Last holiday shopping season for luxury retailer Henri Bendel
GREENWICH VILLAGE, Manhattan (WABC) -- New York City department store Henri Bendel is in the midst of its final holiday shopping season, and shoppers are popping in for one last hurrah -- and for the memories.
L Brands Inc., which acquired the iconic brand in 1985, announced earlier this year that the 23 Bendel stores will turn out the lights in January.
The Columbus, Ohio, company, which also owns Victoria's Secret, said it wanted to focus on its larger brands that have more growth potential.
Henry Bendel was a women's hat maker from Lafayette, Louisiana, who moved to New York in 1895 and began catering to the city's elite while making the stores' brown and white striped shopping and bags and hat boxes a coveted status symbol.
In the 1960s, its in-house illustrator was a young artist named Andy Warhol.
The company's flagship store on New York's Fifth Avenue, steps away from Trump Tower, is a landmark in Manhattan.
In these final days, many shoppers are taking a trip down memory lane.
"I'm buying a gift for my mom, and I figured since the store is closing, this would be a nice memento to have forever," shopper Monet Dowrich said.
The company doesn't own the real estate, so it's unclear what will become of the landmark building.
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