“Bloomie’s” isn’t just a cute nickname anymore. The beloved abbreviation for Bloomingdale’s is the playful name of the retailer’s latest store concept—which is being billed as offering the best of Bloomingdale’s brands in a smaller footprint.
The company, which is owned by Macy’s Inc., will open its first Bloomie’s store at the Mosaic District shopping center in Fairfax, Va.—an upscale suburb bordering Washington, D.C.—on Aug. 26. The 22,000-square-foot store will be “highly curated” with top Bloomingdale’s fashion, jewelry, and beauty brands, the company said in a statement released yesterday.
Bloomingdale’s CEO Tony Spring said in the same statement, “Our new Bloomie’s store will deliver everything [our customers] love about Bloomingdale’s in a highly edited, convenient, and unexpected way.” The store will also carry fine jewelry, but details on what brands the shop will stock (and how much jewelry it will carry) are unknown.
The company already has a Bloomingdale’s store a few miles up the road, in bustling Tyson’s Corner, Va. “We’ve been part of the Washington, D.C., metro area community for decades,” added Spring, “and we are excited to welcome new and longtime customers to Bloomie’s to be the first to shop this fresh and casual experience.”
From its description, Bloomie’s looks to be picking up where Barneys New York, which shuttered in 2020, left off (and once upon a time, D.C. had a Barneys New York Store). The concept even has a restaurant attached, a la Barneys’ revered Barneys Greengrass eatery.
Bloomingdale’s has partnered with D.C.-based Cuban cafe Colada Shop, which has three locations in D.C., to open the eatery’s first Northern Virginia location, adjacent to Bloomie’s.
And as was the case at Barneys New York, the shoe department looks like it will be major, stocking styles from Stella McCartney, Jimmy Choo, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Proenza Schouler, MCM, Loeffler Randall, Birkenstock, Golden Goose, and more.
Apparel brands at Bloomie’s will include Ganni, Staud, Maje, Rag & Bone, Cult Gaia, Jonathan Simkhai Standard, LoveShackFancy, Moussy, Mother, Frame, and Re/Done. There will also be designer sunglasses, and men’s and women’s activewear from labels such as Adidas by Stella McCartney, Alo Yoga, Koral, Y-3, and Nike, as well as a full wall of trendy sneakers.
The store’s beauty brands—La Mer, Dior, Dr. Barbara Sturm, Sunday Riley, Byredo, Diptyque, Creed, and Maison Francis Kurkdjian, among them—are equally elevated in pedigree and price.
The store will feature a returns dropbox, curbside pickup, and opportunities for “personalization, customization, and alteration” of purchases, all facilitated through a manned front desk.
And the company says stylists will be “at the core” of the Bloomie’s experience. “Each stylist is equipped with digital selling capabilities, allowing them to access special finds for customers outside of Bloomie’s, from nearby Bloomingdale’s stores to the 59th Street flagship, as well as enabling them to work with Bloomingdales.com customers digitally,” reads the statement. “The tech-enabled experience continues in the fitting rooms, where customers can request assistance with the push of a button.”
Bloomie’s will be hosting preopening promotional events at Mosaic District throughout the month of August.
Top: A rendering of the first Bloomie’s store (photo courtesy Macy’s Inc.)
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