Madison Avenue BID: Why it has become North America’s largest luxury shopping district - by Matthew Bauer

Matthew Bauer, Madison Avenue BID

The key to understanding Madison Ave.’s role in the New York City economy, and to see why Madison Ave. has become North America’s largest luxury shopping district is to recognize the connectivity between our businesses and the residential community of the Upper East Side.   From East 57^th to East 86^th Sts., the district supports a mile and a half of retailers, restaurants, hotels, galleries and spas whose clients’ daily neighborhood walks and errands bring them to the doorsteps of Madison Ave. These clients consistently choose to shop locally, and the businesses located on the avenue appreciate that they can count on a strong neighborhood shopper base. 

Among the exciting developments on Madison Ave. are a new commercial project at 706 Madison Ave. and two mixed-use projects: at 680 Madison Ave./21 East 61^st St., Brioni and Morgenthal Frederics shall be among the retailers in residence; at 935 Madison/33 East 74^th St., Aquazzura and Moynat have announced plans for their first shops in the United States. Other new retailers that have announced openings on Madison Ave. in the coming months include:

• Aurélie Bidermann: 955 Madison Ave.

• Elie Saab: 860 Madison Ave.

• IRO: 1013 Madison Ave.

• Isabel Marant: 23 East 67^th St.

• Pinko: 1058 Madison Ave.

• Smythson of Bond St.: 667 Madison Ave.

• Sonia Rykiel: 816 Madison Ave.

• Sweaty Betty: 1153 Madison Ave.

• The Row: 17 East 71^st St.

Major retail expansions of current Madison Ave. brands that are underway include Bottega Veneta at 740 Madison Ave., De Beers Diamond Jewellers at 716 Madison Ave., Giuseppe Zanotti at 806 Madison Ave., Jimmy Choo at 699 Madison Ave. and Roland Mouret at 1006 Madison Ave.

On March 18^th, Madison Ave. will celebrate the inauguration of The Met Breuer. Located at Madison Ave. and East 75^th St., The Met Breuer will feature art of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. As daily admission to The Met shall include access to the 1000 Fifth Ave. and Met Breuer facilities, foot traffic between the two museum locations is anticipated to be quite strong.

Since the second half of 2015, 16 new businesses opened on Madison Ave., including: Come Prima Ristorante, De Beers Diamond Jewellers, Diesel, Djula, Eleuteri, Gianvito Rossi, Givenchy, Hadleigh’s, Isaia, Mackage, Nirav Modi, Saint James, TD Bank, Unix Gallery, Velvet by Graham & Spencer and Yves Salomon.

A variety of major special events are planned for Madison Ave. this spring. In March, Asia Week will draw dealers and collectors from throughout the world to many of our art galleries. In April, the sixth annual Madison Ave. Watch Week shall include artisan demonstrations; discussions with watchmakers; presentations regarding trends in design, manufacturing and mechanism technology; and exclusive VIP sales appointments. For the holiday season, Madison Ave. will celebrate the 30^th anniversary of Miracle on Madison Ave., our philanthropic tradition benefiting the Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. 

The Madison Avenue BID was formed in 1996 to provide supplemental public safety, sanitation, marketing, advocacy and capital improvements to our community.  Continually innovating and developing new programming to meet the needs of our members, in 2016 we shall roll out a co-marketing partnership with the Bund Association in Shanghai, and the launch of our tree well improvement program, which shall enhance the streetscape of the avenue.

For more information about the Madison Avenue BID, kindly visit our website at www.madisonavenuebid.org.

Matthew Bauer, PhD, is the president of the Madison Avenie BID, New York, N.Y.