Houstonians Want Luxury

The Galleria announced four new retailers will be joining the mix, and it marks a serious focus on luxury offerings. (So expect to see some high-rolling shoppers, like the Kardashians or Jessica Rabbit.)

Simon Property's Jenny Harris (the mall's director of marketing) tells us the Galleria is already the highest concentration of luxury goods in Houston, but shoppers have been requesting more luxury retailers. All four new shops will be high-end, and there's also a focus on unique-to-Houston offerings. Rolex's 1,800 SF store will be the brand's first boutique in Texas when it opens next summer, and Tourbillon (another watch shop—do shoppers not realize their iPhones tell time?) is also opening in summer with its first Houston location (2,815 SF). Jenny says Tourbillon will go in by DeBeers and Gucci (which just renewed), making a real powerhouse corner.

Tod's 2,000 SF store will also be a first for Houston when it opens in 2015. Trina Turk is the only new lessee with an existing presence here, but Jenny says there's been big demand from consumers for a location in the mall. It inked 1,400 SF next to Sephora (which is expanding by 3,600 SF, but with the right makeup will only look like 3,000 SF) and will open fall 2014. Jenny tells us there's also significant renewal/renovation activity in the mall on the luxury end. Tony Burch—one of the more popular Galleria retailers--is expanding by 2,300 SF, and Zara is blossoming into two levels for a total 18k SF. Construction will begin in April and wrap up in fall.

Chanel renewed its lease and will be renovating the boutique in June, and Club Monaco is expanding by 4,500 SF and relocating next to Zales. And of course, this is all on top of Saks Fifth Avenue's major redevelopment—beginning next year, Simon's building it a new 198k SF location and converting its existing space into 35 small stores. Jenny tells us Simon is excited to have new space to lease, and it plans to fill that space with (you guessed it) luxury retailers.