Palm Beach 'a special place': Gucci debuts new Worth Avenue store

Jodie Wagner, Palm Beach Daily News
·3 min read
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Gucci made its long-awaited debut in its new Worth Avenue space Wednesday, opening its doors to Palm Beach shoppers who were eager to browse and buy.

The store has a wide collection of men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, shoes, handbags, luggage, small leather goods, jewelry, watches, and eyewear, the company said.

It also will feature an expanded boutique that is one of a select few in the country to carry the company's fine jewelry and precious leather accessories and handbag collections.

"Palm Beach has a special place in Gucci’s history as the location of our second-ever boutique in the United States," said Federico Turconi, Gucci Americas president and CEO. "We first opened our doors here in 1961, and in 2023, we are excited to continue our history on Worth Avenue. This incredible new boutique will allow the full expression of the brand’s creativity to come to life in a refined, welcoming setting for our clients."

Gucci opened its new store in the former Brooks Brothers location on Worth Avenue.
Gucci opened its new store in the former Brooks Brothers location on Worth Avenue.

Visitors to the store also can browse the Gucci Cruise 2023 collection, which was first presented in May 2022 in Puglia, Italy, the company said.

Gucci spent months renovating the former Brooks Brothers location at 225 Worth Ave. The space became available in 2020 after Brooks Brothers declared bankruptcy in July of that year and permanently closed 51 of its stores, including the Palm Beach location.

The 5,600-square-foot space is considerably larger than the 4,500-square-foot location that Gucci previously occupied at 150 Worth Ave. in The Esplanade, and it will give visitors more room to shop, a company official told the Town Council last August.

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"The new store will provide much-needed additional space for additional styles on the sales floor so that customers have more of a selection of items available for an in-store experience," said Adnan Rangila, the senior director of finance for Gucci America.

The new Gucci store in Palm Beach carries a wide collection of men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, shoes, handbags, luggage, small leather goods, jewelry, watches, and eyewear.
The new Gucci store in Palm Beach carries a wide collection of men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, shoes, handbags, luggage, small leather goods, jewelry, watches, and eyewear.

Work on the new store was expected to be complete in January, but it was delayed because of damage to materials during the construction process. Those materials needed to be refabricated, delivered and installed, according to a letter provided to the Town Council by Rose Eustor, Gucci's vice president of store planning and facilities.

"During construction, a few of our finishes have sustained some damage and must be replaced — specifically, one of the metal panels above our entrance, marble floor slab in the client restroom and the main entrance," Eustor wrote. "We have also held off on installing our awnings as a result."

At its January development review meeting, the council approved a brief extension for interior and exterior renovation work to the store.

Gucci opened its original Palm Beach location in 1961 in Royal Poinciana Plaza. The store was the company’s second in the United States — the first was on Fifth Avenue in New York — and was operated by Aldo Gucci, son of the firm’s founders.

Gucci added a second store and offices at 209 Worth Ave. in the early 1970s and eventually expanded to a multi-store complex at 256 Worth Ave., rechristened the Gucci Building in 1974 with the company’s purchase of the historic courtyard structure.

In 1990, the Gucci Building was sold, but the boutique remained in operation at the site until April 2012, when it moved to The Esplanade. That store closed Monday.

The new Gucci store had been expected to be completed in January, but materials problems delayed its opening until this week.
The new Gucci store had been expected to be completed in January, but materials problems delayed its opening until this week.

The Gucci company over the years transformed from a family-operated firm into the flagship brand of a global luxury-goods entity renamed Gucci Group, acquiring such fashion labels as Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and Stella McCartney, as well as several prestige watchmakers and jewelers in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The company operates 104 locations throughout the United States and Canada, including 15 in Florida. Three of those are in Palm Beach County; the other stores are in Palm Beach Gardens and Boca Raton.

The Palm Beach location is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For more information, visit www.gucci.com.

Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Gucci debuts new location on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach