abby & co. has closed its children's boutique at Atlantic Station after a shockingly short run. The boutique opened in the beleaguered midtown project February 16th and celebrated its Grand Opening February 22nd. Abby & co. was located on Atlantic Drive, near DSW.
Abby & co. reportedly closed last night and today posted a short message to their facebook page:
"You win some and you lose some. There were so many factors leading to our decision to close the shop. It was completely unexpected and had to be somewhat quick. We are so sad to see it go. We thank you all so much for your support and love through this short lived time. No worries though! We aren't going anywhere just no physical location :( "
The mention of no physical location would seem to hint at the store continuing to operate online. Albeit for different reasons, abby & co.'s move to online only mirrors that of Raw Denim which last month shuttered its midtown store to operate online only.
Surprisingly, the boutique was already gone from the Atlantic Station website as of noon today. Additionally, a map provided to me by Atlantic Station via email was devoid of any mention of abby & co.
The boutique featured a curated collection of women's and children's apparel as well as toys and games from assorted designers and manufacturers including Sugar Paper, Archipelago, Simpatico, Zoli, Lollacup and Dino Bebe. abby & co, differentiated themselves by featuring eco-friendly, organic and locally made products. The shop was named for owner Hanna Lim's young daughter Abby.
While independent, boutique, retail is no doubt a tough business, Atlantic Station was simply not the right location for abby & co. Given the well merchandised store, with locally hard to find merchandise, I think the boutique would have stood a far better chance of survival had it been located in either Buckhead or Decatur. The Shops Around Lenox come to mind as the perfect Buckhead location while the synergies of existing local downtown Decatur businesses would have been a great fit as well.
Abby & co. is not alone in struggling at Atlantic Station. Multi-brand restaurant operator Darden is reportedly unhappy with the sales of its Yard House restaurant at Atlantic Station. Real estate sources also say that overall traffic and sales are reportedly down at Atlantic Station, possibly due to the center's reliance on special events to draw shoppers.