Source: iStock | Marek Slusarczyk
Will Century 21’s Second Act Be More Successful Than Its First?
Century 21 drew lines around the block, extensive media coverage and a visit from New York City’s mayor to last week’s reopening of its storied flagship on Cortlandt Street in the Financial District.
“This is a Welcome Back Kotter moment – welcome back, welcome back, welcome back,” said Mayor Eric Adams before the store opened last Tuesday. “It was a main anchor for our tourists.”
The discount department chain filed for bankruptcy in 2020 after the pandemic decimated its traffic, closing all 13 of its stores. The Gindi family, who founded Century 21 in 1961, bought back the intellectual property and began plotting a comeback.
The flagship, a mecca in the past for tourists and locals hunting down designer bargains, is the only store that has reopened, but more stores and a website are planned.
The signature red shopping bags have returned, but the name has changed to Century 21 NYC to capitalize on its hometown roots. The flagship has shrunk to four floors covering 100,000 square feet from seven covering 250,000 square feet with a narrower focus on fashion.
Century 21, billed as the “original off-price destination,” has faced heightened competition in recent decades from T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and Nordstrom Rack in Manhattan. It continues to count on its focus on European and contemporary fashion brands as a differentiator.
“We really do have a breadth of assortment that is unmatched from any other off-price retailer,” said Eddie Gindi, co-CEO, at a media event, as reported by CoStar News. “We know where to go, we know how to get the best deals, we know all the top designers.”
“Brands want to be in our store,” Judy Duzich, VP and general merchandising manager, told Glossy. “They love that we’re in New York, and they love that we have a tourist customer.”
Century 21 hopes to ride the local recovery as New York City hit 85 percent of its pre-Covid tourism volume last year.
Denise Danny, 58, from Staten Island, told The New York Times at the grand opening, “If it’s this crowded on the first day of the grand opening, you know the people missed Century 21.”
Discussion Questions
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: What do you think of Century 21’s prospects for a successful second act? What is your assessment of its opportunities and challenges?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
DeAnn Campbell
Head of Retail Insights, AAG Consulting Group
Katie Thomas
Lead, Kearney Consumer Institute
If they keep their operations and store footprint tight they stand a good chance of succeeding as a region centered business with strong ties to a very localized community. If they try to expand beyond the bramd love of their local customer then I don’t see them holding up to the overwhelming amount of national competition.
The initial reception to the reopening has been extremely positive, which bodes well for the future. While the department store segment is very challenged, Century 21’s focus on discounts and deals for designer products is very much on trend. The smaller footprint and store size compared to the past fleet will also help the company drive better economics than it did previously.
Century 21 hits on a lot of meaningful consumer behaviors – from the love of a treasure hunt to the love of a deal. As one of the originators of this whole category, Century 21 still has opportunity to differentiate it from the pack through its brand relationships.
I like the chances here. The Gindi family has been here before and is a family of successful merchants. This isn’t the typical reboot, where investors buy the name and try to bring the retailer back, despite knowing little about retailing.
I like the chances here. The Gindi family has been here before and is a family of successful merchants. This isn’t the typical reboot, where investors buy the name and try to bring the retailer back, despite knowing little about retailing.
That part of town has a very different look and feel than it did even when Century 21 closes. At a minimum it has staying power as a tourist destination. Although, I do hope it’s a little easier to shop this time around – I’m all for treasure hunting, but every time I went there it was more like treasure excavating!
I gave them the benefit of the doubt and went with “somewhat likely” but…
But the world has changed a lot from when they first opened decades ago; or even from when they closed (just) a few years ago. Shopping is much more online. And online competitors are many.
Mostly, tho, I’m concerned about the location: I would think a “downtown” location – which in Manhattanese means lower Broadway (rather than the center of town as it does in most cites) – would be particularly sensitive to the return of office workers. As I understand it, that’s still…a “work in Progress”.
Nice to see. Yes, the Wall Street area is a lot less crowded these days. Office occupancy rates in the city are stuck in the 40% range, and one can imagine that a lot of the original foot traffic was due to workers out on their lunch breaks . But there aren’t all that many bona fide tourist destinations, and Century 21 was undoubtedly one. Let’s hope it retains that magic.