Commercial Real Estate & Advisory

Woolrich expands in SoHo despite retail slump

By Daniel Geiger | December 6, 2018

The market for brick-and-mortar retail is not all doom and gloom. Woolrich, the upscale outdoor clothing and workwear brand, has struck a deal to expand its SoHo store.

The company is more than doubling its size on Wooster Street, taking a nearly 8,000-square-foot store next to its current location.

Its new spot at 121 Wooster St., which has nearly 4,100 square feet on the ground floor and 3,700 square feet of selling space in the basement, will allow the company to showcase a growing collection of apparel and products.

“They have a new investment firm involved in their business and the brand has been on the upswing in terms of consumer interest,” said Joel Isaacs, the founder of Isaacs and Company, who represented Woolrich in the lease. “They want to capitalize on that and they needed more space to show the breadth of their line.”

Isaacs was referring to the recent majority acquisition in the brand by the Liechtenstein-based investment firm L-Gam Advisors Sarl, which is expected to help the clothing company grow.

Woolrich has a store at 125 Wooster St. that is less than half the size of the new location next door. Woolrich will continue to lease that smaller space, with sources saying that when Woolrich vacates it next year, a related brand, Goldwin, may take it over to open its first New York City retail store. Goldwin, a Japanese outdoor apparel company, is a part owner in Woolrich.

In a related deal, Woolrich signed a roughly 6,500-square-foot office lease at 121 Varick St. for a showroom it will use to market its products to wholesale buyers.

“For them to open a new, bigger store and take a showroom is big vote of confidence in the brick-and-mortar retail market and retailing in general in New York,” said Michael Glanzberg, a principal at Sinvin Real Estate who arranged the showroom lease for Woolrich. Glanzberg’s colleague Chris Owles represented the landlord of 121 Wooster St. in the 10-year store lease that the brand signed.