Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
It's been a never ending saga for the maybe-cursed Limelight Marketplace. First, a bunch of its vendors decided to get out of there when profits started to tank, and then owner Jack Menashe decided to start in on making it a department store instead of the mini mall it started out as.
We've learned that the relaunch of Limelight Marketplace—which is now just going by Limelight—should be completed next September, and that some of the brands it will carry include James Perse, PRPS, and Nudie Jeans. In an article posted this morning, WWD reports that buyer Melanie Drake has locked down a few other brands, too.
Despite loads of problems since its opening, Drake certainly doesn't think that Limelight will hit any obstacles in acquiring vendors to carry, as made crystal clear in her quote to WWD:
We don't have the obstacles other stores have like fighting for lines. Any [brand] I wanted, I got. That includes M Missoni, Charlotte Ronson, James Perse, Young Fabulous & Broke, Rich and Skinny, Winter Kate and Elizabeth and James for women and Levi’s Made & Crafted, Sundek by Neil Barrett and Original Penguin, Trovata and Rogan for men.
For the record, the renovation is going to cost Limelight $4 million, and yes: They will be open for business during that time.
· Limelight Goes for Relaunch [WWD, subscription req'd]
· The Limelight Marketplace Will Become a Department Store [Racked NY]
· Limelight Not Doing So Well as a Marketplace, Either [Racked NY]