Retailer considers making its pop-up permanent

The Limited’s SoHo pop-up shop, doing brisk business, will stick around through the holidays.

More than just a limited engagement, trendy apparel retailer The Limited is extending its four-day pop-up shop in SoHo through the end of December, the company said Thursday.

Last week, Limited opened a temporary, store at 134 Spring St., between Wooster and Greene streets, after a decade-long absence from the New York market. But executives of the Columbus, Ohio-based firm were “pleasantly surprised, as it performed at the same level as one of their top-tier stores,” according to a spokeswoman. Sales, which were not disclosed, were high enough to persuade the company to extend the 3,400-square-foot shop through Dec. 28. It’s a sign, retail brokers say, that the retailer might be closer to taking a permanent location here.

“With all the availabilities and low rents and obvious short-term opportunities, companies are starting to realize the benefit of locking in low rents for long-term leases,” said Peter Levitan, a broker at Sierra Realty, which handles a lot of business in the downtown area. Asking rents on Spring Street have fallen about 25% since the peak of the market two years ago to near $300 a square foot, but are still not as low as the near $160-per-square-foot rents tenants can find on the less-trafficked West Broadway, brokers say.

These days, landlords are willing to accept short-term tenants like Limited, with the hopes of finding a longer lasting relationship around the corner.

“The structure of some deals now is temporary with the right to make it permanent,” said Jason Pruger of Newmark Knight Frank Retail. “It gives the tenant the opportunity to see if the marketplace works for them, while the landlord can collect rent and potentially have something in the long-term.”

A Limited spokeswoman said that the company loves the energy and fashion relevance of SoHo but “would consider multiple neighborhoods before making a final decision” about a potential Manhattan location. In SoHo, the retailer would join tenants offering a wide variety of price ranges, from John Varvatos’s luxury to American Apparel’s basics.

“The Limited has an ideal price point for today’s price-conscious shopper,” said Mr. Levitan, adding that the trial period will help the company determine if SoHo is the right choice.

After its heyday in the ’80s, when sales volume reportedly totaled more than $1 billion, Limited’s popularity has suffered. The chain now does near $400 million in annual sales. Limited Brands Inc., which owns such chains as Express, Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret, sold a controlling stake of its namesake Limited brand to affiliates of Sun Capital Partners Inc. two years ago.

Under new ownership, Limited is seeking to revamp its image. It hopes to eventually expand its store count, with most new stores coming in at about 4,000 square feet instead of the usual 7,000 square feet. The Spring Street pop-up includes re-launched labels Forenza and Outback Red.