Loehmann's department store gets new life after closing doors 11 years ago

New York Post

4 days ago

The iconic Loehmann's brand will briefly reemerge after going belly-up more than a decade ago — giving shoppers a chance to scoop up some designer duds at bargain basement prices, The Post has learned.
A pop-up version of the century-old department store, which went bankrupt in 2013, will open Aug. 21 on Long Island, its new owner said.
Rival discounter Century 21 quietly acquired the brand in 2020, as The Post reported, and is relaunching it in a series of pop-up stores, starting at the Tanger Outlets at Deer Park.
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3 Loehmann's closed its doors seemingly for forever in 2014.
Penske Media via Getty Images
The initial two-week warehouse sale will also include Loehmann's famous 'Back Room,' which in its heyday featured deeply marked-down luxury brands from Michael Kors, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Fendi, Oscar de la Renta, Marc Jacobs among others.
'The hope is that 11 years later that there is some nostalgia for the brand and people fondly look back,' Larry Mentzer, Century 21's chief operating officer, said in an exclusive interview with The Post.
Mentzer declined to divulge which brands will be available in the Back Room, as most designers don't want to be associated with discounting.
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There will be a mix of 'well-known European designer labels, household names and emerging brands,' he said.
Another pop-up is planned for Florida this year and one is coming to the Big Apple next year, Mentzer said.
'We think there is real value in the brand going forward,' Mentzer said, adding, 'off-price is the hottest sector in retail right now.'
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3 At its peak, Loehmann's operated some 100 stores in the 1990s.
Astrid Stawiarz/NY Post
The Gindi family, which owns Century 21, scooped up the Loehmann's brand for about $300,000 after the chain was liquidated following its third bankruptcy filing, sources told The Post.
The New York-based company, which itself filed for bankruptcy in 2020 before reemering in 2022, is one of the last discount department stores that focuses on designer labels.
It has oulasted Filine's Basement, Daffy's and Syms, which all shuttered more than a decade ago, squeezed out by larger, better funded competitors like TJ Maxx and Ross Stores.
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3 Century 21 acquired Loehmann's in 2000 for about $300,000, according to a source.
Robert Miller
At its peak, Loehmann's operated about 100 stores across the country in the 1990s, while Century 21 had 13 stores mostly in the New York metro area.
Now, it operates just one at its flagship location in lower Manhattan.