New York Post - USA (2020-12-01)

New York Post, Tuesday, December 1, 2020

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Collectors Universe said
Monday it agreed to be
taken private by an investor
group for $75.25 a share, or
about $700 million, in cash.
The group is Cohen Pri-
vate Ventures, which in-
vests the personal capital of
hedge fund billionaire Steve
Cohen, along with entre-
preneur and sports-card
collector Nat Turner and D1
Capital Partners.
Collectors Universe, of
Santa Ana, Calif., provides
authentication and grading
services for collectibles. Its
shares rose 6.3 percent, to
$77.15. Wires

Collectibles

rater bought

NBA star Stephen Curry is
set to launch a line of sports
apparel on Tuesday called
“Curry Brand” with longtime
retail partner Under Armour.
Curry Brand will include
footwear, clothing and acces-
sories and extends the hoop-
ster’s relationship with Un-
der Armour beyond his origi-
nal 2013 basketball sneaker
deal to include golf, other
sports and a women’s line,
the company said Monday.
Financial details of the deal
were not disclosed, but the
Golden State Warriors point
guard is ranked No. 8 in en-
dorsement deals, totaling $42
million, according to Forbes,
with his Under Armour shoe
contract comprising the big-
gest chunk.
In 2015, Curry and Under
Armour opted to extend their
contract through 2024, ac-
cording to reports, including
an equity stake in the Balti-
more-based company. But
around that time, sales of per-
formance basketball shoes be-
gan to fall, according to NPD
Group. Lisa Fickenscher

Hoopla

for new

threads

Stephen Curry

Launching apparel line.

Socialism eats at WF CEO

Whole Foods CEO John

Mackey urged his fellow

corporate leaders to join

him in beating back the ris-

ing tide of socialism — an

ideology he fears will plunge

the world into poverty.

In a recent interview with

the conservative American

Enterprise Institute,

Mackey said business

bosses need to more aggres-

sively push back against

progressives’ increasingly

popular critiques of capital-

ism, a system he called “the

greatest thing that human-

ity’s ever created.”

Asked whether the busi-

ness world’s culture needs

to change, the grocery ty-

coon replied, “It needs to

evolve. Otherwise the so-

cialists are going to take

over, that’s how I see it. And

that’s the path of poverty.

“They talk about trickle-

down wealth, but socialism

is trickle-up poverty,” he

said. “It just impoverishes

everything.”

“We’ve told a bad narra-

tive, and we’ve let the ene-

mies of business and the en-

emies of capitalism put out

a narrative about us that’s

wrong, it’s inaccurate and

it’s doing tremendous dam-

age to the minds of young

people,” Mackey added.

“We have to counter that.”

The 67-year-old Whole

Foods co-founder made the

remarks during a Nov. 24 vir-

tual event. Noah Manskar

‘Flawed’ jobless data

The Department of Labor

will add an accuracy warning

to its weekly unemployment

reports after a federal watch-

dog found flaws in how the

figures were reported.

The agency’s reports have

equated the number of weeks

for which Americans claimed

unemployment benefits with

the number of people who

are actually out of work — a

comparison that’s become

“flawed” thanks to the coro-

navirus pandemic, the Gov-

ernment Accountability Of-

fice said in a Monday report.

“Various issues arising

from the pandemic have

made this practice problem-

atic — potentially overstating

the number of individuals in

certain circumstances and

understating the number in

others,” the office said.

That’s because states have

struggled to process huge

backlogs of claims as the

COVID-19 crisis forced a

record number of Americans

onto unemployment rolls.

Noah Manskar

By Steve Cuozzo

Diamonds are forever on Fifth Av-

enue, where big moves by premier

gem house Harry Winston will soon

put glitter back into the pandemic-

battered shopping corridor.

In a major breakthrough for the

limping boulevard, Harry Winston is

expanding into the long-vacant

former Henri Bendel space at 712

Fifth. The elegant, landmarked store-

front is next door to Harry Winston’s

original home at 718 Fifth — where

the jeweler will return when renova-

tions are completed.

Winston renewed its 16-year lease

on 19,000 square feet at 718 simulta-

neously with signing for 18,000

square feet more at 712 — nearly

doubling its street-front presence on

the avenue. The company won’t oc-

cupy 712 until the construction’s

done, which could take several more

years. But its return to 718 Fifth will

occur sooner.

It’s much-needed good news for

the fabled stretch between Saks Fifth

Avenue and East 59th Street. Large

stores stand vacant on prime cor-

ners. Tourists who spent big bucks

on luxury brands such as Cartier and

Valentino are scarce.

Colliers ViceChairman Brad Men-

delson said that landlords who pre-

viously asked for $5,000 per square

foot at sidewalk level are now asking

$2,500 — which hasn’t yet been low

enough to lure new tenants.

Harry Winston is temporarily sell-

ing its precious baubles at Vornado’s

St. Regis Hotel retail condominium

two blocks south. Its landlord at 712

will be Paramount Group, which

owns the entire building. Paramount

and Harry Winston are 50-50 part-

ners in 718 Fifth, the five-story, 1870s-

vintage townhouse that has been the

gem merchants’ home since 1960.

News of the Winston moves sur-

faced in Paramount’s and Vornado’s

third-quarter SEC filings and confer-

ence calls. Paramount CEO Albert

Behler said that integrating Win-

ston’s space across several floors “re-

flects the creative efforts of both the

Paramount and Harry Winston

teams. The 16-year lease has a

weighted average initial rent of

$437.43 per square foot” — a so-

called blended rate across several

floors that’s harder to evaluate than

sidewalk numbers.

One industry source called it

“cheap.” However, Vornado’s presi-

dent, Michael Franco, said in an ana-

lysts’ call that he regards the Para-

mount lease figures “as a positive”

for the avenue.

Interior construction at 712 and 718

Fifth will yield a much wider

ground-floor footprint for Harry

Winston. There will also be new of-

fice and storage space on upper

floors of both buildings.

Vornado won’t likely lose a dime

on the Winston space when it moves

out. Its retail lease at the St. Regis is

with Swatch — which owns Harry

Winston and plans to replace it with

another luxury brand when the jew-

eler returns to 718 Fifth.

Vornado’s Franco even said “We

see them moving across the street to

their original home as a positive for

Fifth Avenue.”

Paramount didn’t respond to an

e-mail seeking comment. Reps for

Harry Winston couldn’t be reached.

Colliers’ Mendelson, who repped

Harry Winston in its move to the St.

Regis in 2015 when he was at Cush-

man & Wakefield, said of the brand’s

new leases, “It’s a shot in the arm for

Fifth Avenue. The remaining [va-

cant] spaces will hopefully follow

after the pandemic. Then, as less

space is available, prices will rise on

a supply-and-demand basis.”

Right now, the avenue’s most

glamorous stretch between Saks

Fifth Avenue at East 49th Street and

the former GM Building at East 59th

Street has a dispirited air, despite

cheery Christmas displays installed

in empty windows. The vacant

former Gap, Massimo Dutti and Polo

Ralph Lauren stores blemish the il-

lustrious shopping corridor.

CrOWn jEWEl

OF FiFtH avE.

Winston plans dazzling return

1/81/81/81/8mile

33

4

5

6

7

8

22

1

57th St.

55th St.

FifthAve.

Madison Ave.

Park Ave.

50th St.

53rd St.

Keytomap:

1.712 Fift h Ave.

former Henri

Bendel’s (above)

2.718 Fift h Ave.

HarryWinston

(left)

3.St. Regis

Hotel

4.711 FifthAve.,

Mango

5.767 FifthAve.

ChristianDior

6.685 FifthAve.

7.666 FifthAve.

8.Saks

Manhattan

Steve Cuozzo

Wild about Harry

Gem house Harry Winston

will expand its presence on

Fifth Avenue by taking over

the old Henri Bendel space.