Henri Bendel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Henri Bendel is an upscale women's specialty store, established in New York City in 1896. It carries women's apparel, fashion accessories, lingerie and loungewear, cosmetics and fragrances, gifts, and gourmet foods. A small, 2,000-square-foot branch carrying only cosmetics, fragrances, and gifts opened in Easton Town Center in Columbus, Ohio, in 2004.
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[edit] Influence
Bendel's encourages new designers through its semi-annual "Open-See" events, at which vendors can present merchandise to buyers on a "first come, first seen" basis. Designers closely associated with the store include Stephen Burrows, Rick Owens, and Diane von Furstenberg.
The store is well-known for its signature brown-and-white striped shopping bags and an extensive matching line of cosmetics bags. Its Henri Bendel cashmere and merino wool sweater collections, delivered in variety of styles and colors are also famous. It regularly features "Girls Night Out" special shopping evenings for charity.
[edit] Ownership
Henri Bendel is now owned by Limited Brands. The personality most associated with Henri Bendel is Geraldine Stutz, who was its president for twenty-nine years until 1986 when the store was sold to Limited. She introduced the famous "Street of Shops", the boutiques-within-a-specialty-store concept which later gained wide popularity at the store's former location on 57th Street in New York City.
[edit] Bendel in Fifth Avenue
Located at 10 West 57th Street for decades, Henri Bendel moved to its current location at 712 Fifth Avenue near 56th Street in 1990. The store is located in two landmark buildings, the Rizzoli Building and Coty Building, and a new five-story building. The company was delighted to discover hidden Lalique windows during the restoration of the existing buildings. The store has four stories plus a lower lever, an atrium with balconies, and 35,000 square feet of selling space.
The main floor is home to the Gazebo Shop and many cosmetics brands, most of them in limited distribution. The Gazebo Shop features fashion accessories, with an emphasis on sunglasses and hair accessories. Featured cosmetics brands include Awake, Bobbi Brown, Laura Mercier, M.A.C, N.V. Perricone M.D., Rodan + Fields, Kevyn Aucoin, and, on the mezzanine, Chanel. The store was also one of the first to carry Annick Goutal fragrances.
The second floor features designer collections and accessories, with lingerie and loungewear on the third floor and the Frederic Fekkai hair salon on the fourth.
[edit] Locations
[edit] Current Locations
- New York, NY: 712 Fifth Avenue
- Columbus, OH: Easton Town Center
[edit] Former Locations
- Boston, MA: The Atrium at Chestnut Hill
- Chicago, IL: 900 North Michigan Shops
- Columbus, OH: Columbus City Center
- Palm Beach, FL
- Paramus, NJ: Garden State Plaza
- Southampton, New York
- Troy, MI: The Somerset Collection
[edit] Trivia
For many years famous for its private brand soap, discontinued in the 1990's, Bendel's in recent years introduced a new line of private brand soap and candles.
