Crains New York - December 3, 2012 - (Page 41)

REAL ESTATE DEALS I Ad giant eyes big midtown lease nterpublic Group is close to signing a lease for about 95,000 square feet at 100 W. 33rd St. The company, one of the world’s largest advertising and media conglomerates,is arranging to take the 1 million-square-foot building’s entire fourth floor in a 15-year deal for a rent of about $50 per square foot. The Big Four advertising firm already occupies about 400,000 square feet at the 13-story property. Interpublic will move several subsidiaries into the new space. The lease is the second sizable transaction completed in recent months between the company and Vornado Realty Trust, the large real estate investment trust that owns the building. In October, Vornado completed a 220,000-square-foot lease to bring Interpublic to another office tower it owns, 909 Third Ave., in what so far has been one of the largest leases signed in a slow second half of the year. In that transaction, several Interpublic subsidiaries, including public-relations giant Weber Shandwick, agreed to move to the tower from nearby 919 Third Ave., which is owned by rival real estate investment trust SL Green Realty Corp. A source said Interpublic will now have about 750,000 square feet between the two Vornado buildings. Scott Panzer, a broker with Jones Lang LaSalle, represented Interpublic on the West 33rd Street deal. Glen Weiss, an in-house leasing executive at Vornado, helped arrange the leases at both Third Avenue and West 33rd. Interpublic will take possession of the West 33rd Street space late next year. The expansion deal with Interpublic may not be the only transaction pending at 100 W. 33rd St. Apparel retailer Aéropostale, which bases its offices at the tower, is said by several sources to be considering a renewal and possible expansion at the property.The company currently has about 100,000 square feet at the building, and its leases expire in 2015 and 2016. —daniel geiger BARE BONES A healthier cycle rolls into Billyburg Hipsters, step on your pedals. Indoor cycling chain SoulCycle, which is owned by heavyweight fitness chain Equinox, has signed on for its first Brooklyn location. The company inked a 15-year deal for 4,300 square feet at 184 Kent Ave. in Williamsburg. The asking rent was $60 per square foot. The eight-unit SoulCycle should help keep up with the trendy neighborhood’s rising need for fitness centers as the residential population grows, according to Geoffrey Bailey, a broker at TerraCRG. He represented the tenant as well as landlord JMH Development. “SoulCycle’s Williamsburg location is the fulfillment of years of work,” said Elizabeth Cutler, cochief executive of the chain. SoulCycle should open for business next year. It joins several other retailers at the new residential property—a converted 100-year-old factory building. Those ground-floor tenants include coffee shop Pudge Knuckles, 34 W. 33RD ST. ASKING RENT; TERM: $39 per square foot; 10 years SQUARE FEET: 10,200 TENANT; REP: Bon Bébé; Peter Sabesan of Coldwell Banker Commercial Alliance LANDLORD; REP: Arcade Building Associates; David Levy of Adams & Co. BACK STORY: The design, import and wholesale firm— responsible for brands such as Wild Child and Isaac Mizrahi Baby—will move to the ninth floor of the Childrenswear Center, according to The Commercial Observer. 3 E. 54TH ST. ASKING RENT; TERM: $55 per square foot; 10 years SQUARE FEET: 15,200 TENANT; REPS: Nest Fragrances; Clark Finney and Cynthia Foster of Cushman & Wakefield LANDLORD; REPS: Cohen Brothers Realty Corp.; Marc Horowitz of Cohen Brothers Realty, and David Glassman and Bruce Mosler of Cushman & Wakefield BACK STORY: The luxury home-fragrance manufacturer will occupy the entire fifth floor, according to The Commercial Observer. 180 VARICK ST. ASKING RENT; TERM: $49 per square foot; 31 months SQUARE FEET: 5,000 SUBTENANT; REP: Payvision; Elizabeth Juviler of Rice & Associates SUBLANDLORD; REP: Open Road; Steven Marvin of Olmstead Properties BACK STORY: The Netherlands-based global card processor will relocate from 40 Walker St. to a space on the eighth floor of the building nearby. Italian restaurant La Nonna and a dry cleaner. The cycling company will open eight other locations, in- cluding two in New York City, by the spring. —adrianne pasquarelli SMALL BUSINESS Retailers chase moving target: holiday shoppers Unsure if customers will spend online or in stores, merchants lure them on every front tion—giving customers the ability to see what’s in stock the minute they check—and a section promoting special products and daily deals. H BY EILENE ZIMMERMAN eading into the holiday season, Kevin Hart, CEO of Tekserve, a profitable Apple-product retailer and consultancy in Manhattan, wanted his e-commerce site to be more visible and easier to use for customers. He relaunched the site, adding the store’s full catalog— which wasn’t available before—and a feature that recommends additional purchases. “We can now see who has bought the laptop we recently recommended and then follow up and ask if they want to buy a case or other related products,” he said. But Mr. Hart knows he can’t rely on Web traffic alone to meet his seasonal revenue goals. The company, which has 200 employees and $95 million in annual revenue, is hoping for a 5% to 10% bump in sales for the holidays. To drive foot traffic to his store, he included on his site a “buy online and pick up in the store” op- Educated customers Revamping Tekserve’s online presence may wind up being a crucial component of its success this holiday season. In New York City, where U.S. HOLIDAY many businesses SPENDING, Nov. depend heavily 1 to 26, 2012 on foot traffic, it’s more important than ever to SPENDING for have websites corresponding that not only are period, 2011 easy to find and Source: comScore offer compelling deals, but also push shoppers out of their apartments and into the stores. Eighty percent of holiday shoppers will do their research online before making a purchase, according to the Pre-Holiday 2012 Consumer Intentions survey from Google and Ipsos OTX, released in October. More than half of shoppers do homework on the Web, then purchase in the store; 17% visit a store first and then buy online; and 32% research online, visit the store, and then make the purchase online. Google has called the 2012 holiday STATS $16.3B $14.1B season the first “nonline” shopping season,because the line between online and offline shopping is so blurred. In this new environment, owners of local businesses need to make sure it’s easy for customers to buy at any point, whether it’s on their websites or in their stores, say experts. Leah Luddine, president of Trendsetter Communications, a public-relations and search-engine-optimization firm with an office in Manhattan, has helped local client Kelly Gerber Jewelry,which sells its baubles at two Manhattan stores,to rework its website to make it easier for customers to find items like custom photo dog tags, a top-selling product. “We noticed customers were searching around too long to find what they wanted,” said Ms. Luddine. “Now they can find what they want with a category search.” Owner Kelly Gerber said there has been 40% more traffic to both the website and her business’s Facebook page since the changes in October. DIGITAL DETECTIVE: Tekserve’s Kevin Hart has studied customers’ habits to build a friendlier website. Promos matter But the profitable fouremployee company doesn’t assume that shoppers will buy on its site. To attract those who like to see merchandise in person, Ms. Gerber offers online customers a chance to sign up for email invitations to spe- cial in-store promotions and sales. While Miss Jessie’s, a salon in SoHo, sells many of its hair-care products to customers who get their hair cut and styled in the shop, it increasingly relies on promotions and special deals publicized by an email blast and on Twitter and Facebook to boost holiday sales on its e-commerce site. The 15-employee company has had a holiday buy-oneget-one-free promotion—which includes free shipping on its website—for six years, said Titi Branch, who is co-CEO with her sister, Miko Branch. The promotion has helped the profitable shop, which opened in 1997, grow sales by about 30% a year. “You have to be able to offer deals like this online during the holidays because people already have the mindset they are going to shop,” Titi Branch said. To sign up for Crain’s SMALL BUSINESS newsletter, go to www.crainsnewyork.com/smallbiz. December 3, 2012 | Crain’s New York Business | 41 buck ennis http://www.crainsnewyork.com/smallbiz

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - December 3, 2012

Crains New York - December 3, 2012
In the Boroughs
In the Markets
The Insider
Business People
Opinion
Greg David
Report: Best Places to Work
Classifieds
For the Record
Small Business
Real Estate Deals
New York, New York
Source Lunch
Out and About
Snaps

Crains New York - December 3, 2012