The first Clarins spa on the East Coast and a Benefit Brow Bar ”“ these are among the amenities that shoppers will find in the newly expanded Macy”™s at the Cross County Shopping Center in Yonkers.
The two-floor, 75,000-square-foot expansion is part of the continuing renovation of the 333,000-square-foot store, one of 10 Macy”™s department stores in Westchester, Rockland, Dutchess, Orange, Ulster and Fairfield (Conn.) counties. The expansion opens onto a five-level parking garage, offering the first covered parking deck at Cross County, which is undergoing a renovation and expansion of its own. The shopping center will feature such additional eateries as T.G.I. Friday”™s and Tim Horton”™s, a children”™s play area and an expanded site for 2,000 Westchester Community College students, said Jim Stifel, executive vice president of Brooks Shopping Centers L.L.C., which owns Cross County.
Both renovation-and-expansion projects will have their official openings this fall. On April 21, however, the press had a taste of what shoppers have been treated to since April 9 ”“ the 75,000-square-foot expansion on Macy”™s main and second floors. The expanded space is all about the ladies ”“ their shoes, their handbags and their cosmetics.
In the shoe department, women will discover three times the inventory Macy”™s once carried ”“ approximately 100,000 pairs, including such upscale brands as Vince Camuto. The main floor also has handbags and cosmetics, featuring a Coach shop that has doubled in size and a new MAC makeup counter. (The second floor is women”™s apparel.)
A white décor, plush settings and soft lighting create an intimate yet airy atmosphere that offsets the merchandise. The overall design is complemented by splashes of color on the main floor ”“ the red Clarins spa and the peachy-pink Benefit Brow Bar, which carries Benefit cosmetics beyond products for the eyebrows.
Kristina Lopez, a Clarins skin care specialist, is excited by the new digs.
“And the customers are happy and thrilled,” she said.
That is the essence of My Macy”™s, a strategy in which the retailer not only broadens its assortment of goods but asks customers what they”™d like to see, said Edward Jay Goldberg, senior vice president, external affairs for Macy”™s.
“That strategy coupled with the space to do it makes good sense,” he said.
Future offerings will include new Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein shops for men and women, a 5,000-square-foot INC department and a renovated Juniors department.
With all the emphasis on women”™s accessories at the April 21 press conference, one questioner wanted to know about men”™s suits, which, of course, the store carries.
“The only other option for men”™s suits (at Cross County) is Sears,” said Larry Mentzer, area vice president for Macy”™s, “and I wouldn”™t recommend it.”
Apparently, Macy”™s still doesn”™t tell Gimbel”™s. And it doesn”™t tell Sears either.
