Chanel is set to open a store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn this June, according to a government construction announcement posted Sunday. It is the latest luxury brand to take interest in the trendy waterfront neighborhood as the hybrid work-from-home lifestyle disperses 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 in the neighborhood. Hermès is debuting a pop-up this summer, followed by a two-story flagship in 2026. The latter will sit catty-cornered from the Chanel site, according to plans published by L3 Capital, a property developer that is responsible for much of the area’s development.
It is unclear if Chanel’s outpost will be a permanent location or pop-up. Chanel did not respond to immediate requests for comment.
There has 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 high-end hotels The William Vale, The Williamsburg Hotel and The Hoxton, where during the holiday season room rates can be over $400 a night. In 2021, Bottega Veneta ran a pop-up in the neighborhood as well. And much of the north side of Williamsburg 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 moving in. In November 2022, H&M debuted its experiential pop-up site. In place until the end of this year, the Swedish fast fashion brand is bringing in new concepts on average every six weeks, such as a dedicated H&M Move fitness classes on site with Jane Fonda. That same month, Glossier opened a permanent outpost in the neighborhood drawing hours-long lines.
The modest retail space that Chanel is set to take over is next to another empty unit of similar size that will reportedly house a Byredo concept, sources said, and will create something of a beauty retail mecca. The Chanel site is nestled one over from niche perfumer D.S. & 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 hip neighborhoods like Williamsburg and Park Slope for years,” a winter 2022 report by the Real Estate Board of New York said. “The pandemic brought attention to the stability of areas with steady traffic from area residents such as Greenpoint and Prospect Heights. This contrasts with office and tourist dependent corridors such as Fulton Street [in lower Manhattan], where asking rent is more than 40% below its pre-pandemic high.”
Over 14,000 multi-family units have been constructed in the last several years in the area and approximately four times more are either underway or are in the permitting process, the report added. A significant number of luxury residential units are being added along the Brooklyn waterfront spanning from Williamsburg to Greenpoint. Rent for a one bedroom apartment at marquee buildings like Two Trees’ One South First and Brookfield’s Eagle + West are currently listed for $6,000 a month, indicating that residents in the area have strong disposable income.
