With Barneys Co-op moving in to downtown Brooklyn, the NY Times declares the borough to be "the new bastion of cool for many New Yorkers... poised to go mainstream chic" (*shivers*). Allegedly following the well-heeled lead of Barneys—Jonathan Adler, Swarovski Crystal, Anthropologie and other high end retailers have been snooping around for some prime real estate in the neighborhood.
One woman hired to look at spaces for some high end companies told the paper, "Someone needed to be first, and now that Barneys Co-op has done it, others will follow." With retail rents lower, retail sales higher and folks in Brooklyn apparently willing to spend a few hundred on a pair of jeans... these companies may just find a nice home in the neighborhood. And the Grey Lady thinks that due to demographics and foot traffic, Cobble Hill may be where they settle in—someone involved in the Barneys deal told the paper, “The economics of Cobble Hill are as good as the Upper East Side or Upper West Side."
As for Barneys, a rep for the retailer says, “We are opening the Brooklyn store for the same reason we opened our location on the Upper West Side: it’s where our customers are living." So uh, your move Apple.
