After an 11-year run, the Emanuel Ungaro fashion boutique abruptly closed up shop at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
The Paris fashion house opened the boutique at 440 S. County Road, just south of Worth Avenue, in November 1997. It was one of two Ungaro boutiques in the United States; the flagship American boutique is still operating in Manhattan.
From 1979 through the mid-1990s, there was a licensed, non-company-owned Ungaro boutique on the island.
The South County Road boutique opened a few years after that store closed, said Jan Kranich, longtime manager of the Ungaro shop, who worked at the store since its debut.
Kranich has been a Worth Avenue regular since 1981, with stints at Bonwit Teller and Frances Brewster before her time with Ungaro.
"It's been a great run," Kranich said. "I suspect that the closing has less to do with business than with a new direction in marketing and distribution."
Kranich spoke from the boutique Wednesday morning while preparing for the closing.
"There will be no clearance sale," she said. "All merchandise is being returned to New York."
Calls and e-mails to the company's Paris headquarters were not answered.
Retail 'cyclical'
"We're sad to see any business leave the Avenue," said Sherry Frankel, an island merchant and president of the Worth Avenue Association. "The retail business has always been cyclical. Stores come and stores go.
"In this case, I suspect it's a corporate decision," Frankel said. "Otherwise, why would they stay open through the summer to close just before the season really kicks off?"
Island resident Petra Levin, a frequent customer at Ungaro, was shocked by the demise of the local boutique.
"The clothes at Ungaro were always very forward-thinking in terms of design," Levin said. "I'm so sorry to see such a fine store leave.
"I think that Ungaro, along with many of the retailers in Palm Beach, was suffering due to the economic situation. I expect the season will be pretty quiet for business."
Favors local shops
Levin said she will probably shop less this season and plans to give up online shopping in favor of patronizing businesses on the island.
"When I do shop, I will try to support local retailers as much as I can, to show support for the community," she said. "Worth Avenue and the variety of shops in Palm Beach makes this place more vibrant."
