Under Armour to officially take over FAO Schwarz space

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Jul 28, 2016

Under Armour will take over the iconic, and currently vacant, FAO Schwarz retail space in New York City, according to the American media. The rumor that Under Armour would move into the space first began in May.

 
The 53,000-square-foot retail space in the General Motors Building is located on Fifth Avenue between 58th Street and 59th Street. FAO Schwarz occupied the space for almost 30 years and left the space in 2015 citing high rents as the reason for the departure. The rent reached as high as $20 million.
 
There is no word on if the Baltimore-based company will pay the same rent. The Fifth Avenue store will put the athletic company in closer competition with Nike, which operates a Niketown location on 57th Street between Fifth and Madison Avenue.

Under Armour is only number 2 in the athletic apparel market behind Nike, but, according to the local press, it beat out the sportswear giant for the Fifth Avenue space. Racked NY reported in April that Nike has been eyeing nearby retail vacancies so it can move out of its 57th Street space in the Trump Tower. Nike was also petitioned in April to exit its lease at Trump Tower. The Niketown lease ends in May 2017.
 
Though the new store will be Under Armour’s first Midtown Manhattan retail location, the brand operates Brand Houses in SoHo and in White Pains, NY. The company will officially move into the new location in mid-2019.