Hermes to Open Temporary Summer Store in East Hampton
Hermes is opening
a temporary store for the summer in East Hampton, New York. The store will be located at 63 Main Street from May 20 to Sept. 20 in a 20,000 square foot space. This is the first time the company has done anything like this. Usually when you think of seasonal temporary stores, you think of Spirit Halloween. The concept of a temporary upscale luxury store is certainly new.
While retailers such as Gucci, Coach, J. Crew, Eli Tahari, Polo Ralph Lauren and Tiffany have opened in the Hamptons, Hermès remained on the sidelines, shipping products direct to customers in East Hampton, Southampton and Bridgehampton. "We send a tremendous amount of merchandise out to the Hamptons pre-summer season and during the summer season," said Robert Chavez, chief executive officer of Hermès USA.
While Chavez is convinced Hermes has a strong following in the resort communities, he’s not ready to make a permanent commitment. "The store will only be open for the four peak summer months," he said. "We want to do at least two or three summer seasons to get a read on what the potential is. If it's very strong, we’d look to do something on a more permanent basis."
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Hermes' beach store will offer summer-type products such as pareos, bathing suits, summer-oriented ready-to-wear, beach towels and tablewear. "We'll offer our cashmere shawls, which are perfect for summer evenings, less formal jewelry, porcelain and items that can be used as hostess gifts. There will be brighter colors in our scarf collection."
The store will have a unique, more casual design. The floors will be sisal and the color scheme is mostly white. It's an interesting idea that has promise.
Hermes is 
