Victoria’s Secret’s arrival about 6 weeks away
Victoria's Secret is taking up 13,677 square feet on the first floor of the Plaza Las Américas mall. (Credit: © Mauricio Pascual)
Puerto Rico’s first Victoria’s Secret location will open in about six weeks, capping years of anticipation for the retailer’s arrival. The buzz is that the 13,677 square-foot store will go “live” Nov. 17.
The store, which will be located in the main hall of the Plaza Las Américas shopping center’s first floor, is also the first Victoria’s Secret store to open in the Caribbean.
In preparation for its local debut, the Ohio-based retailer’s parent, Limited Brands, recruited sales and management staff on the island. It began the process in April, with an online ad, but conducted a full-fledged job fair in the summer.
“We’re thrilled to be opening our first Puerto Rico store location at Plaza Las Américas in San Juan. We are anticipating a very exciting grand opening and look forward to meeting all of our new VS customers,” said Victoria’s Secret COO Patrick Sanderson.
The store is being designed to embody Victoria’s Secret unmistakably sexy and sophisticated image, mixing black, white and pink into the décor.
“The façade takes a modern approach with a dynamic pink storefront that features a three-dimensional, corset-inspired ribbon pattern,” a store description released in late June said. “The contemporary interiors take cues from residential design in both feel and scale, including mixed hardwood and terrazzo flooring, oversized custom chandeliers with lingerie-inspired detailing and classical furnishings adorned with the signature Victoria’s Secret pink stripe.”
While the front area of the store will be “dark and dramatic,” the rear of the store “will feature playful bright interiors with shocking-pink accents,” the retailer said. Nearly 2,800 square feet of space will be devoted to the brand’s “PINK”collection, which will feature a dedicated entrance.
Victoria's Secret is building up anticipation to its upcoming local debut, with announcements on its website.
Victoria’s Secret at Plaza Las Americas will feature an assortment of the brand’s signature bras, panties and sleepwear as well as swimwear, beauty and Victoria’s Secret PINK lingerie and loungewear, that until now island customers had to order online or through the retailer’s catalogs.
“It is no secret, that our customers have been telling us for years that Victoria’s Secret is the store most of them wanted to have at Plaza,” Rafael Ruiz-Comas, corporate leasing director for Plaza Las Américas said. “We are now delighted to welcome Victoria’s Secret to our mall and once again fulfill the promise made to our customers of attracting to Plaza the very best concepts of the industry, first.”
Victoria’s Secret is one of two new arrivals expected in November, right before the busy Christmas shopping season. The other tenant is casual dining modern Chinese eatery P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, as News is my Business reported.
