Victoria’s Secret is to close its flagship store on Grafton Street and move to a new location in Dublin city centre.
While the American lingerie brand has traded successfully from 28-29 Grafton Street since it opened there in December 2017, the building which comprises some 1,858 sq m (20,000 sq ft) of retail space and storage is now surplus to its requirements.
The Irish Times understands that Victoria’s Secret has applied to the building’s landlord, Sretaw, to assign the remaining seven years of its lease to a new occupier.
Sretaw PE (private equity), an investment and property development company, headed by Meath-based businessman Eamon Waters, acquired the Grafton Street building from Irish property company Iput for €28 million in 2023, and is understood to be in receipt of annual rent of €1.5 million from its investment.
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Speculation from market sources suggests that the luxury beauty brand Space NK may look to take Victoria’s Secret’s place at numbers 28-29 and relocate from its current, smaller premises at 82 Grafton Street.
The Irish Times understands that Victoria’s Secret is now considering opening for business in a new and smaller unit next door to Swedish fashion retailer Arket’s store at nearby Grafton Place.
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Victoria’s Secret’s original decision to open on Grafton Street had been questioned at the time by its Irish-born former president, Margaret McDonald.
In remarks made at a Dublin retail conference in 2018 and reported on by The Irish Times, she said she “takes no responsibility” for the store and was “surprised” when told of the plan to launch the huge Grafton Street outlet.
“I was head of lingerie in the US, and that decision was taken by the international team. They came to me after they had already decided,” she said. “They got a really good deal on the lease. But I would not have signed that lease if it was up to me.
“Dublin is only just about above the threshold to be a big enough city for a Victoria’s Secret. You need a lot of traffic [footfall] to support a store like that. Grafton Street is spotty at best,” she said.
