
Two more popular year-round stores in the heart of Southampton Village have recently closed, or are planning to close, raising concerns about the cost of doing business in the Hamptons and the impact of online retail and pop-up shops on permanent brick-and-mortar stores in the villages.
The seasonal nature of Southampton Village is nothing new—stores open when the population is highest in the spring and summer and close during the off-seasons. When that kind of going and coming happens, concerns arise and gossip can run rampant. But the recent trend has people concerned.
After a 17-year run, Valerie Revere, the owner of Twist on Jobs Lane, recently announced that she plans to close down the shop by the end of March—and she is not alone. The clothing chain Vineyard Vines, just a few doors down from Twist, shut the doors of its village store on January 5 after being open for nearly nine years.
“The cost of doing business is very high in the Hamptons,” Ms. Revere said. “The overall foot traffic and the length of season, over the years, is less. The cost of business is higher. And with less business … the gap becomes bigger.”
Ms. Revere said one of the reasons she was closing her store was that she didn’t want to sign another lease agreement for two or five years. “I’ve spent a lot of time in the shop,” she said. “I think, at this point, I want to take a step back and spend time with family and friends, and also enjoy the beautiful place I live.”
Prior to opening Twist, Ms. Revere worked as a fashion industry buyer. She focused on fashion for teenagers and kids, or “tweens”—youth between 7 and 12 years of age—which is a term she said she used before anyone even knew what a tween was.
Ms. Revere said she always wanted to open a fashion boutique of her own, so she quit her job and moved to the Hamptons to open her own store: Twist.
A portion of Twist targets the tween population, because that’s what her background was in. Twist sold clothing and fashion accessories, and even had a gift wall that had lip balm, journals, art pen sets and facial masks. Parents would visit Twist while their children were away at summer camp to put together gift boxes.
When Ms. Revere announced that her shop was closing, she invited many of her customers to come and get the best deals at 70 percent off.
“They said, ‘No! You can’t close,’” Ms. Revere said of her customers, adding that it was bittersweet, but that they understood her predicament.
A big reason Ms. Revere is closing the shop, she said, is the high cost of rent. While she would not say how much rent has gone up over the 17 years she has operated, it has taken a toll on her ability to operate a store in Southampton Village year-round. But so have the internet and pop-up retailers, she said.
The Morley Agency in Southampton manages the building Twist is located in, and when contacted on Tuesday, a representative declined to comment.
Multiple calls to representatives of Vineyard Vines seeking reasons for the store’s closing were not returned. On the front of Vineyard Vines was a sign that read: “Thank you for all your support. This location in Southampton, NY, is closing on January 5, 2019. But don’t worry! We’ll still see you online at vineyardvines.com.”
The Vineyard Vines location in East Hampton Village, according to the company’s website, will continue to operate on a seasonal basis.
Southampton Village Mayor Michael Irving said on Tuesday that he was concerned to see stores like Twist and Vineyard Vines pack up and leave, but he understands.
The mayor pointed out that online retailing and the competitive nature of stores in the village make it difficult to operate a store year-round. On top of that, rents are very high, he said, and they continue to go up. Some landlords and property owners even make the stores pay the property taxes on the building they are located in, Mr. Irving said, making it difficult for shop owners to succeed unless they own the properties where their shops are located.
Some spaces are being marketed for pop-up stores, a situation that also poses a risk to the stores that operate year-round. Mr. Irving said stores that come in as pop-ups are being offered incentives from property owners to pay licensing fees instead of rent.
While the village cannot do anything to entice companies to stay open or property owners to lower the rents, Mr. Irving said he would like to see all the stores that remain in the village year-round get some sort of benefit, although he declined to say what that benefit might be. “I think we can do that,” he said.
Still, the trend in the village is nothing new, and has been seen in villages across the East End throughout the years.
“It’s a general trend, and every year, for as long as I can remember, people go, ‘Oh my God, all the stores are closed.’ And when spring comes, all the stores get filled again,” Mr. Irving said.
I still miss Porembas : /
Editor really on the ball!!
New foot traffic and an influx of new villagers for you all in Southampton. Winning!
The ludicrous SUV parade all summer on Jobs Lane (and Main Street Sag Harbor) is beyond stupid.
Popping Up in The beginning of the Season and Rolling Up when the season is over is ruining the streetscape for retail, sorry to see these stores closing
Retail is more challenging than ever, WHB is a little different than other towns in the Hamptons , we don’t have a designer anchor store, we don’t have name designer or corporate owned stores , we don’t have a lot of restaurants open Year round , we are all Mom and Pop , mostly locally owned businesses
From your ...more local coffee shop owner , bakery , yoga studio, small boutiques , hair salon , lawyer, real estate brokers we all live here and work our shops
When people choose to come into my store and support my business it’s a good feeling for both the owner and the customer
You actually talk and someone actually helps you , wraps your gift and we even ship
Keep it Local , you can make the difference to the survival of your Main Streets which are becoming a dinosaur
We can help this today
Shop Local
Talk to your local merchant ,we support the community, we employ your children , with their first jobs ,it’s sad to see what’s happening here
I’m going into my 33rd year on Main St in WHB
Open everyday Year round , come shopping
M2 as of Jan. 7, 2019: 14.5 trillion dollars
That's right folks. Ten trillion dollars printed out of the clear blue sky, almost entirely passed to the "investor class". Go figure someone can ask a million for an acre.
Maybe we are coming full circle and becoming a Summer Community again???
Having Coopers Beach in the top ten beaches and Agawam Lake #1 polluted lake we are going in the wrong direction. The mayor doesn't want to address the lake side residents ...more about the pollution. We all know the problem comes from the run off and lawn products.
With rise of new homes here, tax base should large enough to fund these projects. JMO
If the WHB mayor and trustees want to put in a sewer system the right thing is 1) all taxpayers who are expected to pay for it vote on ...more it; or 2) the administration obtains enough grant $$ for sewer construction to be entirely funded, with the 156 connecting properties responsible for the annual maintenance and operation; or 3) the connected properties alone pay for construction and annual costs.
It bears mentioning that one of our trustees doesn’t own a home in the Village and therefore doesn’t pay taxes. In addition, he’s a consultant for Discovery Land, which constructed the hotel property on Dune Road in WHB. I’m sure Discovery Land’s guests would enjoy more restaurants in WHB in the summer.
And if we want “clean bays”—why aren’t the 3 WHB schools, the country club, the 100-bed Seafield House, the Morgan House, Best and CVS included in “Phase 1”? Because the WHB Gabreski sewage treatment facility upgrade already puts it near WHB’s allotted daily sewage capacity with the 156 properties slated to be connected. Why should the VAST majority of properties pay for a sewer system that they can’t even connect to? So we maybe get 2 or 3 more restaurants and a 10-room inn that are only open in the summer?
Besides what are you doing there? ...more If you're rich enough to buy in those stores then go South my man, go South!!! JMR
Its a great place to live if you don't have to start ...more a career other than attorney or real estate agent Im glad I took my family South just like the rest of my extended family too.
The year round population in 1990 was about 45,000.
We're now at about 58,000.
Per the 2010 census:
The median income for a household in the town was $53,887, and the median income for a family was $65,144. Males had a median income of $47,167 versus $32,054 for females. The per capita income for the town was $31,320. About 5.3% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.2% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those ...more age 65 or over.
Note: 1) Taxpayers are voting on the projects; 2) Planning and construction costs are completely covered by federal and state grants; and 3) 7,000 properties will be connected, and your taxes pay for annual operations and maintenance because you can connect your own property to the sewer system.
Phase 1 of the WHB Sewer Project wants to ...more connect 156 Main Street properties for multi-millions—without a vote, with homeowners paying taxes for something they can’t connect to.
Part of this is due to Southampton's old money, matronly mindset. But a more practical reality is the village's under-equipt utilities on Main St, Jobs Lane and Windmill Lane. Specifically, the lack of ...more sewers cause restaurants like Southampton Publick House to rely on its own cesspool.
My point is - Southampton village's antiquated infrastructure contributes greatly to its inability to adjust to changing retail and dining dynamics. Where villages like Greenport and Sag Harbor are able to offer retailers an extended business window (due to thriving pm options), Southampton is presently locked into an old retail model. Naturally, amid ever increasing rents in a stale village environment, retailers eventually lose momentum and are forced to close shop (or relocate to a more thriving village).
Finally, signs that cannot be ignored. Last summer, amid a thriving US Open Golf tournament, Southampton village saw little business increases during the event. And even on an annual basis, the Hamptons Classic Horse Show causes little-to-no spike in Southampton village business activities.
I seriously encourage Southampton village to invest in infrastructure upgrades that will support an increase in restaurants on Main St and Jobs Lane (extending daily retail shopping hours). Finally, give credit to Southampton Arts Center for it's attempts to infuse life into the village. But the overly aggressive "barkers" at last season's retail Pop-up shops just seemed the village's retail desperation. Hopefully, the village will clamp down on such, this summer season.
Little is mentioned about the closing of the College, or the Courts being moved to Hampton Bays. Both were a tremendous blow to the Village as they provided year-round business to the ...more Village. The College was also a source of labor for local businesses. There are many reasons why we find ourselves where we are. What about the fact that East Hampton usually shows first run movies before Southampton?
Still need better ...more restaurants. :-)
Let’s just all get along.