New Flagship Store For Davidoff
Davidoff of Geneva is moving its American flagship store to a new spot on Madison Avenue.
The new shop, which will open in the spring, will be located at 515 Madison Avenue at the corner of 53rd Street, one block south of the current location.
The company has long had an issue with smoking at its present Madison Avenue site, and the store has not allowed smoking since May. The new shop will have a smoking area open to the public.
While the new shop proper will be smoke free, it will have a public smoking lounge inside of it measuring approximately 300 square feet, where smoking will be allowed. “There will be a larger public smoking lounge than we’ve had in the past,” said Michael Herklots, general manager for Davidoff’s New York City operations. The design reflects the trend of cigar shops in America, as more and more cigar stores become places for people to linger and puff, not simply buy and leave.
“When Madison Avenue was built it wasn’t the retailer’s responsibility to have a lounge, because you could smoke anywhere,” said Herklots. The first Davidoff Madison Avenue opened in 1987; the new, larger location opened in 2000. “Now, in 2010, it’s clear it’s the retailers’ responsibility to provide a place to smoke.”
The new shop will have the same staff and the same ST Dupont shop “within a shop.” Herklots said Davidoff negotiated an extension to its lease at its present location to ensure a seamless transition to the new Davidoff store. "However," said Herklots, "we will remain non-smoking while we remain at 535 [Madison] in our continuing effort to being a good neighbor."
