Veteran Retail Broker, Lansco Corp.’s Alan Victor Dies Friday
The man who helped to pioneer the concept of the pricey luxury retail flagship store, died on Friday at the age of 80 from complications of Parkinson's disease.
NEW YORK CITY—Veteran retail broker, Alan Victor, has died at the age of 80 from complications of Parkinson’s disease. He was most recently the EVP of Lansco Corp. and has closed more mega deals and accomplished more for Manhattan’s retail renaissance than any other real estate broker, according to a prepared statement.
A graduate of Boston University, he also attended Boston University Law School.
In one of the most high profile and influential retail transactions in the past quarter century he brokered a 49-year-lease of the 24,000-square-foot Rhinelander mansion located at 72nd Street on behalf of his client, Polo Ralph Lauren.
According to a prepared statement, that particular 1986 deal marked the first time a world famous designer leased a super flagship store in Manhattan, not only changing the Madison Avenue retail market, but also paving the way for other designers to follow. He then went on to broker the net lease of 601 Madison Ave. (the former George Jensen Building) for Emporio Armani, as well as the net lease of 42 East 57th St. for Turnbull & Asser.
His icontributions to the return of retail elegance along Fifth Avenue include encouraging Gianni Versace to lease the former Olympic Airways Building (28,000 sq. ft.) for its giant world flagship store, Gant, H. Stern, brokering the A/X Armani lease at 51st Street (10,500 sq. ft.), and advocating the launch of Cole Haan’s second Manhattan store at 630 Fifth Avenue in Rockefeller Center. This last accomplishment was the result of the success Cole Haan experienced in its first New York store at Madison Avenue and 60th Street, as well as additional locations in Dallas and Phoenix, all recommended and procured by Alan Victor.
He also also played a major role in shaping the character of many prestigious retail districts in New York. On 57th Street, he represented Alfred Dunhill of London at 450 Park Avenue (15,000 sq. ft.); he negotiated the NIKETOWN net lease of the former Galleries Lafayette site (95,000 sq. ft.) and the Warner Bros. Studio Store (75,000 sq. ft.). He represented the Goodman Estate in their renewal with Van Cleef & Arpels and brokered the lease for the first Dana Buchman and Dana B. Karen stores (divisions of Liz Claiborne, now Brioni Women). A decade ago, he sold 40 East 57th Street to Gianni Versace and resold the building two years later to the King of Morocco.
Other major deals include leasing 1 Times Square (110,000 sq. ft.) to Warner Bros. Studio Store; completing three important J. Crew leases (13,000 sq. ft. at Mercer Street in Soho; 13,500 sq. ft. at 91 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District; 13,000 sq. ft. in Rockefeller Center); and leasing 939 Third Avenue (24,000 sq. ft) to Roche Bobois/Maurice Villency. As the exclusive broker for Talbots in Metro New York, he has already leased ten locations for the company, including its 35,000 square foot flagship store at 54th Street and Madison Avenue. He currently represents lululemon athletica in New York and metro area.