Alan Victor, a veteran retail broker who helped pioneer the concept of the pricey luxury retail flagship store, died on Friday at the age of 80. The cause was complications of Parkinson’s disease.
A representative for the Lansco Corporation, the boutique retail brokerage Victor co-founded in the 1960s, confirmed his death.
Victor is credited as one of the leading dealmakers of Manhattan’s pricey high street retail, which during his decades-long career developed into some of the most expensive real estate in the world.
In 1986, he negotiated a deal for his client Polo Ralph Lauren to open its first flagship store in Manhattan at the ornate French Renaissance Revival-style Rhinelander Mansion on Madison Avenue.
It was considered pivotal in the evolution of retail, from a place to shop to one where companies would pull out all the stops to showcase their brands.
“He was an icon, one of the first to focus on retail leasing, especially luxury and fashion,” said Robin Abrams, a former partner at Lansco. “And he did flagships before anyone. A great guy.”
Victor’s long career also includes deals representing Warner Bros. for its stores on 57th Street at Fifth Avenue and in Times Square, the Niketown deal at the Trump Organization’s 6 East 57th Street and Versace on Fifth Avenue.
In 1965, he co-founded the boutique retail brokerage Lansco with partners Jack Walis and Mike Antkies, Howard Dolch and Stuart Lilien.
The five brokers started out doing office deals, then in the late 1980s slowly began carving out a niche in retail as values for ground-floor spaces rose and landlords started to pay more attention to the sector.
The company employed some top dealmakers in retail in the 2000s, and one of its strengths was said to be a comprehensive internal listings system that kept its brokers on top of the latest properties to hit the market.
While larger competitors such as RKF and Winick Realty Group eventually stepped in and became dominant in leasing retail spaces across the city, Lansco remained, and maintained an old-school style of business.
Victor retired from the job about three years ago.
Contact Rich Bockmann at rb@therealdeal.com or 908-415-5229