New York City took another step in its recovery from the pandemic when one of its most treasured retail institutions returned: bargain haven Century 21.
The discount luxury goods store — a staple of downtown Manhattan and destination for residents and tourists alike — reopened Tuesday in its flagship location near Wall Street. Century 21 filed for bankruptcy in September 2020 and closed its flagship store in the aftermath of the city’s shutdown during the pandemic.
“This is a Welcome Back, Kotter moment: Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back,” Mayor Eric Adams said at the Century 21 ribbon-cutting ceremony, referring to the theme song for the 1970s sitcom. “It was a main anchor for our tourists, they would come here and line up to shop.”
While the new store has a smaller footprint than the original one and offers a more limited supply than it did in its glory days, bargains remain. A Barbour jacket that would usually fetch $270 can be found for $129.99, an Akris blouse with a retail value of $795 costs $369.99 and $1,020 Valentino sandals had a price tag of $499.99.
The closing of Century 21 came like a gut-punch to New Yorkers fatigued by a string of miseries brought about by the pandemic. The retailer struggled after emerging from the city’s forced shutdown, seeing just 25% of its regular foot traffic, according to Chief Operating Officer Larry Mentzer. It filed for bankruptcy after insurers refused to pay $175 million in claims stemming from the shutdown. Its Chapter 11 plan won court approval in April 2021, setting the stage for a rebirth.
Century 21 teamed up with retail operator Legends for its reopening, and offers men’s, women’s and children’s designer apparel, footwear, outerwear, handbags, accessories and fragrances across just four floors. Much of the real estate the store previously occupied — such as its upper floors, its menswear and extended shoe collection — has been leased to other tenants.
The beloved but chaotic shopping experience of digging through disorganized racks for hidden gems is gone — for now. In addition to its smaller footprint, the neatly organized racks showcase fewer brands and items per brand. The store’s famous selection of a broad array of European designers — a lure for tourists — is almost entirely gone, though Mentzer said there’s an assortment of items in a warehouse that will arrive in the next weeks.
“We’re going to live within the box that we have and we’ll figure out what the future looks like,” Menzter said. “We just need to get some good data from customers and see what people are actually interested in buying.”
Home goods from furniture to bedding — which used to fill the basement — are no longer carried. The store also dropped lingerie and kids shoes, said Mentzer.
A little more than three years after the onset of the pandemic, New York City is showing signs of 2019 economic vibrancy with its red-hot real estate market, job recovery and bustling restaurant scene.
The city’s leisure and hospitality sector, which suffered the most during the pandemic, has recovered 88% of the jobs lost since February 2020, city officials said. More than 56 million tourists visited the city in 2022, reaching 85% of the peak tourism numbers from 2019, according to New York City’s budget office.
Subway usage in the city has steadily increased since its pandemic lows, with weekday subway ridership at about 70% of 2019 levels, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority data.
The first shopper to line up for the reopening was Melody White, who arrived at the store at 6:22am from her home in Queens. White, who declined to provide her age, said she was there to shop for her 8-year-old twin grandsons and buy some vacation clothes for herself. She’s been a customer for “years, years and years and years.”
“I’m glad it’s reopening so I could get the same bargains that I was getting before,” she said. “I’m overjoyed.”
The family-owned department-store chain got its start in the bedroom community of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, in 1961, offering shoppers designer goods at affordable prices. At the start of 2020, it had 13 locations that spanned the Eastern Seaboard from New York to Florida.
“This grand opening is bringing back the spirit of New York City like no other company can do,” said Eddie Gindi, the vice president of Century 21 whose father founded the brand. “The streets were abandoned, the way we shopped, the way we lived, the way we interacted with each other had all changed. But today is a new day.”
--With assistance from Laura Nahmias.
(Updates to include home goods are no longer carried by the brand.)
