BOUND FOR MUSIC CITY: Hermès has signed a lease to open an 8,500-square-foot store in Nashville’s Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood.
The lease was signed with AJ Capital Partners, a Nashville-based developer, which has been transforming 18 acres of mixed-use real estate in the neighborhood, which is located south of downtown Nashville.
The Hermès shop, the French brand’s first in the state of Tennessee, is expected to open in the fall of 2025, according to the developer.
“The Hermès boutique will be positioned within the historic May Hosiery Mills campus, an adaptive reuse of the South’s oldest hosiery mill, dating back to 1897,” Ben Weprin, founder and chief executive officer of AJ Capital Partners, said in a statement Thursday. “The addition of Hermès speaks to the enduring quality and artistry of the neighborhood.”
Nashville’s Wedgewood-Houston, or WeHo, has seen much development recently and an influx of new businesses including trendy restaurants, bars, shops, lofts, galleries and studios, many of which moved into converted factories and warehouses while preserving the historical architectural character of the area.
An Hermès spokesman confirmed that the lease was signed and that further details about the store would be disclosed at a later date.
Hermès executives have recently expressed confidence in the U.S. market. As reported, loyal local consumers and leather goods are helping Hermès buck the global slowdown in luxury spending. The French luxury firm trotted ahead of its rivals in the first quarter, with sales up 17 percent at constant exchange rates to 3.81 billion euros. Most future Hermès store openings will be concentrated in the U.S. and China. Hermès opened a store in Princeton, N.J., last spring, and other recent U.S. openings have been in Aspen and Austin.
