Macy’s Herald Square, the world’s largest store, wants to turn its beauty floor into an international showcase. As part of an immense $400m store wide renovation, the street level beauty department is being expanded by 4,500sqft to 27,000sqft, with the women’s fragrance area growing from 1,000sqft to 5,000sqft.
Because of the decorative and technological upgrades, Macy’s has been able to lure more prestigious, premium brands to its mix. When the beauty section is completed in November, newcomers will include skin care brands SKII, La Mer, Kiehl’s; colour cosmetics from Michael Kors, Laura Mercier and Dolce & Gabbana, and fragrances from Jo Malone and Hermes. An expanded men’s area will also offer more skin care.
A 7 x 10 foot LED screen is being added to highlight special events, and for the first time beauty is spreading to balcony space with new staircases and escalators to transport shoppers. Several beauty brands are introducing counters with video screens. Also new to the floor is a Blow bar hair salon. The store’s total selling space will increase by 100,000sqft to 1.2 million sqft when the project is finished in 2015. A top tourist destination, Macy’s Herald Square draws 20 million visitors annually.