It was an unusually quiet yesterday evening in Chinatown, and just as we were pondering this newfound ability to freely walk all over the sidewalk without toppling tourists from Tupelo, we ran right into a counterfeit raid. For a change, the police were not after Gooyard, Louis Wuitton or Goach; the store being gutted was a generic perfumer.
All along the sidewalk at Canal and West Broadway were paper bags packed full of counterfeit perfume boxes. You name it, it was stuffed into a sack and ready to be hauled. We're pretty sure we even spotted some Drakkar Noir peeking out from behind piles of Gaultier.
This is the summer for humongous construction advertising; we're seeing Times Square-appropriate splashes in front of the new Topshop, 7 For All Mankind...and JC Penney? That's right: Manhattan Mall in Herald Square is due to get Manhattan's first JC Penney in summer 2009, but right now is just getting their name out there. Keep in mind that the flagship Macy's is on the same block, and these new huge ads from JC Penney (strikingly Macy's red) bookending the site make marketing sense. Until the arrival of Worthington separates and the American Living RL line, we can only bemoan the loss of the city's single Arby's and hope that JC Penney won't force their catalogs down our mail slots.
· JC Penney Confirmed for Manhattan Mall's Lower Levels [The Shophound]
· Goodbyes [Racked]
Midtown is about to get a little bit more Japanese, and no we're not talking about MUJI. Macy's stores will be getting their very own Apple vending machines to speedily distribute everything from the iPod Touch to Canon Digital Cameras to tourists who maybe were too busy taking pictures at the Apple Fifth Ave store to remember to purchase anything. Long popular in Japan, using a vending machine for things other than snacks is not new for Apple. Despite Macy's claim on their website that the Apple e-spot is "only at Macy's," we definitely tried the thing out months ago at Terminal 7 at JFK and found it mainly sold out save for accessories. We're banking that the Macy's machines will meet the same fate of eternal emptiness, given the novelty of the process and the fact that it makes an awesome photo op.
· Macy's e-Spot Vending [Official Site]
· Macy's Adds Vending Machines to Retail Floors [PSFK]
· Finally, an iPod That Matches Your Barbie Dream House [Racked]
Toy store F. A. O. Schwarz is joining forces with Macy's. "F. A. O. Schwarz will open shops inside 685 Macy’s stores over the next two years, executives of the two retailers said Friday. It will be the first time in 20 years that Macy’s has operated a year-round toy department. The F. A. O. Schwarz shops, ranging from 200 square feet to 3,500 square feet, will carry a variety of F. A. O.-made products, many exclusive to Macy’s. The first 275 shops will open this fall, in time for the holiday shopping season." [NY Times]
Today's Street Scenes subject is Tanner, shot on Doyers Street in Chinatown. Feel free to vote on whether you like or dislike his outfit below—your choices are 'Perfection!,' I feel strangely ambivalent about it,' or 'Who Did This To You.'
Tanner is wearing a Tony Hawk collection shirt, jeans and a cap from H&M, a jacket from Macy's and sunglasses from a vendor on the Santa Monica Promenade. His favorite store is The Children's Place.
Here's a nice, juicy rumor for you: Macy's may be interested in setting up shop at Harlem Park, the colossal new office building planned for 125th Street and Park Avenue. According to The Real Deal: "The Macy's store could rise up to the third floor of the 21-story building, however the amount of available space hinges on how big a lease Major League Baseball takes for the new television network it is launching." Major League Baseball and Macy's? The little development that could is really taking off.
· Macy's shopping for Harlem site [TRD]
· MLB Wants to Climb Inside Harlem's Box [Curbed]
· Harlem's Box Actively Recruiting [Curbed]
Today's Street Scenes subject is Terrence, shot on Church Street between Duane and Reade Streets in Tribeca. Feel free to vote on whether you like or dislike his outfit—your choices are 'Perfection!,' I feel strangely ambivalent about it,' or 'Who Did This To You.'
Today's Street Scenes subject is Irina, shot on Kenmare and Lafayette Streets in Nolita. Feel free to vote on whether you like or dislike her outfit—your choices are 'Perfection!,' I feel strangely ambivalent about it,' or 'Who Did This To You.'
Today's Street Scenes subject is Rishena, shot in the West 4th Street subway station. Feel free to vote on whether you like or dislike her outfit below—your choices are 'Perfection!,' I feel strangely ambivalent about it,' or 'Who Did This To You.'
Rishena is wearing a Lot 29 Luxe jacket, a Changes sweatshirt, a belt bought on Pitkin Ave in Brooklyn, sneakers from Footaction, jeans from Macy's and a hat and scarf her mother gave her. Rishena's favorite store is Macy's.
The New York Daily News has come out with an article on beating the shopping crunch. Unfortunately, the first store they refer readers to is Macy's on 34th Street, as "some of the best holiday shopping can be done at Macy's—if you take advantage of their special early openings, that is." People, shopping at Macy's Herald Square is never a good move, especially right before Christmas. Shopping at Macy's, the windowless, tourist-filled maze where commission-driven sales people attack you like sea gulls at the beach, is perhaps the most depressing thing ever. [NY Daily News]
Macy's is getting desperate. Seven of the department store's outposts will be open 24 hours a day from Friday, December 21st through Christmas Eve. The flagship at Herald Square is participating as well as stores in Brooklyn, Long Island, Jersey City, Yonkers, Wayne and Staten Island. The Queens Center Mall Macy's is taking things a step further and starting this insanity on Thursday, December 20th. [WWD, subscription req]
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