Shanghai Tang is planning a seamless return to Madison Avenue – it’s setting up shop just a block north of the store it closed this summer.
Sources say the glitzy yet customer-challenged retailer will reopen Dec. 1 at the latest, replacing the veddy British clothier Aquascutum, which closed its Manhattan doors on Wednesday.
“Shanghai Tang wants to open in time for Christmas. They have decided they have a Madison Avenue following and they don’t want to lose it,” said a person close to the deal.
Shanghai Tang officials did not return calls for comment.
The old store, at 667, was taken over by Steuben, which will move its flagship Fifth Avenue Store and New York headquarters there.
A staffer at Aquascutum said the London-based retailer does not have another location here but would look for one.
While Shanghai Tang is sticking with Madison Avenue, there is a crucial difference this time: Its new home has about 3,000 square feet of selling space, roughly a quarter the size of its old location.
The rent is smaller, as well. Real estate sources say it’s about $800,000 a year, compared to the $2.5 million to $3 million it cost to rent 667 Madison.
Shanghai Tang, whose flagship store is in Hong Kong, arrived in Manhattan with a bang two years ago.
Owner David Tang announced his presence with a celebrity-studded party that was said to cost at least $1 million.
Tang became a media darling and socialite after that, and his clothes won raves for their delicate design and sumptuous fabrics.
But Shanghai Tang could still not sell enough $1,000 silk dresses and $750 jackets to pay its staggering rent.
Price was part of the problem.
Fashionistas like Chinese styles, but they love to get them on ultra-cheap Canal Street.
Fashion consultants also said David Tang was ahead of his time – something that helped drive him from his larger location but bodes well for him this time around.
Asian-inspired fashion is hot here now, but it wasn’t as widespread when Shanghai Tang first opened its New York City doors.