Who says American malls are emptying out?
The stores, built by two of the world’s largest real estate developers, Related Cos. and Oxford Properties Group, are designed to appeal to both high-end and low-end buyers: from clothing retailers Uniqlo, H&M, Zara and Athleta to luxury boutiques Dior, Fendi, Cartier and Tiffany.
The concept
On March 15, the Hudson Yards mall opened its doors with great fanfare. Hudson Yards is a neighborhood located west of Manhattan, around 34th Street.
At the centre of Hudson Yards is a retail complex in which developers have spent $25 billion. It has luxury retailers, fast fashion and many restaurants. 100 stores, 7 floors and more than 25 food courts make up the space.
In 2017, many analysts have predicted that a quarter of U.S. shopping centres will close within five years. Yet at Hudson Yards 90% of the mall is leased, with a mix of more than 100 brands expecting 15 to 22 million potential customers to pass through it each year. Although Hudson Yards does not use the word “Mall” to describe its operations, it fits the classic definition of a mall : a multitude of stores and dining options.
Why visit the mall?
Discover new concepts
One of the most prominent stores in this mall is the Forty Five Ten. It occupies four storefronts on the fifth floor of Hudson Yards. It is divided into four clothing categories : women’s designer, men’s designer, vintage and a platform for emerging brands called “4510 / SIX”. Everything is carefully selected, from clothing to artwork.
Getting your picture for Instagram
Like all commercial spaces, the Hudson Yards mall has many spaces in which art or creativity are present and conducive to instagramming.
Eating and drinking
Contrary to traditional malls with gigantic food halls, Hudson Yards has decided to multiply the number of restaurants on the different floors of the site. There is no fast food, but rather quality food, coffees and “markets”, such as the Citarella, which is a kind of high-end “Whole Foods”.
Work
If you are not satisfied with the shopping, you can always work on site. Right in the heart of the mall is Eden (or 3den), a coworking space where you can work, make a quiet call in one of the “pods” provided, or simply relax away from the crowds of shoppers.
You can easily reserve your workspace from the company’s mobile application.
Another advantage of the place: you can even take a shower there. All for $6 for 30 minutes.
The Eden brand works with many brands or startups to equip the premises. You will be able to drink Dirty Lemon water (the bottle that you pay by SMS), relax on Casper cushions or use Seed skin care products in the bathroom.
Discover new designs
One of the strengths of the place is being able to offer some amazing store designs.
Dirty Lemon is a cashless store that sells bottled water. Its originality: you pay for your purchases by text message. The bottles are originals, the payment process is different from its competitors and the store is extremely simple: a simple refrigerator in which you take your bottles.
At Forty Five Ten, presented earlier, the store plays a lot on design to attract customers. And it works well. Design is a marketing asset for the store. The product display areas are quite surprising.
And of course, one of the major pieces of the Hudson Yard is his “Vessel”, a huge work that will transform the landscape of this district of New York.
All these assets make this mall a living and meeting place that constantly attracts different targets.
