What:Madison Avenue revives itself post Covid-19 by increasing new store openings, relocations, and expansions of fashion brands, restaurants, and galleries.

Why it is important: Madison Avenue is reclaiming its reputation as a luxury fashion destination.

The appeal of Madison Avenue is being restored by several anchor locations such as the Armani complex, Sotheby’s headquarters, Valentino, and a Hermès flagship store. The Madison Avenue Business Improvement District cited 25 businesses under development.

The opening of the Sotheby’s headquarters cements the neighbourhood as one of the most significant places in the world to buy art.

Richemont has also heavily invested in the street with the Panerai expansion this year, A.Lange & Sohne relocating and expanding, Jaegar-LeCoultre doubling, IWC expanding, Pater Millar relocating, as well as Chloé opening on Madison Avenue.

The 13% vacancy rate is slowly decreasing as luxury businesses are recognizing that it is now a good time to reinvest in the avenue especially due to rent being lower than the peak prices. The current average asking rent is USD 834 per square foot which is an 8.5% increase year-over-year but a 9.8% decrease from fall 2022.

Visitor traffic has increased by 9% in the first half of 2023 from last year and is expected to increase through the events that the BID has been using to encourage more visits. These include a festival in October with the Metropolitan Opera and a benefit for the Ronald McDonald House. Also, increasing stores are staging evening events to appeal to younger clientele.

On Madison Avenue, it’s year two of recovery