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The owners of Gucci on Monday bought a prime Fifth Avenue retail property for a whopping $963 million — and it could mean the boot for rival fashion house Armani from its flagship location.

Guccis parent Kering scooped up the 115,000 square-foot, three-level retail space at 715-717 Fifth Ave., at East 56th Street, which sits at the base of a 28-story office tower known as the Corning Glass Building.

The latest retail condo sale is momentous on several levels.

It marks seller Jeff Suttons third spectacularcoupon the fabled shopping street in less than amonth. The prominent retail developer/landlordsWharton Properties sold both720 Fifth Ave. and 724 Fifth to Prada for a total $835 million last month — which were the citys largest combined investment-sale transactions in 2023. Eastdil Secured advised Sutton on all the deals.

Gucci’s owner said the purchase of the Corning Glass Building represents a further step in Kerings selective real estate strategy aimed at securing key, highly desirable locations for its houses.  

It also reflects the soaring fortunes of the Worlds Greatest Shopping Street, with the Kering purchase accelerating the trend of major retailers buying Midtown Fifth Avenue properties for their own use — following Prada, LVMH, Rolex and Harry Winston, among others.

“Note that most of the buyers are foreign companies,” Cushman & Wakefield retail power-broker Joanne Podell said. “Maybe because in Europe, they buy long-term interests in retail properties. They dont have to deal with lease expiration dates. Of course there is innate value in buying on the most important retail street in the world.”

It is not clear how the sale will impact the buildings current tenant, Armani boutique and restaurant at 717 Fifth or the current Gucci flagship at Trump Tower across the street.

Another fashion rival, Dolce & Gabbana, also has a large store at the location. Kerings lines in addition to Gucci  include Saint Laurent,  Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen.

Armanis lease at 717 Fifth, signed in 2007, is said by sources to be up in a few months. The renowned fashion house will soon open a new store and restaurant at 760 Madison Ave., where it partnered with SL Green in a Giorgio Armani-branded condo tower.

SL Green was a 10.9 percent minority partner in the Fifth Avenue retail property. SLG chief investment officer Harrison Sitomer said, This disposition represents another successful investment in our partnership with Jeff Sutton. The transaction is yet another example of how well-located assets continue to generate demand for global investors across cycles.

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Politics

Farage has ‘grabbed the mic’ to dominate media agenda, says Harman

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Farage has 'grabbed the mic' to dominate media agenda, says Harman

Nigel Farage has successfully exploited the Commons recess to “grab the mic” and “dominate” the agenda, Harriet Harman has said.

Speaking on Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, the Labour peer said that the Reform UK leader has been able to “get his voice heard” while government was not in “full swing”.

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Mr Farage used a speech this week to set himself, rather than Kemi Badenoch’s Tories, up as the main opposition to Sir Keir Starmer at the next election.

The prime minister responded on Thursday with a speech attacking the Clacton MP.

Baroness Harman said: “It’s slightly different between opposition and government because in government, the ministers have to be there the whole time.

“They’ve got to be putting legislation through and they kind of hold the mic.

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“They can dominate the news media with the announcements they’re making and with the bills they’re introducing, and it’s quite hard for the opposition to get a hearing whilst the government is in full swing.

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‘Big cuts’ to fund other Reform UK policies

“What we used to do when we were in opposition before 1997 is that as soon as there was a bank holiday and the House was not sitting, as soon as the half-term or the summer recess, we would be on an absolute war footing and dominate the airwaves because that was our opportunity.

“And I think that’s a bit of what Farage has done this week,” Harman added.

“Basically, Farage can dominate the media agenda.”

She went on: “He’s kind of stepped forward, and he’s using this moment of the House not sitting in order to actually get his voice heard.

“It’s sensible for the opposition to take the opportunity of when the House is not sitting to kind of grab the mic and that is what Nigel Farage has done.”

But Baroness Harman said it “doesn’t seem to be what Kemi Badenoch’s doing”.

She explained that the embattled leader “doesn’t seem to be grabbing the mic like Nigel Farage has” during recess, and added that “there’s greater opportunity for the opposition”.

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Oilers win West, book Cup rematch vs. Panthers

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Oilers win West, book Cup rematch vs. Panthers

DALLAS — Connor McDavid had the breakaway goal that swung the momentum back to the Edmonton Oilers, and their captain happily touched the trophy they got after wrapping up another Western Conference title.

McDavid got that big goal in the second period after an earlier assist, 40-year-old Corey Perry scored again and the Oilers are going to their second Stanley Cup Final in a row after beating the Dallas Stars 6-3 on Thursday night in Game 5 to wrap up the West finals.

When McDavid accepted the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl, he gladly put his hands on it this time.

“It’s pretty obvious I think,” McDavid said about what was different from the end of last year’s West finals. “Don’t touch it last year; you don’t win. Touch it this year; hopefully we win.”

Edmonton scored on its first two shots and jumped ahead 3-0 in the first 8:07 on way to eliminating the Stars in the West finals for the second year in a row.

The Oilers get another rematch, against defending Stanley Cup champion Florida after their series last June went seven games after the Panthers had won the first three games. Game 1 is Wednesday night in Edmonton.

It’s the 12th rematch in Stanley Cup playoff history and the first since 2009 (Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Detroit Red Wings). Oddsmakers made the title odds a toss-up, with the Panthers and Oilers each listed at -110 to win the Cup on Thursday at ESPN BET.

Dallas was within a goal when Thomas Harley had a one-timer blocked by Mattias Ekholm, the Oilers defenseman playing for the first time this postseason. McDavid gathered the long ricochet well past center ice, stayed ahead of speedy Roope Hintz and beat goalie Casey DeSmith with 5:32 left in the second period.

“That’s a Connor McDavid kind of play and that’s just the player he is,” Perry said.

Mattias Janmark, Jeff Skinner, Evander Kane and Kasperi Kapanen also scored for Edmonton, the last an empty-netter in the closing seconds. Leon Draisaitl and Jake Walman each had two assists.

Jason Robertson scored twice and Hintz had a goal for the Stars, who ended their season in the West finals for the third year in a row. Wyatt Johnston and Harley each had two assists.

“You’ve got to keep knocking on the door,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “We chased every single game in this series and that’s a tough way to play hockey against that team. It was the story of the entire series, but the fourth goal, Connor’s goal … puck bounces into the neutral zone, he’s coming off the bench, he’s not missing that. It’s game over.”

DeSmith had taken over in net after starting goalie Jake Oettinger was pulled following Janmark’s goal that made it 2-0 only 7:09 into the game.

Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner had 14 saves. DeSmith, who hadn’t played since April 26 in Game 1 of the first round against Colorado, stopped 17 of 20 shots.

Perry scored on a power play, assisted by McDavid and Draisaitl, only 2:31 in the game. His seven goals are the most by any player age 39 or older in a single postseason, and the 2007 Stanley Cup champion with Anaheim when he was 22 is now going to his fifth Final in the past six seasons.

That was McDavid’s 100th assist in 90 playoff games, making him the second-fastest player in NHL history to reach that mark. Wayne Gretzky had 100 assists in his first 70 playoff games, and no other player has reached the mark in fewer than 125 games.

Robertson scored a minute into the third period to get the Stars within a goal again. Kane then scored on a shot that went off the skate of Dallas defenseman Esa Lindell and past DeSmith.

Jeff Skinner, the 33-year-old forward who has played 1,078 regular-season games over 15 years with three teams, scored his first career postseason goal for the 3-0 lead. His playoff debut was in the first-round opener against Los Angeles on April 21, but he didn’t play again until Thursday, when the Oilers were without injured forwards Zach Hyman and Connor Brown.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Stars’ DeBoer defends call to pull Oettinger early

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Stars' DeBoer defends call to pull Oettinger early

DALLAS — Jake Oettinger is one reason the Stars are in a championship window, yet his Game 5 performance Thursday night was instrumental in Dallas’ third straight Western Conference finals exit.

Oettinger allowed two goals on Edmonton‘s first two shots, leading Stars coach Peter DeBoer to pull his star goaltender, hoping it would spark a change. It did, as Dallas pulled within a goal twice only to watch its season end in a 6-3 loss to the Oilers.

“Any time you pull a goalie the reasoning is to always try and spark your group,” DeBoer said. “So that’s your No. 1 reason. We had talked endlessly in this series about trying to play with the lead, and obviously, we’re in a 2-0 hole right away. I didn’t take that lightly, and I didn’t blame it all on Jake.

“But the reality is, if you go back to last year’s playoffs, he’s lost six of seven games to Edmonton.”

Dallas’ downfall began when rookie forward Mavrik Bourque was called for high-sticking with 18:13 left in the first period. The Oilers needed less than a minute for Corey Perry to score on the man advantage for a 1-0 lead. Mattias Janmark then scored nearly five minutes later for a 2-0 lead.

The early deficit continued a trend for the Stars, who allowed the first goal in their past seven playoff games going back to Game 5 of their semifinal series against the Winnipeg Jets.

Casey DeSmith relieved Oettinger, who logged 7:09 in ice time in his second appearance this postseason. His first came in the Stars’ 4-0 loss to the Colorado Avalanche in Game 4 of the quarterfinals, when he played 19:50.

DeSmith stopped the first two shots he faced, but the Oilers took a 3-0 lead on the third via Jeff Skinner, who entered the lineup after Zach Hyman suffered an injury in Game 4 that is expected to keep him out throughout the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers.

The Stars twice cut the deficit to one goal. Jason Robertson scored the first of his two goals with 8:20 left in the opening period before Roope Hintz scored on a power-play goal with 7:33 remaining in the second, trimming the lead to 3-2.

Oilers superstar captain Connor McDavid countered on a breakaway, maneuvering past Hintz and scoring for a 4-2 edge with 5:32 left in the second.

Robertson’s second goal just 38 seconds into the third brought it to within one again, but Evander Kane‘s attempt to throw a pass into the slot was redirected off Esa Lindell‘s skate and into the net for a 5-3 lead less than three minutes later.

That effectively ended the Stars’ comeback before Kasperi Kapanen‘s empty-netter pushed it to 6-3 with 11 seconds left.

“I don’t know the timing of it, but I think they scored pretty quickly both times,” Robertson said of the Stars coming within a goal. “It’s disappointing.”

Robertson was then asked about the message sent by DeBoer regarding the decision to pull Oettinger.

“We gotta step up,” he said. “It’s unacceptable for us to let him hang him out like that. The whole playoffs, he’s been our guy. The whole season. It’s unacceptable.”

Oettinger, who won more than 30 regular-season games for a fourth straight season, began last year’s Western Conference finals with a 2.08 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage through the first three games as the Stars took a 2-1 lead. But he then lost the next three games while posting a 3.09 GAA and a .847 save percentage with the Stars falling in Game 6 despite allowing only 10 shots on goal.

Dallas opened this series with a comeback 6-3 win as Oettinger gave up three goals on 24 shots. Game 4 was the only time this series in which his save percentage exceeded .900 (.935 after stopping 29 of 31 shots).

“So, it was to partly spark our team and wake them up,” DeBoer said. “And partly knowing [the] status quo had not been working, and that’s a pretty big sample size.”

Oettinger’s early exit adds to what will be an offseason of intrigue for a Stars team that has several financial decisions to make in what is expected to be an active offseason in the Western Conference.

PuckPedia projects the team will have a little more than $4.96 million remaining in cap space because it traded for Mikko Rantanen and signed him to an eight-year deal worth $12 million annually, in addition to the pay bumps players such as Wyatt Johnston and Oettinger will receive starting next season.

Dallas will have a seven-player class of unrestricted free agents led by captain Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene. Benn told ESPN in late March that he didn’t envision playing for any other team.

Along with reconfiguring parts of their roster, the Stars also will use the offseason to reconcile what it means to be the first team in NHL history to reach three straight conference finals and not advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

“The examples are endless in this league,” DeBoer said. “You know, the Washington Capitals, a decade of knocking on the door. You know, on and on. It’s a really, really hard league to win in. And when you get down to the end of the final four here, it gets exponentially tougher.”

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