Henri Bendel

This article is about the brand and its retail locations. For the company's founder, see Henri Willis Bendel.

Henri Bendel, Inc.

File:Henri Bendel current logo.png
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Retail
Founded	1895 (1895)
Founder	Henri Willis Bendel
Defunct	January 28, 2019 (2019-01-28)
Fate	Closed
Headquarters	712 Fifth Avenue New York City , United States
Number of locations	29 stores (Jan 2015)
Area served	United States
Products	Women's clothing
Parent	L Brands
Website	Archived official website at the Wayback Machine (archive index)

Henri Bendel, Inc. (pronounced BEN-del) was founded in 1895, and operated as a women's department store headquartered in New York City. In its later years, the company specialized in selling women's handbags, jewelry, upscale fashion accessories, home fragrances, chocolates, and gift items. The flagship store was originally situated at 10 West 57th Street before relocating to 712 Fifth Avenue in 1985 after acquisition by Limited.

The brand pioneered several retail innovations including being the first to launch a proprietary fragrance line, offering in-store beauty makeovers, and hosting exclusive fashion shows. Additionally, Henri Bendel is recognized for introducing the concession model—retail spaces within a store—that has become a common merchandising strategy among department stores.

The label was famously referenced by composer Cole Porter in the lyric "You're a Bendel Bonnet / a Shakespeare Sonnet" from the 1934 hit song "You're the Top", popularized by Ethel Merman.

In September 2018, parent company L Brands declared its intention to shut down all 23 remaining stores, effectively ending the brand's operations which concluded in January 2019.

History and influence

Henri Willis Bendel, born in Louisiana in 1868, relocated to New York to pursue a career as a milliner. In 1895, he launched his inaugural store located in Greenwich Village. By 1907, Bendel introduced the distinctive brown-and-white striped packaging that remains synonymous with the brand. Notably, in 1913, Henri Bendel became the first American retailer to offer designs by Coco Chanel.

Following Bendel's passing in 1936, his nephew assumed the presidency of the store and continued in this role until retiring in 1954. This nephew later established Belgian Shoes and passed away in 1997.

From 1957 until 1986, Geraldine Stutz led Henri Bendel as president. She was renowned for her exceptional talent in identifying emerging designers and giving them early exposure, showcasing talents such as Perry Ellis, Jean Muir, Sonia Rykiel, Carlos Falchi, Mary McFadden, and Ralph Lauren. In 1958, Stutz innovated the store’s main sales area by creating a U-shaped "Street of Shops," which many regard as a precursor to the modern shop-within-a-shop retail concept.

During the 1960s, Andy Warhol contributed as an in-house illustrator for the company. Starting in 1994, Izak Zenou’s artwork became a prominent feature in Henri Bendel’s advertising and promotional campaigns.

In 1977, Patricia Peterson, then fashion editor at The New York Times, was appointed vice president overseeing Advertising, Fashion, and Promotion—a position she held until her retirement in 1989. Throughout her tenure, Peterson invited guest artists like Edward Gorey and Candy Pratts to design the brand’s iconic window displays. Alongside her husband, fashion photographer Gösta Peterson, she produced a weekly half-page advertisement for Henri Bendel that appeared every Sunday in The New York Times.

In more recent decades, Henri Bendel sought to evolve from being known primarily as an iconic New York establishment into a nationally recognized accessories brand. Beginning in 2008, the company expanded beyond its flagship New York location to operate a total of 28 stores across the United States. The decision was made in 2009 to discontinue apparel sales. By 2014, both the flagship store and website focused exclusively on selling Henri Bendel-branded handbags, jewelry, fashion accessories, and home fragrances—aligning with the merchandising approach of its other outlets.

Henri Bendel received the Retailer of the Year award at the Accessories Council Excellence Awards in 2010.

In September 2018, media reports including The Wall Street Journal announced that Henri Bendel would close all 23 of its stores and cease operations after more than a century of business. The parent company, L Brands, cited this decision as part of a strategic effort to enhance profitability and concentrate on other brands such as Victoria's Secret.

By January 19, 2019, all Henri Bendel retail locations had shuttered their doors, with its online presence ceasing operations on January 28 of the same year.

Flagship store

File:Coty building, No. 714 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan.jpg

714 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan

Between 1985 and its closure in 2018, the flagship location on Fifth Avenue occupied two neighboring structures—the Rizzoli Building and the Coty Building—alongside a newly constructed five-story edifice. During the restoration of the Coty Building, 276 "masterwork" glass panels originally commissioned from René Lalique in 1912 were carefully refurbished. These glass panes adorned three expansive windows that formed the façade across the second, third, and fourth floors of the Henri Bendel establishment. The building had been designated a landmark by the city’s Landmark Preservation Commission in 1985.

Regarding this architectural blend, The New York Times architecture critic Paul Goldberger remarked: "This combination of contemporary and historic design, seamlessly integrated, offers more hope for the rejuvenation of Fifth Avenue than anything else that has occurred on that struggling boulevard over the past ten years."

For over a century, Henri Bendel’s sole and flagship store was situated at 10 West 57th Street. This location was renowned for its lavish window displays, brown awnings, and distinctive brown-and-white shopping bags that became iconic throughout the city. The window artist Robert Rufino crafted theatrically styled scenes that were updated every Wednesday evening without fail. From the 1970s until his death in 1982, the doorman known as "Buster" warmly welcomed each visitor by name, thanks to his remarkable memory. His popularity was such that Henri Bendel marketed a stuffed doll modeled after him, which consistently sold out. Notably, until 1985, the store at 10 West 57th Street operated with manually controlled elevators.

Ownership

Following the retirement of Bendel’s nephew—also named Henri Bendel—in 1954, ownership of the store transferred from the Bendel family to a consortium of investors. In 1980, Geraldine Stutz, then president of Henri Bendel, acquired the company along with a group of investors from Genesco Inc., a retail and apparel corporation that had managed Bonwit Teller among other stores.

In 1985, L Brands purchased the Henri Bendel brand. Formerly known as Limited Brands and headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, this parent company also oversees brands such as Victoria's Secret, PINK, Bath & Body Works, and La Senza, operating a total of 2,917 company-owned specialty stores across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

External links

• Archived official site