Henri Bendel, established in 1895, was a women's accessories store based in New York City that sold the Henri Bendel brand of handbags, jewelry, luxury fashion accessories, home fragrances and gifts. Its flagship New York store was located at 712 Fifth Avenue. Henri Bendel was the first retailer to have its own fragrance, to offer in-store makeovers, and to stage its own fashion show. The retailer is credited with developing the shop-within-a-shop merchandising concept that is in use in some department stores today. In the Cole Porter song from 1934 "You're the Top" made famous by Ethel Merman, Porter incorporates the line "You're a Bendel Bonnet - a Shakespeare Sonnet", immortalising the brand. In September 2018 it was announced that the owner L Brands would close all 23 stores and end the brand. In January 2019, its physical stores and website were closed.
History and influence
was born in Louisiana in 1868 and moved to New York to work as a milliner. He opened his first shop, in Greenwich Village, in 1895. In 1907, he began branding the brown-and-white striped boxes that are still identified with the company. In 1913, Henri Bendel was the first retailer to sell Coco Chanel designs in the U.S. After Bendel's death in 1936, his nephew became the store's president and served until his retirement in 1954. Bendel's nephew, who later founded Belgian Shoes, died in 1997. Geraldine Stutz was president of Henri Bendel from 1957 to 1986. Stutz had "a legendary eye for discovering the newest designers and using them first," including Perry Ellis, Jean Muir, Sonia Rykiel, Carlos Falchi, Mary McFadden, and Ralph Lauren. In 1958, Stutz turned the store's main sales floor into a "U-shaped 'Street of Shops,'" which some consider the forerunner of today's shop-within-a-shop merchandising displays. During the 1960s, Andy Warhol was an in-house illustrator. Beginning in 1994, Izak Zenou's illustrations have appeared on Henri Bendel ads and promotional materials. In recent years, the retailer has aimed to grow from an "iconic New York brand" into "a nationally recognized accessories company." Beginning in 2008, the brand expanded beyond the New York store to become a national chain with 28 stores across the U.S. In 2009, Henri Bendel stopped selling apparel. In 2014, the New York flagship store and website began selling only Henri Bendel-branded handbags, jewelry, fashion accessories and home fragrances, following the model set at its other stores. Henri Bendel was named Retailer of the Year in 2010 by The Accessories Council. In September 2018, The Wall Street Journal and other media outlets reported that Henri Bendel announced the closing of its 23 stores and ending of its brand after 123 years in business. Owner L Brands said the move was part of efforts to improve profitability and focus on brands like Victoria's Secret. On January 19, 2019 all Henri Bendel stores were closed and its website was shuttered on January 28, 2019.
The Flagship store on Fifth Avenue was located in two adjacent buildings, the Rizzoli building and Coty Building, as well as a new five-story building. During renovation of the Coty building, 276 "masterwork" panes of glass commissioned from Rene Lalique in 1912 were restored. The glass filled three large windows that comprised the front of the second, third and fourth floors of the Henri Bendel store. The building had received landmark status from the city's Landmark Preservation Commission in 1985. Of the building, The New York Times' architecture criticPaul Goldberger wrote:
For this mix of new architecture and old, skillfully integrated, holds more promise for the revival of Fifth Avenue than anything that has happened to that troubled boulevard in the last decade.
Ownership
After Bendel's nephew, also named Henri Bendel, retired from the company in 1954, the Bendel family sold the store to a group of investors. In 1980, Henri Bendel president Geraldine Stutz purchased the store with a group of investors from Genesco Inc., a retailing/apparel company that had owned Bonwit Teller and other stores. In 1985, L Brands acquired the Henri Bendel brand. Formerly Limited Brands, the Columbus, Ohio-based company is also the parent of Victoria's Secret, PINK, Bath & Body Works, and La Senza and operates 2,917 company-owned specialty stores in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom.
