"Pottery Barn is latest to quit Newbury St.; Declining sales and high rents squeeze shops" by Jenn Abelson, Globe Staff | May 13, 2009
After two decades on Newbury Street, home furnishings chain Pottery Barn is moving out of its digs, the latest in a series of merchants to exit the Back Bay retail district.
The company said the lease has expired, but did not provide details on when it plans to vacate the shop at 122 Newbury St., its second store closing in the region. Earlier this year, Pottery Barn left South Shore Plaza in Braintree, along with its sister chain Williams-Sonoma. The parent company, Williams-Sonoma Inc., took a series of actions recently to slash costs, including cutting the workforce by 18 percent, closing a call center in Pennsylvania, and shuttering a distribution facility in Tennessee. Pottery Barn still operates stores in the Atrium at Chestnut Hill and the Burlington Mall.
Still, the departure of Pottery Barn from Newbury Street, with more than 7,200 square feet, will leave a large hole in this Back Bay shopping mecca, which has been hit hard by the current recession. Many store owners have blamed declining sales and exorbitant rents for their struggles in what used to be Boston's hottest address for trendy boutiques. But reduced rents are starting to attract some interest in smaller properties....
They could find a snake in a rock pile, if you know what I mean.
I'm so sick of this s*** reporting by corporate whores.
Also see: Don't Go In the Basement!
