Wynn Resorts Ltd. is in the early stages of developing more luxury retail space along the Strip, and local real estate experts think the expansion might be on a good track for success.
Brian Sorrentino, director at ROI Commercial Real Estate, said casino properties have been moving toward enhancing the retail sector on the Strip as gaming dollars continue to fall. One key factor has been the rise of a younger demographic, with less interest in gaming. Members of that group are looking for an experience when they come to Las Vegas, and high-end retail is part of the lure.
Resorts are looking for Las Vegas visitors to head to their property. And some of those draws have included nightclubs and pools, Sorrentino said.
“Probably the last shoe to drop has been retail,” he said.
Sorrentino hadn’t seen any of the specifics on the Wynn project but said the thought is there would be high-end or luxury-branded shops coming in.
He said many properties are creating a message with exterior retail.
“They’re building products outside that translate to who they would like to come inside — sort of an extension or an attraction or another reason to go to that property,” Sorrentino said.
Wynn’s recently released plans call for more than 75,000 square feet of space with an air of luxury. Influences come from the Avenue Matignon in the Right Bank of Paris. The duo of Steve Wynn in collaboration with Roger Thomas, executive vice president of architecture at DeRuyter Butler and Wynn Design and Development, hopes to curate the space with shops that fit that environment.
The new space, pegged to open in fall 2017, will bring the total retail space in the complex to more than 173,500 square feet. According to a Wynn Resorts release, the new space is meant to augment the several luxury stores already on the property, including Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Hermes, Loro Piana, Moncler, Prada, Alexander McQueen and Givenchy.
The new space will be located on the Strip side between Wynn and Encore, where there was more than 300 feet of unused frontage that had a lot of value, according to Wynn, chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts.
“This represents an opportunity for future development that is quite unique,” Wynn saod in a release.
In the past several years, the retail dollars being spent per person on the Strip have gone up. According tp the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the total being spent on the visitor side has moved upwards from $200 to between $240 and $250, said Jennifer Ott, executive vice president at ROI Commercial Real Estate.
Wynn also has the general principals of the Strip retail market on its side as well.
“Historically with the Strip, it’s probably one of the only streets in the world that can have four or five Loui Vuittons, and they all do well,” said Angelica Lopez, sales associate at ROI Commercial Real Estate.
This is not something seen anywhere else, she said.
