After 123 years in business, Henri Bendel will be closing its doors in Jan. 2019.
Bendel’s parent company L Brands, which acquired the department store in 1985, announced the news Thursday due to the retailer’s declining sales.
In addition to shutting down its e-commerce business, L Brands plans to shut down all 23 of Bendel’s brick-and-mortar stores, including the iconic N.Y.C. Fifth Avenue flagship down the street from Bergdorf Goodman and Tiffany & Co.
“We are committed to improving performance in the business and increasing shareholder value. As part of that effort, we have decided to stop operating Bendel to improve company profitability and focus on our larger brands that have greater growth potential,” Leslie Wexner, chairman and chief executive officer of L Brands, said in a statement to PEOPLE.
“This decision is right for the future growth of our company, but not easy because of the impact to our L Brands family. I want to thank our Bendel associates for their dedication to this iconic brand and to our loyal Bendel customers.”
A representative for the brand “does not know what will happen” with the Fifth Avenue store space, but noted the location will continue to operate through mid-January 2019 and receive new merchandise for the holidays.
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Bendel was an early pioneer in the American fashion industry as the first luxury retailer to open an “upper Fifth Avenue address” and the first to stage a fashion show, according to its website.
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In 1913, Bendel introduced Coco Chanel’s designs to the U.S. and even employed Andy Warhol as its in-house illustrator in the 1960s.
The store was founded by French-speaking American designer Henri Willis Bendel in 1895 as a millinery shop in Greenwich Village before relocating to the corner of 5th Avenue and 57th Street in 1912.
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