Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Las Vegas a hot destination for flagship stores

crystals

Christopher DeVargas

They took Madison Avenue, Rodeo Drive and Champs-Elysees to the highest-end retailers and put them in the Guggenheim Museum. It’s not a shopping experience. It’s a visual architecture experience,” David Edelstein, president of TriStar Capital, says of Crystals.

Las Vegas is one of the most enticing retail markets in the world, and it’s no surprise many businesses open a flagship store in the valley. So, what exactly is a flagship store? According to About.com, the designation of “flagship” is given to a retailer’s primary location; a store in a prominent location; a chain’s largest store; the store that holds, or sells, the highest volume of merchandise; a retailer’s most well-known location; a chain’s first retail outlet; or the store location in a chain that carries the most high-priced merchandise catering to the most upscale customers. Despite luxury retail and apparel stocks hit hard during the recession, these shopping locations continue to pop up. Here’s a look at a dozen businesses with flagship stores in Las Vegas:

    • H&M
      Photo by Justin M. Bowen

      H&M

      Swedish clothing retailer H&M opened its largest store in December at the former FAO Schwarz location at the Forum Shops at Caesars. The three-level, 55,000-square-foot store houses women’s, men’s and children’s clothing, shoes and accessories. FAO Schwarz closed in January 2010 after the store let its lease expire. The toy store had occupied the space, along with its iconic Trojan horse, since 1997. Las Vegas is home to two other H&M locations — one at Town Square and one at the Miracle Mile Shops.

    • Shoes for Crews
      /Courtesy

      Shoes for Crews

      Located on the northwest corner of South Maryland Parkway and East Flamingo Road, Shoes for Crews is its only retail store. Before the store opening in 2006, sales had been driven by catalog and online orders for 25 years. In 1984, Shoes for Crews developed the SFC Mighty Grip outsole using slip-resistant material to promote work safely, comfort and style. From work boots to clogs and dress shoes, just about every kind of shoe can be found in the store, with one exception: stiletto heels.

    • Tag Heuer at Crystals
      /Courtesy

      TAG Heuer

      Swiss luxury brand TAG Heuer opened its first North American flagship outlet in Las Vegas’ Crystals at CityCenter in June. The boutique consists of 800 square feet of floor space, and displays the company’s trademark timepieces and other limited-edition products such as luxury eyewear and the avant-garde Meridiist phone. The brand has 116 boutiques worldwide, with plans to expand to more than 200 in the next four years.

    • DC clothing
      /Courtesy

      DC

      Located in the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood, DC is the first flagship store to carry men’s products exclusively. The store carries apparel, footwear and accessories, as well as DC’s Skateboarding and LIFE Collections. DC’s other flagship stores are in New York’s Soho district; Park City, Utah; Los Angeles; and Irvine, Calif.

    • Affliction Clothing
      /Courtesy

      Affliction

      Affliction opened its flagship store at the Hard Rock Hotel in October 2009. The store carries brands Affliction, Affliction Black Premium and Sinful and is stocked with denim, T-shirts, swimwear and accessories. Based on its Los Angeles and Miami locations, the interior design consists of combined industrial and natural materials and a floor-to-ceiling sculpted iron tree.

    • Burberry
      /Courtesy

      Burberry

      Known for its signature trench coat and red, black and tan plaid, Burberry opened its flagship store at the Forum Shops at Caesars in 2003. It was the third and largest store opening for the worldwide retailer in Southern Nevada. The 26,000-square-foot space was renovated last year with British materials and themes, including a 3-by-3 foot video wall, touch screen monitors, a VIP lounge and fitting area.

    • retail1
      Photo by Steve Marcus

      Barneys New York

      Luxury retailer Barneys New York opened its doors in Las Vegas along with the grand opening of the Palazzo in January 2008. It is the first local store for the brand that caters to upscale business travelers. It carries designer handbags, shoes, jewelry, clothing and accessories. A subsidiary of Istithmar, a private equity and alternative investment house, Barneys has five other flagship stores: New York; Beverly Hills, Calif.; Chicago; Boston; and San Francisco.

    • PUMA athletic brand
      /Courtesy

      PUMA

      Athletic brand PUMA entered the Las Vegas market in 2003 during a North American retail expansion. Located in the Fashion Show mall, the 4,000-square-foot emporium carries PUMA’s brand apparel, footwear and accessories such as performance sports, lifestyle and high fashion couture items from specialty collections. Established in Herzogenaurach, Germany, in 1948, PUMA distributes products in more than 80 countries.

    • Coach retail store
      Photo by Ethan Miller/Las Vegas Sun

      Coach

      Located within the Forum Shops at Caesars, Coach’s 5,100-square-foot store is the largest among the eight local locations. The high-end handbag dealer has five retail stores and three outlets in the valley. Coach stores in Las Vegas have consistently been among its most productive in the U.S.

    • Linda Chang
      Photo by Leila Navidi

      Forever 21

      Forever 21, the California-based apparel retailer opened its flagship store at Fashion Show mall last year. The company spent millions of dollars remodeling a 126,000-square-foot, bi-level space that boasts 36 cash registers and 132 fitting rooms. Established in 1984, the company has 480 stores nationwide, including local shops at the Meadows, Boulevard and Galleria at Sunset malls.

    • AllSaints Clothing store
      /Courtesy

      AllSaints Spitalfields

      British fashion brand AllSaints opened its first Las Vegas store at the Cosmopolitan in December. Known for its offerings of chic, sharp edge, directional clothing, the retailer plans to roll out 30 to 50 stores nationwide in the next three to five years. A dozen other U.S. cities have store locations, including Seattle, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Francisco. It has more than 80 stores and 70 concessions worldwide.

    • Mordechai
      /The Jewelers of Las Vegas

      Jewelers Inc.

      Local company the Jewelers Inc. was established in 1976 by Mordechai and Vicki Yerushalmi. The company has grown as the couple’s four children have joined in the business. They have 12 stores across the valley under various business names with the flagship store and headquarters, the Jewelers of Las Vegas, on Western Avenue. According to the National Jeweler Network, it is ranked 37th on the National Jeweler’s Top 50 North American Retail Chains.

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