Chanel is set to open a store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn this June, according to a government construction announcement published Sunday. It’s the latest luxury brand to take an interest in the trendy waterfront neighborhood as the home-from-home hybrid lifestyle dissolves spending outside of Manhattan.
Located on North 6th Street near Berry Street, the store is expected to house beauty and fragrance and will coincide with Hermès’ plans to expand into the neighborhood. Hermès is debuting a pop-up this summer, followed by a two-story flagship in 2026. The latter will sit around the corner from the Chanel site, according to plans released by L3 Capital, a real estate developer responsible for much of the area’s development.
It’s unclear whether the Chanel outpost will be a permanent location or a pop-up. Chanel did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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There had been chatter for months that Chanel was eyeing the area. The French house has run prominent advertising campaigns in the neighborhood near a pocket of luxury hotels such as The William Vale, The Williamsburg Hotel and The Hoxton, where during the holiday season room rates can top $400 a night. night. In 2021, Bottega Veneta did a pop-up in the neighborhood as well. And much of Williamsburg’s north side has been given over to luxury advertising, with recent campaigns from Cartier, Bvlgari and Marc Jacobs.
But even more affordable and mass brands are interested in settling. In November 2022, H&M debuted its experiential pop-up website. Effective until the end of this year, the Swedish fast fashion brand is bringing new ideas on average every six weeks, including special H&M Move fitness classes on site with Jane Fonda. That same month, Glossier opened a permanent outpost in the neighborhood, planning long hours.
The modest retail space Chanel is set to take over is adjacent to another vacant unit of a similar size that reportedly houses a Byredo concept, sources said, and will create something of a retail beauty mecca. The Chanel site is a stone’s throw away from specialist perfumer DS & Durga, while Le Labo is across the street. Diptyque, Credo Beauty and Glossier are all within a few blocks.
“National and luxury international retailers have had their eye on vibrant and trendy neighborhoods like Williamsburg and Park Slope for years,” said a winter 2022 report from the Real Estate Board of New York. “The pandemic has brought attention to the stability of areas with constant traffic from local residents, such as Greenpoint and Prospect Heights. This contrasts with office and tourist corridors such as Fulton Street [in lower Manhattan]where the asking rent is more than 40% below the pre-pandemic high”.
More than 14,000 apartment buildings have been built in recent years in the region, and about four times that number are either underway or in the permitting process, the report added. A significant number of luxury residential units are being added along the Brooklyn waterfront that stretches from Williamsburg to Greenpoint. Rent for a one-bedroom apartment in flagship buildings like Two Trees’ One South First and Brookfield’s Eagle + West is currently available for $6,000 a month, indicating that area residents have strong disposable income.