Hermes Renovation
Behind the scenes, Castagna continues to tweak the formula. A recent renovation of more than half a dozen brands features curated art at Dior and Chanel fitting rooms the size of studio apartments where customers can while away afternoons trying on clothes and having lunch. The Hermes store will triple in size. Banana Republic, one of the mall’s few mass-market chains, is making way for the more upscale Rag & Bone.
The proprietors are adapting to changing demographics. More than 25 percent of the mall’s shoppers are ethnic Chinese and Koreans living on Long Island or in Queens, who bring along relatives visiting from overseas. Americana has advertised in the World Journal, the largest Chinese-language newspaper in the U.S. More than half the center’s stores now employ at least one Mandarin-speaking sales associate.
Mindful of encroachment from the Web, Hirshleifers has partnered with the luxury site Farfetch.com so customers can buy some of its styles online.
For Rogoff, abandoning the mall’s personal service for the soulless experience of shopping on Web is unfathomable.
“Americana is like a fantasy land,” she said. “Shopping there is effortless and beautiful, with the reliability of a great car. It’s a destination.”