Surge in Worth Avenue and Palm Beach retail shows no sign of abating

Palm Beach’s booming real estate market and an influx of new residents and visitors have boosted business at its retail venues from Worth Avenue to County Road and The Royal Poinciana Plaza, giving merchants a strong season that has not let up yet.

“We are very pleased to note the significant increase in tenants’ sales at the Esplanade. We have been most impressed by the strong resurgence in luxury retail this past year. It’s terrific for our tenants and for Worth Avenue,” said Yvonne Jones, director of property management for O’Connor Capital Partners of Palm Beach.

“When we look back several years to compare, it was exceptional all around, including the foot traffic to the center,” Jones said, adding that sales are exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

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Jones described business this season as the new norm and attributed the growth to both longer-term residents and visitors.

The Esplanade, 150 Worth Ave., is fully leased, but Louis Vuitton, occupying a 2,200-square-foot space since 2000, is closing at the end of May. The luxury brand known for its leather goods, handbags, shoes, watches, jewelry and accessories has a store at The Gardens mall in Palm Beach Gardens. A new tenant for the Esplanade space has not been announced yet.

Office buildings that O’Connor manages at 230 and 240 Royal Palm Way are fully leased. Many of the tenants are from the Northeast but have decided to open a second location in Palm Beach, Jones said.

Busiest retail market in 25 years

Robert Klecinsky, director of retail services at Cushman & Wakefield’s Palm Beach office, said the island's retail market is the busiest and best with the fewest vacancies he has seen in 25 years, and business is still booming this spring.

“The seasons are longer, and the stores are packed,” said Klecinsky who has worked in commercial real estate in Palm Beach since 1989.

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A few Worth Avenue spots are changing hands in the next few months, but are already leased, as are leases coming up in 2023, Klecinsky said.

Last year, Klecinsky handled the Le Bilboquet lease for the French restaurant, which opened in February 2021 at 245 Worth Ave. The restaurant began in Manhattan in 1986.

“At the time we had several vacancies on Worth Avenue. We filled those vacancies with pop-ups, and several of those tenants have become long-term tenants,” Klecinsky said.

Le Bilboquet brought affluent, sophisticated New York customers to Worth Avenue where they could experience “super fine” dining.

“That gave agreement and confirmation that Worth Avenue was the place to be for retailers looking to enter the South Florida market. It was a big deal,” Klecinsky said, as it gave store owners a lot of confidence when signing a long-term lease.

Service and attention to detail; exclusive merchandise

What sets Worth Avenue is apart is the unmatched service and attention to detail customers receive, Klecinsky said. Many shops carry exclusive merchandise not found elsewhere.

“Because of people moving here for tax reasons and weather, affluent people worldwide found out about Palm Beach, and they decided to stay. Retailers are cognizant of that. Affluent customers moving here on a permanent basis made retailers confident to be long-term tenants. It has just been good for the street,” Klecinsky said.

Some have accessed Palm Beach for the first time, and it’s not uncommon to see three generations of families from tweens to grandparents enjoying Worth Avenue, he said.

“It isn’t like years ago when people were intimidated to cross the bridge. There are so many young teenagers here with their families. You see young people having graduation pictures taken on Worth Avenue,” Klecinsky said. “New generations are comfortable being here. That will be the future customer in the next 10 to 20 years.”

Stephanie Barbatelli, owner of DEA Fine Linens, 341 Worth Ave., said, “We have been having a good year. It is partly because the business, even before all the people came down, had lots of room to grow. It was a small business that had not been developed very much.”

Barbatelli bought the business five years ago and has seen growth every year. Everything sold at DEA is imported from Italy, which made 2020 a challenging year because of supply-chain issues, but that has eased somewhat he said.

“We felt the influx of new people coming into Palm Beach but were lucky enough to have clients who shopped with us who do not live in Palm Beach. It doesn’t hurt that the weather is so nice, and you can wear shorts,” said Barbatelli, who owns another store in New York called E. Braun & Co.

'People were in the mood to shop'

Marley Herring, owner of Marley’s Palm Beach Collection, 256 Worth Ave., a women’s clothing store on the Avenue since 2006, said, business was good, and the parking lots were packed and turning people away.

“People were in the mood to shop,” Herring said. “They tended to buy more items. They were just very happy to shop.”

The fact Florida had fewer COVID-19 restrictions than other areas also helped attract shoppers.

Michael Maus, owner, Maus & Hoffman, a men’s wear store at 312 Worth Ave., said, “In addition to our long-standing customers returning to normal activity, and the attire associated with a robust social calendar, we have established fantastic relationships with a tremendous number of new customers. The often-discussed population shift and booming real estate market have been a tremendous boon for our business.”

Business is stronger than pre-pandemic levels and Maus expects it to remain so.

“Our business, our street, our town, like so many other things, is forever changed,” Maus said.

New residents are switching from the heavier grays and blues in their wardrobes to more Palm Beach-appropriate colorful sport jackets, trousers, fun print and patterned shirts.

“With a backlog of weddings, galas and charity events, our formalwear business was also very strong with people trading in their tired tuxedos and related accessories,” Maus said.

“On Worth Avenue, we did not see the typical vacancy/lease cycle in the last couple of years. The businesses that are here have survived and thrived,” Maus said. “We still have a great mix of internationally renowned luxury brands and strong locally-owned independent retailers.”

Newer shops are thriving

Casa Branca Palm Beach, an interior design shop that showcases fabric, art, wallpaper, furniture and pillows, opened at 344 Worth Ave. in January 2021.

Andrew Uihlein, Casa Branca’s president, said sales have more than doubled this season, which has included new product launches by owner Alessandra Branca. The store brought on a new director, Mary Dever, and renovations are kicking into high gear as the off-season begins. It has also hosted pop-ups and cocktails for a variety of designers, authors, brands and social groups, and plans to stay open all summer.

“This season we’re noticing more international and first-time Palm Beach visitors, and people are very interested in the broader design scene. New home buyers continue to discover the store, and designers are still extremely busy with local projects in and around Palm Beach,” Uihlein said

New shops on Worth Avenue this season included Cecy Handbag boutique, 250 Worth Ave., and a second location of Jennifer Tattanelli at 226 Worth Ave., focusing on shoes.

Richard Lynn, president of the Palm Beach Midtown Business Association, representing businesses from The Colony to Seminole Avenue, said business is dramatically better and has been incredible. The west side of County Road between Brazilian and Royal Palm Way is now fully leased except for one space empty because of a maintenance situation.

Lynn said the association serves as an ombudsman for County Road businesses and has brought issues to the town on behalf of the merchants such as parking and a tree that was blocking a sign in front of Scotti’s Wines & Liquors, 369 S. County Road.

Chik Monk, 139 N. County Road, a coffee bar which sources coffee from Chikmagalur, India, opened in December. Co-owner Nandini Jayaprasadi said business has been excellent and they plan to stay open all summer. The coffee beans are sold at Whole Foods and Amici, but the Palm Beach shop is the company’s only retail store, attracting customers from as far as Boca Raton who have found them through internet searches and reading reviews.

Another retailer which debuted in November is Fivestory, a women’s fashion boutique at 201 Royal Poinciana Way. Owner Karen Murray opened her first Fivestory store in New York City in 2020 and a second in Southhampton in May 2021.

Mish Fine Jewelry opened at 244 S. County Road in Phipps Plaza in December.

In March Via Flagler by the Breakers welcomed new tenant Sisley Paris, offering skincare, makeup and hair care products. Sisley has stores in Las Vegas, New York City and Miami. Via Flagler, a mixed-use center on Royal Poinciana Way at the site of the former Testa’s restaurant, an empty gas station and shopping area, is fully leased except for one 814-square-foot space. Breakers officials said. Another undisclosed tenant is slated to join the lineup this fall.

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Businesses new to the Royal Poinciana Plaza, 340 Royal Poinciana Way, this season included FRAME, La Ligne, Marissa Collections, Nili Lotan, Veronica Beard and Cartier. SoulCycle Outside popped up again as well with its outdoor fitness classes. The Royal is home to four restaurants and 26 retailers and is fully leased, said general manager Lori Berg.

TooJay’s is expected to re-open in June and Oscar de la Renta is re-opening, but that date has not been announced yet.

“This has been our best season yet,” Berg said. “The Royal is a destination and we have seen the laza booming every day with events and exciting trunk shows and popups. This season has surpassed last season on all accounts.

“We are fully leased at the moment and have actually had to turn businesses away due to lack of space,” Berg said. “There really isn’t a season anymore. People aren’t just visiting; they are living here. It is late April, and we are still as busy as ever.”

Hundreds of events from gallery exhibit openings and a speaker series to trunk shows and designer appearances drew visitors to the plaza. Après Beach was a popular event with guests on a waitlist for a cabana each Sunday the event was held.

The Royal Easter Affair was fully booked online within seven hours and attended by more than 2,000 people throughout the day.

Beth Buccini, owner of Kirna Zabête, a women’s clothing store, said the store opened at The Royal in 2017 and sales have increased every year except for during the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown. Its flagship store is in New York City’s Soho, with another store in East Hampton.

Last year’s business was up 200 percent compared to 2020, and 79 percent above 2019, Buccini said.

“This year we are up 22 percent to last year, and 21 percent above plan. We’ve had a massive increase in both foot traffic and sales. We’ve had such a strong Palm Beach season, and it just keeps getting better every year. We have the locals. We have the tourists, and we have the snowbirds all shopping. We love Palm Beach,” Buccini said.

Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce CEO Laurel Baker, said, “It appears to have been an optimistic season all around. Given the number of new stores that have arrived, the next season looks promising as well. The new restaurants and art galleries have created a new energy and vitality on the streets, a critical addition for the town to continue to attract new visitors and give residents a new appeal.”

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Worth Avenue and Palm Beach retail have been 'exceptional all around'