CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Gucci is returning to Ohio. The Italian luxury brand plans to open a store at Easton Town Center in Columbus in the spring, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
The company will take over a 5,000-foot space previously home to Henri Bendel. The store will fit in nicely in the shopping center’s North District alongside neighbors like Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co. Currently, the closest standalone Gucci store to Northeast Ohio is in suburban Detroit.
This isn’t the first time Gucci has come to the Buckeye State. The iconic fashion retailer opened a location at the since-demolished Columbus City Center in 1989. In 1990, Cleveland got a Gucci store of its own downtown at the Avenue at Tower City. But it closed in 1992 after sales fell below expectations, The Plain Dealer reported at the time.
“Gucci is one of the most revered luxury brands in the world, around for over 100 years. And beloved by that luxury shopper,” Easton chief executive Jennifer Peterson told the Dispatch. “The Gucci brand is extremely selective about where they go. So we think it’s a real win for Columbus and Easton.”
The story of the family that started the company was dramatized in the critically acclaimed 2021 film “House of Gucci,” directed by Ridley Scott and starring Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jared Leto and Al Pacino.