September 12, 2015 Shopping
K. sent word that Posman Books has closed its Brookfield Place shop not even six months after it opened: “It’s crazy because they were open on Thursday, and when I bought some books the person who rang me up gave no indication of an imminent departure. I wonder what happened.” Indeed. I’ve reached out to Posman, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we never hear specifics (beyond, perhaps, a lack of foot traffic).
Moreover, the adjacent storefront used to have “coming soon” signage for Calypso St. Barth, and now it’s just pink. Is that meaningful? Time will tell.
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I feel sorry for Posman. That was a really nice store, with little padded nooks in the children’s area specifically meant for reading.
They closed their Grand Central location recently as well. The bookstore business is just so tough to be in due to Amazon and e-books. Hopefully their last 2 locations are doing OK. I wish them well.
Actually, a lot of recent evidence (number of indie bookstores thriving, % of total book market taken up by ebooks stagnant, etc.) shows that indepndent boom stores are not being destroyed by Amazon. This is just one article on the subject but there are plenty of others http://theweek.com/articles/573874/4-reasons-why-independent-bookstores-are-thriving
The Grand Central store closed because the MTA refused to renew the lease: http://gothamist.com/2014/10/28/posman_grand_central.php
JS and Erik: this is helpful info. Then maybe it was just the insane rent at Brookfield?
I had a conversation with them the day it opened and they indicated that they were getting a deal on the rent because Brookfield wanted stores other than clothing ones, so this is puzzling. It seems like they would have waited until the rest of the construction is done to see how it works out before closing.
The Calpso sign came down a month or more ago. I asked the staff at the West Bway location about it, and they said they hadn’t known about it closing until they heard from other people.
A mall fails, and they replace it with … a mall. What else was going to happen?
I was in the Chelsea Market Posman store today and asked about the Brookfield store closing. Two staff told me it was a combination of “the rent is too damn high” and nonexistent foot traffic.
The arrogance of an Omaha billionaire to assume that the majority of the people walking through the World Financial Center everyday are rich enough to afford to shop in most of those stores. WFC used to be so consumer friendly, and kid friendly. Didn’t they even get rid of the cobbler? Poor Posman and I’m glad Erik straightened us out on why their Grand Central location closed otherwise we’d all be walking around giving misinformation. I hope they land on their feet in an affordable space with steady foot traffic. Unfortunately it probably won’t be downtown. I sure hope it is but it seems unlikely.
re: Brookfield closing
When I read the headline I thought “Oh my god, say it isn’t so –Diane von Furstenberg is closing!” But phew! what a relief — it’s just a bookstore. Who needs that? But what would we ever do without a Diane boutique?
The Cobbler Express can still be found at the other end at 1 World Financial Center. Smaller space but great to have it here.
The bookstore was great, but they had a terrible location. I walked through that passage so many times and honestly forgot they were there. I would rather patronize Posman than BnN, but the location was a dead hole. I rarely see people in the stores on the bottom, so the ones on the top must really be quiet. Its not a shopping destination–more like if you work there and need something you can get it relatively easily. I wonder if the Saks is going to bring the traffic they are hoping for. Time will tell if those stores can be sustainable. I am hoping that Brookfield does not try and pull in tour buses to drive more traffic through there. I am dreading what the “valet parking” construction is going to yield–hopefully not tour bus depot or parking. I think the brookfiled mall is also going to eventually have to compete with the Fulton Street station, whose tenants will represent a broader range of merchants, and will be easier to access from the memorial.
They should just make the whole place into food courts like the new one they’ve just put in. I had a weekday off from work and took the family for lunch in the current food court and it was so mobbed, it took me 30 minutes to get a small pizza. This is no fault of the restaurant – the place was totally swamped with the legions of AMEX, Merrill, and Nomura workers from upstairs (sorry I’m sure I’m leaving out other firms.) The crowds were so massive, I am sure they could sustain a food court twice the size of the current one. Just a thought, I don’t claim to back this with hard numbers.
that pizza place always takes half an hour. Most disorganized place in Brookfield. It’s always chaos behind the counter.
Nomura and Merrill haven’t been at WFC for over two years now. It’s all GS people and a handful of Commerzbank.
I am sad about Posman. They are a great bookstore, and the location really was terrible.
You are all wrong. Posman is a thriving indie bookstore. Brookfield had zero foot traffic & stores are suffering!! Posman in GCT closed because their lease was up & the space is being used as storage for construction on that side of the building! If you love Posman Books then head to their Chelsea Market or Roc Center stores. Also, keep your eyes open for other great locations – you never know!!! Posman is a name/force to be reckoned with. They’ll be back!!!!
Brookfield Place putting in all the high end stores & making it the blandest space, resembling some airport shopping complexes, is a sign that the management has no imagination and completely not community minded.
The management should have cut a deal with Posman so the bookstore can thrive even with slightly less than ideal foot-traffic volume.