CEO Jacob Halperin: It's cheaper today to rent a store in New York than in Israel, and not necessarily just Tel Aviv.
"It's cheaper today to rent a store in New York than in Israel, and not necessarily just Tel Aviv," says Optica Halperin CEO Jacob Halperin. The opticianchain recently rented two stores in Brooklyn and is negotiating leases for two more stores in the city and another in Los Angeles.
Optica Halperin is paying $46 per square meter per month for a 200-square meter store on 13th Avenue in Boro Park, and $30 per square meter per month for a 300-square meter store on Ocean Parkway in Flatbush. Both stores target a Jewish clientele. The company pays $70 per square meter per month for its store at Dizengoff Center in Tel Aviv.
It is seeking to open a 160-square store on 11th Avenue in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn and a second store, also on 11th Avenue, in Crown Heights. The rent at both stores will be $46 per square meter per month. It is negotiating to open a 400-square meter store at $20 per square meter per month on Ventura Avenue in the Valley in Los Angeles.
Optica Halperin has 95 stores in Israel.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 18, 2008
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2008