French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH is making moves around its pocket of Billionaires’ Row on East 57th Street.
First, there’s a lease out to relocate its US headquarters to 550 Madison Ave. — and another to shuffle its Louis Vuitton store to the Trump Organizationās 6 E. 57th St., while the fashion houseās own location across the street is being renovated.
Those 36,000 square feet at 6 E. 57th St. are still occupied by Tiffany & Co. — which is also an LVMH subsidiary — and the luxury retailers will play musical chairs of sorts once the jeweler moves next door to its own redeveloped digs on the corner of Fifth Avenue this spring.
(Tiffanyās landmarked headquarters space, 727 Fifth Ave., has been getting an entire facelift by OMA architects that includes a new, multi-level glass penthouse and an outdoor terrace, while Peter Marino has been tapped for the interiors. It’s completing elevator installations and waiting for signoffs before holding a grand opening celebration, sources said.)
LVMH is headed by French billionaire Bernard Arnault — the richest man in the world. He bought Tiffany in 2021 in a $13 billion-plus deal while the jewelerās renovations were already underway. It has been operating out of the former NikeTown space, at 6 E. 57th St., under a sublease.
The deal for the Louis Vuitton move there was cut directly with former president Donald Trump. The space is connectāed to both Trump Tower and the atrium that links to the Iš„BM office tower at 590 Madison Ave.
Although two, five-year options to renew at low rents remained on that NikeTown lease, Trump sealed a short-term deal with Arnaultās son, Alex.ź¦«
āThe deal was done at huge numbers,ā one real estate soą²urce told The šPost, believed to be just five years. Another source pegged the rent at $20 million per year.
The French companyās exclusive retail broker, Robin Zendell, the Trump Organization and LVMH did nošt respond to requests for comment.
The possibility of LVMH using the Nike spšot for one of its numerous luxury brands has been buzzed about since Feb. 15, when Trump posted on his Truth Social feed that he had dinner with Alex Arnault and his wife GĆ©raldine at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach.
āWe were celebrating the deal we made on the former Nike Store on East 57th Street and Fifth Avenue,ā Trump wrote. āAlex is very excited about the re-opening of Tiffany. It will be a truly spectacular renovation, and bring Tiffany into a new Era of fabulous Success and Growth!ā
Alex is the second oldest son of Bernard Arnault, and has been focused on Tiffanyās as EVP anšd head of communications since 2021.
last week that Alex just paid some $18 million to buy a penthouse at 30 Park Place downtown, which sits aboveź§ the Four Seasons hotel.
Louis Vuittonās offices and store are in a 15-story building at 1 E. 57th St. that, at one time, was the Warner Brothers store. LVMH has been methodically updating the upper office š¼floors, š but will soon refresh the three-level store itself.
LVMHās city headquarters is to the east, at 19 E. 57th St. It is a mere 62 feet wide and was designed by Pritzker-winning architect Christian de Portzamparc. Opened in December 1999, it’s technologically ancient and, despite its glass curtain wall bumps and pretty details, its 23 stories are a warren of small offices.
Executives have been touring spaces in the neighborhood, but a short-term deal has eluded them because it would take extremely high rents to offset the needed cš»apital improvšements that are typically spread over a long lease.
LVMH finally settled on the long-term deal at ā550 Madison Ave. where sources say thereās now a lease out for 150,000 square feet. Asking rents are $190 per foot.
Tš½he former Sony Building has undergone a complete transformation including a new publiļ·½c atrium between East 55th and 56th streets.
Neither Mary Ann Tighe of CBRE who represents the building ownership, the Olayan Group, nor Jeffrey Peck of Savills who represents ąµ©LV North America returned requests ąµ©for comment.