L'Occitane Set To Return To UWS This Summer After Previous Bankruptcy

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — A luxury French beauty brand that once held a strong presence on the Upper West Side is set to make its return.

Signage recently went up, alerting neighbors that the body, face, fragrance and home retailer L'Occintane En Provence will be opening its newest location at 416 Columbus Avenue, on the corner of West 80th Street.

First reported by iLovetheUpperWestSide.com, the retail store is expected to open later this summer, but a specific date has not been released.

L'Occitane previously held a location on Columbus Avenue and 69th Street for 31 years, becoming a staple of the neighborhood and even earning a cameo in the hit 1998 film "You've Got Mail."

The iconic store closed its doors in 2021, coinciding with the retailer filing for bankruptcy.

During that period, L'Occitane noted a 56 percent revenue decline from April to December 2020 attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic. They also mentioned challenges in negotiating new leases with landlords who were hesitant due to the prevailing circumstances.

L'Occitane management said that they intended to "reject certain leases in order to right-size its brick-and-mortar footprint to better position itself for long-term success," according to the filing.

The new Upper West Side location was formerly occupied by Scotch and Soda, a well-known Dutch clothing store that closed in May 2023.

Scotch and Soda's outpost at 416 Columbus Avenue shut down seven years after opening due to bankruptcy caused by a cash flow deficit exacerbated by decreased consumer confidence and COVID-19 pandemic-related lockdowns.