Hail to Hudson - as in Hudson's Bay

You certainly can't say that summers are quiet in the retail and real estate business these days! Probably the biggest news of the year was the announcement that Lord & Taylor owner Hudson's Bay will acquire Saks Fifth Avenue. I believe the deal will affect two of the iconic retailers in our city in a positive way, and expect to see some results very shortly. For Lord & Taylor, the move will ease a plan it already had in place to introduce more designer goods; earlier this year, they announced a plan to add a designer floor, The Showroom, that would have directly competed with Saks. Those relationships get much easier with Saks also in the portfolio. Meanwhile, Hudson's Bay's very deep pockets will help Saks thrive in an increasingly competitive luxury retail scene, one in which Saks not only faces the incursion of Nordstrom into the city (yes, in 2018, but still), but also high-end luxury e-commerce sites. And for all, it allows alot of flexibility in terms of the real estate around the metropolitan area, the rest of the country, and in Hudson's Bay's home in Canada. I'm counting the minutes until Saks makes its debut north of the border! The deal is globalization at its finest, and a win/win/win for all three brands. Summer is ending with a flurry of store openings and leasing activity. Anya Hindmarch's flagship opened at 795 Madison Ave. Vince has debuted at 89 Mercer St. Just to keep things interesting in Marc Jacobs-Land, the designer is shifting his accessories shop at 385 Bleecker St. to Marc Jacobs Beauty, a boutique for his new cosmetics collection. Joseph will relocate from 816 Madison Ave. to 1061 Madison. Orogold is now dispensing its luxurious skincare at 118 East 57th St. Lush debuted its latest shop at 206 East 86th St. Vivienne Westwood will return to New York at a five-story townhouse at 14 East 55th St. Sephora has taken 750 Lexington Ave., formerly Levi's. Nordstrom Rack has now confirmed a spring 2014 opening for its 497 Fulton St. store in downtown Brooklyn. The rest of the year sees an even more busy calendar. NYCREW's Leading Ladies of Real Estate: Summer Series will conclude on August 14th, when Raizy Haas, senior vice president of project management & development at Extell Development, will offer an informal talk on trends and careers. The event will be held from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at the offices of Akerman Senterfitt, 666 Fifth Ave. For more information, visit www.nycrew.org. One of my favorite talks is always at the real estate Academy for Continuing Education, run by my friend Esther Muller. I'm thrilled to speak on what's happening on the retail scene on their concluding day, Thursday, September 26th at 2 p.m. at 180 Central Park South. For more information, visit www.realestateacademy.com. I'm also looking forward to discussing "Bye-bye BRICS, Welcome Oz: Retail Globalization," at the fifth annual NYC Real Estate Expo, being held October 8th, at the New York Hilton. This conference has grown rapidly to be one of the premier events in real estate in the city, and I can't wait to give my views on where the new stores around town are coming from, and where they're going! For more information, visit www.nycrealestateexpo.com. And yes, the Women's Special Industry Group team is planning our annual year-end program at the International Council of Shopping Centers' New York National Conference. Our event will be held Monday, December 9th from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at the New York Hilton's Mercury Ballroom. Please keep checking www.icsc.org - and this column - for details. Happy Shopping! Faith Hope Consolo, is the chairman, the retail group at Douglas Elliman Real Estate, New York, N.Y.