Tommy Hilfiger closes Fifth Avenue flagship, set to close Miami store

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Mar 25, 2019

Tommy Hilfiger has closed its global Fifth Avenue flagship in Manhattan as the classic American label reshapes itself to gain ground in an increasingly digital era of commerce. 

In addition, Tommy Hilfiger will also shutter its Miami store on Collins Avenue on April 28, marking the close of the only two full-price Tommy Hilfiger stores in North America.

"In line with our strategic objective to further reach and engage with digitally-savvy North American consumers, we will focus on next generation retail experiences and partnerships to stay ahead of today’s continuously changing shopping habits and preferences," said Tommy Hilfiger CEO Daniel Grieder in an official statement given to FashionNetwork.com. "This means we are reshaping our retail landscape in North America, closing the New York City Fifth Avenue Tommy Hilfiger store and the Tommy Hilfiger store on Collins Avenue in Miami, Florida." 

According to the executive, the closings will help to create space for the North American region to be Tommy Hilfiger's testing ground for new experiences and retail concepts.  

"Leveraging our Store-of-the-Future concepts rolled out in the global retail landscape, going forward, North America will be the lighthouse region to develop and test new modular, digitally-infused retail concepts," Grieder said. "We continue to invest in tommy.com and the ongoing expansion of strong wholesale distribution partners that keep consumers at the heart of our brand."

The latest announcement is part of Tommy Hilfiger's ongoing commitment to engaging with younger consumers – a strategic positioning evidenced in the brand's on-trend collaborations with Gigi Hadid, Kith, Lewis Hamilton or Zendaya, its adoption of the see-now-buy-now fashion show model and its newly launched Tommy Sport line.

This focus on the millennial and Gen-Z markets also means tuning in to consumer ethics, as these demographics have consistently been shown to have increasingly exacting environmental and social standards for the brands they support. Tommy Hilfiger has also proved itself capable of tapping into this growing trend with its initiatives promoting positive change within the fashion industry and its introduction of sustainable denim.

Operating under PVH, Tommy Hilfiger continues to perform well, with revenues rising by 11 percent to $1.1 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2018. Additionally, the label's revenue went up by 3 percent in North America while international revenues rose 16 percent. This fiscal year, the label's revenues are expected to grow by around 10 percent. 

The four-level Fifth Avenue flagship first opened in 2009, and most recently played host to a pop-up event to promote the Tommy x Zendaya collection. The location's closure marks the end of an era and yet another major closing on Fifth Avenue, with the popular shopping strip having already lost Lord & Taylor, Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch, Henri Bendel and Ralph Lauren's Polo flagship all within the past two years.