Boyds is hosting a holiday market to show customers that Center City is back

The holiday season is in full swing in Center City, and retail industry observers say most merchants are feeling more optimistic this December after years of anxiety about the future of downtown’s shopping district.

On Chestnut Street, upscale clothier Boyds is contributing to the festive atmosphere with a holiday market on the fourth floor that features a variety of small merchants selling high-end gifts.

The seasonal debut of this long vacant space is part of Boyds’ comeback after the pandemic and the extensive damages the store suffered on the night of the protests against the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police during the summer of 2020.

“Center City is definitely coming back, but it takes time,” said Andrew Gushner, whose family has owned and operated Boyds for four generations. “That’s why we’re doing this: to drive traffic for holiday shopping and get people to come back to the city.”

A recent report from the Center City District, a business advocacy group, found that retail occupancy downtown reached 84.5% in September — just 5% short of what it was in 2019. Retail brokers who deal with clients across the region say that they are hearing more positive sentiments from merchants downtown than they did in recent winters. Weekends, including Friday, are especially strong, they say.

“The vibe is that the pedestrian traffic has increased to a level that people are feeling good,” said Larry Steinberg, senior managing director with the local branch of Collier’s, an international commercial real estate services and investment group.

But Steinberg also argues that Center City’s retail offerings are fundamentally different today than they were pre-pandemic.

Now shoppers are more likely to be city residents he says — downtown’s residential population soared during the pandemic — and less likely to be suburbanites, who are not in town as much because of remote work and perceptions of Philadelphia that have soured since 2020. (Center City District’s data show that 22% of visitors to the Rittenhouse shopping area are still from the Philadelphia suburbs, along with 23% of visitors to Midtown Village.)

“The residential population is what’s supporting these retailers; we’re not getting a lot of destination traffic,” said Steinberg. “Suburbanites used to come into town and get those offerings [from high-end sellers such as Coach and Burberry]. Now, they go to King of Prussia for that kind of fashion.”

For Boyds, where most of the men’s outerwear is priced well over $1,000, that kind of trend could be troubling. The company opened a pop-up location in Ardmore’s Suburban Square in 2020, and a permanent store in Wayne in 2022 (although Gushner’s father, Kent Gushner, made clear at the time that they are still committed to Center City). It’s also evolved in other ways, moving away from its history as a purely men’s clothing store and branching increasingly into women’s wear beginning in 1993.

The holiday market also strikes a different note from Boyds usual fare. Tables bristle with goods such as handcrafted decanters made from refurbished glass bottles, artisanal olive oil and coffee, and locally made artworks. On the second-floor mezzanine, the store is offering jewelry for the first time, featuring pieces by Philadelphia-based luxury brand Paul Morelli.

“This is the relaunch of this space,” said Gushner, of the fourth floor that’s been closed to the public since before COVID. “We’re definitely seeing some new faces here, which is good from a traffic standpoint, that’s what we want.”

Like many urban centers, downtown Philadelphia has suffered years of unusually high vacancy, negative headlines, and polarized impressions about its safety. Retail occupancy in 2020 plummeted to 54.5%, and with fewer people on the street during the pandemic, antisocial behavior like public urination became more noticeable, stoking perceptions of danger.

But incidences of violent and property crime in Center City were similar in 2019 and 2022, despite a tragic surge in homicide in many of the city’s lower-income neighborhoods. Center City District reported that in the first nine months of 2023 serious crime downtown was 5% lower than in the same period in 2019.

“The media portrays an image about Center City as a whole that seems a little exaggerated, as someone who works here and is a resident here,” said Gushner. “That’s really the impetus to do [the holiday market]: making our clients and people generally feel encouraged to come here and understand it’s still a great environment.”

Retailers and real estate agents have noted that this crisis of perception was particularly strong among suburbanites, who can more easily avoid the city than ever before during the age of remote work. They are also more likely to only see the bad news — such as the recent fatal stabbing of a security guard at Macy’s — which often ends up recycled on social media to promote polarizing narratives about the city.

“The people who have been here a long time are not happy with the vagrancy, the retail theft, and the overall negative press that Center City gets,” said Steinberg. “But the young people don’t seem to care. They like being able to walk to what they need to get. So retail is going to move here that supports the residential population, which is skewing younger.”

Restaurants, bars, and coffee shops are performing strongly too. The Center City District report showed even more restaurants than retail opening.

Retail’s focus has evolved as well. Walnut Street has become a corridor dedicated to fitness apparel, featuring Lululemon, Athleta, and soon Vuori. Center City District’s recent report also highlighted multiple brick-and-mortar stores opening based on digital-first brands including footwear seller Allbirds, modular furniture company LoveSac, and activewear retailer Alo Yoga.

“The feedback we’re hearing from retailers is that it’s a wonderful shopping season, but it’s as much about people buying for themselves as buying gifts,” said Steven Gartner, executive vice president with the local branch of CBRE, another international commercial real estate services and investment group. “If you think about who lives and shops in Center City, they’re by and large single, they’re not in large family relationships, and they can buy for themselves.”

Boyds has been in business for almost a century, catering to high-end professionals and those splashing out for once-in-a-lifetime custom suits for weddings and other major life events. They have 30 tailors working in the building.

The business underwent major renovations in 2017 and 2018. The Chestnut Street location was shut down for six months in 2020 after the store was damaged.

As a result, the fourth floor has been closed for many years. The holiday market is the first public use of it in years. When the elevator doors open, a stately flower installation of baby’s breath frames the entry wall before the merchants’ tables.

The retailers range from local shops such as Norris Square’s The Ground CPG (”Coffee, Plans & Gifts!”) to national brands such as high-end Assouline coffee-table books and Venchi Chocolates.

None of the vendors are paying rent to Boyds, but the store asks that they donate 10% of sales to Big Brothers Big Sisters, the children’s charity.

The holiday market will remain open through Christmas Eve. Gushner says he isn’t sure yet, but it could become a new tradition at the store. Either way, he promises more plans for the space in the future.

“It’s been nice to see retail come back in the city,” said Gushner. “We’re just looking for ways to do events and activations and things like this to help bring it back.”