Uniqlo Strikes Agreement to Purchase its Fifth Ave Store
What may be a developing trend among some retail brands to purchase their locations has led to an agreement between Vornado Realty Trust’s retail JV and Uniqlo that has opened the door to the Japan-based fast-fashion brand purchasing 17,295 square feet (6,477 square feet at grade) of its store at 666 Fifth Avenue for $350 million, or a blended price of $20,237 per square foot — a price that was well above the blended $9,263 per square foot Gucci’s parent company Kering paid in January for its nearly 81,000 square feet of retail space and 23,128 square feet of 4th floor office space at 717 Fifth Avenue. In a separate deal, Uniqlo will acquire an additional 75,000 square feet at the store for an undisclosed price from Brookfield Properties, which controls the approximately 1.17 million-square-foot office component under a 99-year lease executed in August 2018. Both sales will close concurrently upon the completion of the formation of the new condominium interests. The remaining condo unit at the building was acquired by Spain-based Inditex and houses its Zara brand, paying roughly $331.661 million in March 2011 for the 36,474-square-foot unit. Vornado will continue to own 23,832 square feet of retail space currently occupied by Abercrombie & Fitch and Tissot stores, of which 7,416 square feet is at grade. Vornado acquired the 41,127-square-foot retail condo in December 2012 for $707.82 million. Vornado expects to use the net proceeds from the sale to Uniqlo to partially repay the “$390 million of preferred equity on the asset” according to the REIT’s press release.
Source: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/uniqlo-pays-high-price-buy-fifth-avenue-space-vornado