Photo courtesy of Simon Property Group

Seaport District developers have moved to overcome design and urban planning critiques in recent years – one architecture critic said the neighborhood has the “charm of an office park in a suburb of Dallas” – and brought in retail tenants that gave this fledgling district street life.  

But one retail sector is unlikely to move to the South Boston waterfront anytime soon. The top tier of luxury fashion retailers (think: Gucci, Burberry, Hermès and Dior) historically resides in Back Bay, cloistered around the Boston Public Garden and within the Copley Place shopping mall. And they don’t appear to be budging. 

“Historically retailers in general, but specifically luxury retailers, have a pack mentality. This is not unique to Boston, but so long as the co-tenancy of their peers is there, that’s where their level of comfort rests,” said Matt Curtin, a senior vice president specializing in retail at CBRE. “They don’t necessarily need a lot of footsteps. They just need quality footsteps.” 

In Boston, that means the first level of shopping at Copley Place, the first block of Newbury Street off Arlington Street, and Heritage on the Garden around the corner on Boylston Street – home to Hermès and Bottega Veneta. 

WS Development promised several projects in the Seaport would offer transformative retail, beckoning shoppers from all parts of Greater Boston to the waterfront. Some of it has. High-end fitness centers like Equinox, seasonal beer gardens and a wide array of bars and restaurants poured into the neighborhood. Popular retailers like L.L. Bean, Lululemon and Bonobos are also part of the mix. 

However, this is no “high street,” the term historically reserved for a region’s toniest shopping destination. 

“If I’m Fendi, if I’m Hermès, if I’m Tom Ford, I want to be with similar tenants,” said Robert Fransen, president of Atlanta-based investment firm Coro Realty. “I want a certain element of quality control because I think their perception, rightly or wrongly, is the people that are going to the neighborhood Tex-Mex restaurant are not necessarily the Tom Ford customers and vice versa. So, I want to be with similar tenants that are going to appeal to a similar demographic.” 

 Superette Lures a ‘Quirky’ Mix  

The closest chance the Seaport appears to have in replicating the success of high-end Back Bay retail is with the Superette, the new, 125,000-square-foot shopping component at the Echelon Seaport residential complex. The development was initially billed as a place for “luxury retail and eclectic experiences” before settling on its current tagline of “quality, eclecticism, and discovery.” 

WS Development declined to comment for this story. But a company executive did appear to chide luxury districts last fall when describing what niche the Seaport development would occupy in Boston’s shopping environment. 

“A lot of streets today have really become one note. Madison is one note. Newbury is one note,” Samantha David, president of WS Development, told Women’s Wear Daily last November. “Superette will have a varied and quirky mix. People are not one note.” 

To its credit, the Superette leasing team was able to get a few brands that were once exclusively in Back Bay: Clothing retailer Scotch & Soda was previously on Newbury Street while Vince, Rag & Bone and Le Labo – expanding to the Seaport – also have locations in Back Bay. 

The closest chance that the Seaport appears to have in replicating the success of high-end Back Bay retail is with the Superette, the new 125,000-square-foot shopping component at the Echelon Seaport residential complex. 

But the more exclusive tier of shopping appears to be firmly staying put. WS Development isn’t the only one unable to draw in more luxury tenants. 

Wynn Resorts scaled back the planned retail space at Encore Boston Harbor by roughly 80 percent during construction. The company couldn’t convince high-end retailers to ditch Back Bay to open at the resort. 

“Why does this stuff get announced and then doesn’t get developed? That, to be completely blunt, is largely bait and switch,” Fransen said. “What happens with a lot of retail development deals is you want to get it approved, you want to get it permitted, and you want to get the city excited. One of the questions you always get is, ‘Well, who are your tenants going to be?’ The reality is, as a developer, you often don’t know.” 

Back Bay’s high-end retail market continues to attract notable luxury brands. Paris-based boutique Balenciaga opened its first standalone store in Boston in March at Copley Place. Photo courtesy of Simon Property Group

A ‘Natural’ Migration to Copley Place 

Balenciaga, a more than 100-year-old fashion house going through a hotter-than-hot moment right now with Kim Kardashian as its brand ambassador, is the latest luxury brand to park in Back Bay. The company opened its first Boston location this year in Copley Place. 

Gucci and Dior are both expanding their existing footprints within the mall. Saks Fifth Avenue moved its men’s department into the anchor space occupied by Barney’s New York prior to its bankruptcy. 

Other Copley Place luxury retailers include Burberry, Christian Louboutin and Versace.  

“When they see all the other brands under one roof, it just makes for a natural progression for them to come to Copley versus a Newbury Street or the Seaport,” said Debora Konig, area marketing director for Copley Place at Simon Property Group. 

Finding elbow room for more luxury in the typically coveted spots in Back Bay is getting tough. There aren’t many spots left on the first floor of Copley Place or on the first block of Newbury Street, and they typically have competing deals for a lease, Curtin said. 

But if there are growing pains, why not go into other developments? A neighborhood like the Seaport, with several high-end condo buildings that opened in recent years, seems ripe for luxury brands. 

Never say never. 

Luxury electric car manufacturer Lucid Motors is putting its first New England location at the Superette in the Seaport. It may not be Gucci, but with car prices clearing $160,000, many of Lucid’s clients are likely to be the same people strolling Copley Place.  

Nearly full vacancies elsewhere could be what ultimately nudges more luxury brands to the waterfront. 

“There’s a luxury customer in the Seaport, so I think it’s only a matter of time before the retail starts to pop up over there,” Curtin added. “It may become a conversation of, if you want to be in Boston at all, the Seaport is your option.”