Bottega Veneta opening maison on Madison Avenue

Bottega Veneta is moving on up to the East Side. The Italian-based luxury goods company has closed their flagship store at 699 Fifth Avenue, as they prepare for a 2017 opening of a 14,908-square-foot store at 740 Madison Avenue and 64th Street. The brand originally operated their flagship store from 1979 to 2004 on Madison Avenue, so, this is a return for them, rather than a new endeavor.

In the interim, the company is operating a 4,510-square-foot store at 650 Madison Avenue.

The six-story maison expected to open in 2017 is the third Bottega Veneta store of its kind, after the one in Milan and another one in Beverly Hills. As for the reason behind the move from Fifth Avenue, Bottega Veneta CEO Carlo Berreta said to WWD that "Fifth Avenue has completely changed. Today, it’s a much more commercial street. It doesn’t belong to our positioning anymore. Madison Avenue better represents our positioning and custom experience.”

Bottega Veneta plans maison opening on Madison Avenue for 2017

Bottega Veneta once had two small separate stores for men's and women, but they closed both those stores to concentrate on opening a maison. The maison would be the first of its kind on the East Coast.

Bottega Veneta creative director Tomas Maier is the force behind the new store slated to open in 2017.

According to Berreta, the new Maison will have huge shoe areas for both men and women, as shoes are currently Bottega Veneta's fastest growing category.

The goal for Bottega Veneta is to have 10 or fewer maisons worldwide, with the expectation all the big fashion cities like New York, Paris, and Beverly Hills will have one. The company declines to reveal the costs of opening these types of stores, but they are reportedly a significant investment.

Growing their U.S. presence is very important for the company right now. This year, they opened a 1,760-square-foot at Brookfield Place in lower Manhattan. They are also working on expanding their presence with their wholesale partners such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Barneys New York.