Fifth Avenue Is Going Out Of Style For Luxury Retailers, As Coronavirus Erodes Sales

High-end fashion stores on New York’s Fifth Avenue used to play the role of a showroom, where shoppers could browse through curated racks of clothes with a glass of champagne. However, with shopping at a near standstill and in-store sales hovering at zero, that prime real estate is becoming a drag on retailers’ balance sheets. Italian fashion house Valentino sought court approval on Monday to immediately terminate its lease on its four-story New York Boutique on Fifth Avenue, saying its premium address had been “substantially hindered and rendered impractical, unfeasible and no longer workable,” according to a complaint filed to the Supreme Court of the State of New York. Valentino blamed “COVID-19-related restrictions, social distancing measures, a lack of consumer confidence and a prevailing fear of patronizing, in-person, ‘non-essential’ luxury retail boutiques.” Read more at NBC News.