End of Season: Palm Beach retailers have booming season despite bad-weather start

Despite a season with more rain than normal from November through February, which likely hampered foot traffic and sales, Palm Beach retailers from The Breakers to Worth Avenue, County Road and The Royal Poinciana Plaza experienced a successful season.

The openings of internationally known luxury fashion houses Versace at 243 Worth Ave. and Carolina Herrera in The Esplanade, 150 Worth Ave., helped fuel interest in the famous shopping street. Versace opened in November and Carolina Herrera opened in December.

“This has indeed been a period of remarkable foot traffic and sales volume, reflecting a positive trend that seems to resonate across Palm Beach. We have seen a diversity of guests, ranging from local enthusiasts to international visitors,” said Frank Steinhart, president of the Worth Avenue Association. He also is production manager of the family-owned shoe store Stubbs & Wootton, in Palm Beach since 1993.

Palm Beach’s allure is growing on the global stage, and that is in part due to its depiction in popular culture, such as the recent Apple TV series “Palm Royale,” which spotlighted the island. “This has amplified interest and curiosity, making Palm Beach the place to be,” Steinhart said.

Robert Klecinsky, director of retail services at Cushman & Wakefield’s Palm Beach office, said Worth Avenue is 100% leased.

“From a business standpoint, the town is vibrant. Younger people are starting to shop here. It is in a pretty happy place right now,” Klecinsky said. “The young people visiting the island, the tweens and young teenagers and those in their early twenties, in five or 10 years, they will have careers. Those will be the new people of the future. They are already here. That is the healthiest thing happening with Palm Beach.”

Klecinsky, who brokered the leases for Versace and resort wear brand Poupette St. Barth, said Versace brings high fashion to the street. “There is tremendous demand for stores. More tenants are looking, both small and localized tenants, and national and international tenants, than there have been since the late 1990s,” Klecinsky said.

Merchants agreed the poor weather early in the season hurt business somewhat.

“It definitely kept some people away. Business was still strong, but maybe left some other retailers feeling a bit flat,” said Michael Maus, owner of Maus & Hoffman, a men’s wear store at 312 Worth Ave. The store opened on Worth Avenue in 1961.

Christmas business was excellent, and March and April were strong, Maus said. “I’ve never really considered spring break as something that drew significant business to Worth Avenue,” he said. “With an early Easter coinciding with academic spring breaks, it seemed many of those families with school-aged children were visiting Pam Beach, and shopping on Worth Avenue.

“The trend continues for the town to have those same young families move here, as businesses relocate. Our customer base continues to become younger and our offerings support what those clients are looking for. This is a macro trend sure to continue and reshape my business and the town as a whole,” Maus said.

Sherry Frankel, owner of Sherry Frankel’s Melangerie, a gift shop in the Via Amore courtyard for 28 years, said: “The weather was horrific from Thanksgiving through February. Foot traffic was definitely down. In times past, when the weather was bad people would shop. This time it wasn’t so. I have said for many years, Mother Nature is old. She has Alzheimer’s. She does not remember what the season was.”

Frankel said that on gloomy days, she did a lot of custom orders for items such as notepads, pillows and her always popular bar towels with funny sayings and that kept business going.

Marley Herring, owner of Marley’s Palm Beach Collection, a women’s clothing store at 256 Worth Ave. since 2006, agreed there was some terrible weather, which resulted in less foot traffic. “Those who did come here were here to shop,” Herring said. “People have been out in droves since the weather got nicer. It’s been a pretty good season all in all.”

Mitchell Siegel, founder and owner of Cocoon Gallery, 410 S. County Road, opened the showroom featuring handcrafted furniture, art and accessories in January. The completion of a more-than-$1 million renovation took longer than expected, but he wanted to make sure it was beautiful.

“We did not get possession until June. We did a massive renovation to the property,” Siegel said. “The 1968 façade had to go.”

Cocoon’s flagship store and workshop are in Naples on Florida’s west coast, so it joined a group of businesses with shops in both Naples and Palm Beach. Among those are Maus & Hoffman, Lilly Pulitzer, Marissa Collections, Provident Jewelry, Charlotte Kellogg, Marina St. Barth and J. McLaughlin.

Siegel said he wanted a new location on Florida’s East Coast, and considered Miami’s Design District, but the opportunity came up for the Palm Beach spot. “I don’t think any business can survive on Palm Beach island alone. We wanted a central location to draw from surrounding areas,” Siegel said.

Customers from Fort Lauderdale to Jupiter, Juno Beach and Palm Beach Gardens are shopping at Cocoon, including a number from Delray Beach and Boca Raton. “We find in our business that a lot of the work is done during the off-season. A lot of the designers work in the homes when people are not there,” Siegel said.

While other merchants have told him it was not their best season ever, Siegel said he is fine with Cocoon’s sales so far. “Everyone who comes in is amazed by it. That is a great reason for high optimism,” he said. “We are new here. You always want better.”

Dea Fine Italian Linens, 341 Worth Ave., held its first major cocktail party and introduced a new collection from interior designer Timothy Corrigan, said DEA’s owner Stephanie Barbatelli. Dea also sponsored the Kips Bay Show House for the third year.

“Dea is very pleased that business continues to grow with both local clients and many new clients who are just visiting Palm Beach,” Barbatelli said. “We are working on projects for the summer such as visiting interior design offices and continuing to build those professional relationships.”

A number of other openings and moves occurred this season, including J. McLaughlin Men’s, a new shop that debuted in November in The Esplanade. Lugano Diamonds took the former Gucci space in the Esplanade and opened in November. Amate Italian Resort Wear opened its first U.S. location in February at 333 Worth Ave. in Via Mizner.

Love Binetti, a women’s fashion boutique, opened in November with its first permanent location in Palm Beach at 313 ½ Worth Ave. Skin care boutique Oumere opened its first brick-and-mortar location in January at 256 Worth Ave. in Via Amore.

Poupette St. Barth, a women’s and girls clothing boutique, opened in November at 237 Worth Ave.

Three established jewelers relocated to Worth Avenue. Provident Jewelry and Fine Art moved to a larger space at 226A Worth Ave. Graff, a diamond watch and jewelry retailer, moved to 230 Worth Ave. from 221 Worth Ave. Jeweler Seaman Schepps moved to a new store at 337 Worth Ave. in Via Mizner in December. It occupied 227 Worth Ave. for 27 years.

Frascione Gallery, based in Florence, Italy, opened its first U.S. location in December at 256 Worth Ave. in Via Amore. Loro Piana, a men’s, women’s and children’s clothing store, opened its newly reimagined store at 247 Worth Ave. in November. House of Pratesi, a fine linen store, returned to Palm Beach after a five-year absence and opened in March at 400 Hibiscus Ave.

STAUD, a Los Angeles lifestyle brand, and Thom Browne, a New York-city based luxury fashion brand, opened in November at The Royal Poinciana Plaza, also known as The Royal. Marissa Collections, a fashion and jewelry retailer at The Royal, expanded to its second floor, and introduced “The Penthouse,” a shopping experience that includes private viewing rooms and a chef’s table and bar.

The County Road area also welcomed some new shops. Les Toiles, a fashion and home goods store with a shop in East Hampton, opened in December at 361 S. County Road. Jones Road Beauty, a brand launched by renowned makeup artist Bobbi Brown, debuted its Palm Beach cosmetics retail store in February at 283 Royal Poinciana Way. The space at the corner of Royal Poinciana Way and Bradley Place, previously housed Spa Cara.

Jennifer Balcos, an art gallery, opened in late October at 292 S. County Road.

More changes are ahead. Vineyard Vines has closed its doors, and trendy men's wear shop Isaia is slated to open in the coming months in the space at 305 Worth Ave. Isaia, founded in Italy in 1920, has more than 20 stores around the world including Saudi Arabia, New York, London, Rome and Miami.

The opening of Louis Vuitton’s new store at 222 Worth Ave. has been delayed after the town’s architectural commission asked for changes in the building’s design in March. Louis Vuitton, on the island for more than 40 years, was previously in The Esplanade in the space now occupied by Carolina Herrera.

Lori Berg, general manager of The Royal Poinciana Plaza, said: “A remarkable 76% of our tenants surpassed last season’s performance, with 70% experiencing their best year to date. Notably, several fashion boutiques outperformed their New York City counterparts.”

Beth Buccini, owner and founder of Kirna Zabête, offering luxury clothing, shoes, handbags, accessories and jewelry at its shop at The Royal Poinciana Plaza, agreed. “It was another incredible season for us in Palm Beach, with business up a whopping 17% to last year. While our traffic remained almost flat to the prior year, our conversion and sales were higher.

“We had a lot of success with events and trunk shows, particularly with our jewelry vendors and designers like Adam Loippes and Libertine. This is our seventh season in Palm Beach, and it has been amazing to watch this city explode,” Buccini said.

The Shops at The Breakers and The Breakers-owned shops at Via Flagler by The Breakers both had a really strong season, said John Zoller, senior vice president, retail operations at The Breakers. “We maintained the sales volume that was experienced during the last two record-breaking years, so our resort and off-site ventures have performed equally well,” Stoller said.

This season The Breakers retail collection experienced a 4.6% increase in revenue. Absolutely Suitable, The Breakers designer swimwear store, started the season slower than expected due to the rainy weather, but it has experienced two record months since the sunshine returned, Zoller said.

“The trend of surpassing expectations continues for Via Flagler and our wholly-owned businesses Henry’s, Main Street and SHAN. These restaurant and retail operations are exceeding our original projections in patronage and revenue,” Stoller said.

The Sports Pro Shop added Tory Burch Sport, the brand’s sportswear for women, and saw double-digit increases in the Peter Millar Men’s line, resulting in another stellar season, Zoller said.

“After opening last year, Polo Ralph Lauren Kids has become a wildly popular destination for newborn baby gifts and children’s fashion” Zoller said. “Guerlain had another record year and saw a significant increase in fragrance sales.

“We are excited for the upcoming refresh of our tennis facilities, and retail will naturally capture the enthusiasm of our tennis clientele,” Zoller said. Completion of the tennis facilities renovation is expected by year’s end. Updates to the Mediterranean Courtyard are projected to be finished in 2025.

Mark Gianquitti, director of property management for O’Connor Capital Partners at The Esplanade, said that 2023 was the first stabilized year in retail since 2019 and results this season were positive. “We were happy with the traffic we received and the sales that were registered with our tenants,” Gianquitti said.

The Esplanade is completely leased except for 1,200 square feet of office space on the second floor.

International watch and jewelry company Piaget will begin a buildout of its new store at The Esplanade, with plans to begin construction by mid-May to early June with the expectation to be open by start of the season. It is replacing the former Panerai Boutique, a watch store, Gianquitti said.

The Esplanade also plans to make improvements to its common areas over the next few months, such as the installation of new walkway pavers. It also will screen off the top level of the parking garage so that the backs of vehicles and a guardrail cannot be seen. “When our part-time neighbors come back, they will like what they see with Piaget open and the common area improvements,” Gianquitti said.

As summer nears, merchants are looking forward to regrouping and working on projects, with some cutting back store hours. “Surely there will be some great business, but not the full-throttle season,” Maus said.

Steinhart said the season gets longer and longer with residents spending more time in Palm Beach each year. The Worth Avenue Association is launching “Worth the Drive,” a marketing campaign throughout Florida, to run from June through August to keep the momentum moving forward, Steinhart said.

“It is a fantastic opportunity for people outside the area to explore what Worth Avenue has to offer,” Steinhart said. “The campaign is designed to benefit local restaurants by introducing prix-fixe menus. We believe this initiative will not only draw visitors, but also enrich their experience, making every drive worthwhile.”

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach retailers celebrate a successful season after a soggy start