Realestate：Fashion's new houses

 
Big luxury's big bet on retail property
 
【1】From the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street the facade of Tiffany’s looks just as it did in 1961 when Audrey Hepburn, dressed in a long black dress and pearls, nibbled on a croissant outside it. Inside, however, things are rather different. After a four-year, $500m renovation, shoppers are greeted by a more modern experience.
 
【2】Everything shines: the rocks, the metal and marble display cases, the ceilings. What, at first glance, look like arched windows are really 7m-high led screens showing a diamond bird flitting over Central Park. Lifts at the rear take shoppers to ten floors: one for silver, one for gold, one for “masterpieces”. A three-storey extension, with views over Fifth Avenue, now sits atop the building. These levels are appointment-only. “We call it the diamond on the roof,” quipped Alexandre Arnault, son of Bernard, who owns lvmh, a French conglomerate that bought Tiffany’s in 2021.
 
【3】It is the most glittering example of a luxury trend: huge bets on retail properties. lvmh has bought on Bond Street in London and the Champs-Elysées in Paris. There has been a flurry of deals on New York’s Fifth Avenue. In December Prada purchased its current store, 724 Fifth, and nabbed 720 Fifth, the shop next door, for a total of $835m. On January 22nd Kering, which owns Gucci, announced that it had bought the retail space in 715-717 Fifth for $963m. lvmh is rumoured to be eyeing up 745 Fifth, the space next to Louis Vuitton.
 
【4】These deals are being sorted at breakneck speeds and for record prices. From a handshake to completion, some come together in weeks. The Kering and Prada purchases were, unusually, both “sign and close” deals—entire cash payments were made on the day the contracts were signed. The Kering deal is America’s largest ever high-street retail-property deal.
 
【5】Why the rush? Tiffany has owned 727 Fifth for decades, but most brands have been happy to lease. Will Silverman of Eastdil Secured, an investment bank that advised Jeff Sutton, the developer who sold to both Kering and Prada, points to growth in luxury sales and shifts in interest rates to explain the change of approach.
 
【6】High-end goods began to fly off the shelves during the covid-19 pandemic, when people where flush with cash and had nowhere to go, and the frenzy has not abated since. Beautiful handbags that were once the privilege of the few are now bought by the many. Indeed, last year lvmh’s sales of fashion and leather goods were 40% higher than in 2021.
 
【7】luxury goods still tend to be sold in person, meaning that retailers are spending eye-watering sums to tempt people into their stores. And the arrival of the masses means they need more space for plush private rooms in which to make sales to their old clientele. “Manhattan might be getting taller,” notes Mr Silverman, “but it’s not getting any wider.” There is a finite amount of truly high-end space.
 
【8】Alone this might be enough to tempt retailers to purchase rather than rent—and buying becomes the clear choice once interest rates are taken into account. Most property owners finance their buildings using a mixture of equity and mortgage debt. In America mortgage rates on commercial buildings are around 6-7%. The cost of equity is higher still. For an investor to buy a space and cover his costs, he might need to charge annual rent worth perhaps 8% of the building’s value.
 
【9】Paying these rates would be foolish for a luxury firm. Since they make so much money, they can issue debt at a yield only slightly above that on German government debt. lvmh’s most recent bonds were oversubscribed at 3.5%. Thus fancy retail spaces are a luxury it can easily afford.

【1】蒂芙尼装修后消费者获得更佳体验

【2】蒂芙尼门店装修后的景象

【3】各大奢侈品牌都在著名购物街上入手门店

【4】交易从立项到完成的速度非常快

【5】交易速度之快的解释

【6】高档品牌销量在疫情时期以及之后增长

【7】奢侈品还是个人消费购买得更多

【8】零售商更喜欢购买门面而非租赁

【9】路易威登能够负担得起购买零售门面的支出

1.原文：when Audrey Hepburn, dressed in a long black dress and pearls, nibbled on a croissant outside it.

词典：nibble on/at sth 小口咬，一点点地咬（食物） nibble at sth （对…）略微表现出兴趣

例句：She took some cake from the tray and nibbled at it.

她从盘子里拿了块蛋糕慢慢地吃着。

He nibbled at the idea, but would not make a definite decision.

他对这个主意略感兴趣，但还不愿意作出明确决定。

2.原文：After a four-year, $500m renovation, shoppers are greeted by a more modern experience.

词典：greet sb/sth (with/as sth)（以某种方式）对…作出反应

例句：The changes were greeted with suspicion.

这些变革受到人们的怀疑。

The team's win was greeted as a major triumph.

这个队获胜被看成是一个重大的胜利。

3.原文：What, at first glance, look like arched windows are really 7m-high led screens

词典：at first glance 乍一看；乍看之下

例句：At first glance the problem seemed easy.

乍一看问题似乎很简单。

At first glance, organic farming looks much more expensive for the farmer.

乍一看，有机耕作对农民而言似乎花费大多了。

4.原文：It is the most glittering example of a luxury trend: huge bets on retail properties.

词典：a bet on sth打赌，赌注

例句：We've got a bet on who's going to arrive first.

我们打了个赌，看谁先到。

He had a bet on the horses.

他在那些马上下了赌注。

5.原文：There has been a flurry of deals on New York’s Fifth Avenue.

词典：a flurry of sth  1. (活动或兴奋心情的)一阵  2.（雪等的）一阵

例句：Her arrival caused a flurry of excitement. 

她的到来引起了一阵哄动。
Outside, a bitter east wind was accompanied by flurries of snow. 

外面，刺骨的东风伴着阵阵小雪。

1.原文：From the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street the facade of Tiffany’s looks just as it did in 1961 when Audrey Hepburn, dressed in a long black dress and pearls, nibbled on a croissant outside it.

2.分析：主句是主系表结构the facade of Tiffany’s（主语）looks（连系动词）just as it did（表语）。From the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street是地点状语，when Audrey Hepburn nibbled on a croissant outside it是时间状语。dressed in a long black dress and pearls为非限制性定语，修饰Audrey Hepburn。

3.译文：1961年，奥黛丽·赫本（Audrey Hepburn）身着黑色长裙，佩戴珍珠宝石，在蒂芙尼门店外轻咬可颂。该门店坐落于纽约第五大道和57街交叉路口的街角，其外立面依旧保持着1961年的风貌。

1.原文：Will Silverman of Eastdil Secured, an investment bank that advised Jeff Sutton, the developer who sold to both Kering and Prada, points to growth in luxury sales and shifts in interest rates to explain the change of approach.

2.分析：主句是主谓宾结构Will Silverman of Eastdil Secured（主语）points to（谓语动词）growth in luxury sales and shifts in interest rates（双宾语），不定式to表目的。an investment bank是同位语，修饰Eastdil Secured。that引导后置定语，修饰an investment bank。the developer作Jeff Sutton的同位语，who引导定语从句，修饰the developer。

3.译文：开云集团和普拉达从地产商杰夫·萨顿（Jeff Sutton）手上购买门面。杰夫·萨顿的理财顾问，投资银行东方迪尔担保公司（Eastdil Secured）里的威尔·西尔弗曼（Will Silverman）指出，奢侈品销量增长以及利率变动是交易方式改变的原因。