It’s been a tough year for traditional retailers. After Lord and Taylor’s flagship was slatted to become a co-working space and luxury retail has taken a turn for the worst by jumping on to the “immersive experience boat,” it seems as if shopping as we know it may, quite literally, never be the same.
Luxury powerhouse, Henri Bendel has been a part of the 5th Avenue landscape for as long as anyone living today could possibly remember. Their brown and white stripped bag is so iconic that Carrie Bradshaw has even been caught carrying it. However, after 123 years of spectacular customer service, Bendel’s has announced that in order to maintain shareholder value, they will be shuttering all 23 of their brick and mortar locations this coming January 2019.
You don’t have to be a frequent shopper of the locale to recognize the significance of its closing. As automatization and customer experience take a serious shift towards the digital world, more and more of these capitalist, cultural icons that help make New York so special will keep disappearing. Although I’ve only been to Bendel’s once or twice, I do feel a special kind of sadness seeing it go.
However, the store will remain open for the holiday season so I guess the silver lining to this end of an era will be the “going out of business” sale.
Featured image: Henri Bendel via Instagram