 4,200-square-foot SoHo store in September.
Joey Gabbay, chief executive officer of Bluestar, a New York-based brand management company, confirmed that the Mercer Street location was shuttered about two or three weeks ago, and the brand has signed a new lease in SoHo. He declined to give the SoHo address for competitive reasons. He said the former Mercer Street location was off the beaten path.
“That street is dead. The area is still strong in general, but it was totally in an off location,” he said. Off-White had the Mercer Street store since 2017, and “the lease expired and we didn’t renew it,” said Gabbay. The seven salespeople will be rehired for the new location, said Gabbay, who noted that the staff is currently taking jobs temporarily until Off-White opens up.
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Gabbay said Off-White has a second store in Miami, and another store is planned at the Miami Design District in October.
“We’re really seeing solid growth opportunities with the brand,” said Gabbay, whose company acquired Off-White from LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton in September. Financial details of the deal weren’t disclosed. The late Virgil Abloh established Off-White in 2013.
The original location at 51 Mercer Street opened as a gallery that was called Em Pty Gallery, where there were no permanent fixtures. The gallery hosted works by up-and-coming artists to which the clothes complemented the artwork. The original idea was that every few weeks the space would be taken over by an entirely new concept, transforming the experience for the shopper. Gabbay said the new SoHo store will also serve as a gallery.
Bluestar Alliance, founded by Gabbay and Ralph Gindi in 2006, owns, manages and markets a portfolio of consumer brands ranging from Hurley, Palm Angels, Scotch & Soda and Bebe, to Elie Tahari, Kensie, Justice, Catherine Malandrino, Nanette Lepore, English Laundry, Brookstone, Joan Vass, and Limited Too.
