Advising electronic people and tracking: U.S. and Global Flagship Retail Stores (by Barbara Farfan)

A retail organization's first store location is often labeled as its "flagship" location. The word flagship, is borrowed from nautical terminology, where it most often refers to the lead vessel in a fleet. A broader definition allows the "flagship" designation to also be given to a ship that is the largest, fastest, newest, or most famous. That broader definition seems to appeal to the retail industry, where the "flagship" designation is liberally applied to stores in prestigious locations, stores with unique features, and stores that are larger than the average outlet in the chain.
Taken to the extreme, retail stores are now being designed and strategically placed in worldwide locations specifically so that they can be labeled as flagship properties.

These stores are being positioned as the highest and best that the brand has to offer, and are being used as testing grounds for innovation and experimentation. With the prestige that the term now garners, flagship stores grab headlines, draw crowds, and provide retail organizations with an opportunity to turn an ordinary expansion into a notable global event. Nothing creates an instantly powerful brand presence in a city, state, or country like the flashy unveiling of a retail outlet that is designated as "flagship."

The World's Most Famous Flagship Retail Stores
If only the most basic definition of "first" is considered, then every retail organization has a "flagship" store. But when taking the broader meaning of the term into consideration, the number of retail chains with more than one deliberately created flagship location is small. There is an even smaller number of elite organizations that are employing a flagship strategy as a proactive vehicle for high profile expansion. Some of these organizations are highlighted below, along with some of the more prominent stores that have earned the right to lead their retail fleet as flagships.

Because of the prestige associated with Manhattan retail real estate, New York store locations are designated as flagships almost by default. Many global retail organizations have chosen New York addresses because of the credibility and visibility they provide. Many U.S. retail organizations established their legacy there.

Here are some of the most famous stores with New York addresses and the superlative aspects that have helped them gain their flagship designation.