Century 21 is staging a comeback
By Jordan Valinsky, CNN Business
Beloved discount store Century 21 is reopening in New York City nearly two years after the pandemic forced it out of business.
The retailer, which sold designer clothing at bargain basement prices, is reopening in spring 2023 at its former location near the World Trade Center in downtown Manhattan. A New York favorite, Century 21 gained international notoriety for its appearances in pop culture, including in the original “Sex and the City” TV series.
“In our 60-year history we have only closed our doors twice, once after the devastation of 9/11 and then again during the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Raymond Gindi, Century 21 co-chief executive officer, in a press release. “But like the true New Yorkers we are, we have persevered.”
The family-run business is partnering with retail management company Legends to reopen the one location, a move that is aimed at boosting Century 21’s online presence and offering a “more streamlined customer shopping experience through in-store upgrades.”
Much like its previous iteration, the reopened location will sell a wide variety of men’s, women’s and children’s designer apparel, as well as footwear, outerwear, handbags, accessories, and fragrances. However, it will be substantially smaller and take up four floors of its former location downtown, three fewer than before.
Century 21 is also tweaking its logo to include “NYC” in it to emphasize its “Big Apple roots.”
Before its closure, Century 21 had 13 stores — mostly in New York City and the surrounding area — and employed more than 1,400 people. It went bust in September 2020, blaming the lack of payment on its business interruption insurance as the cause of its demise.
The Gindi family bought back the intellectual property for $9 million during bankruptcy proceedings in 2020, according to WWD. Shortly after, the family worked to redevelop the 60-year-old brand, telling the fashion trade that vendors were “rooting for us to come back.”
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