Oscar de la Renta Named America’s Most Expensive Store

When shopping for luxury apparel, few designers come to mind more than Oscar de la Renta. From First Families to Hollywood starlets, the 80-year-old fashion guru has dressed everyone who’s anyone, so it’s only fitting that his designs come with a steep price tag. In fact, the designer’s NYC boutique topped Racked’s newly released list of the country’s most expensive stores beating out Giorgio Armani (New York City), Loro Piana (Boston), Akris (New York City) and Maxfield (Los Angeles).

The average de la Renta customer spends $3,217 at the upscale store, according to data from 20 million Visa and Mastercard holders by Bundle.com. Though many of the brand’s original competitors such as Gucci or Louis Vuitton have been absorbed into luxury conglomerates and now focus more on the high-margin sales of shoes and bags, de la Renta has stayed private and family-run. Alex Bolen, the current CEO, is de la Renta’s son-in-law.

But what keeps customers coming back to the store — and handing over their credit cards — is loyalty. While fashion trends may come and go, de la Renta truly understands his customer base and continues to create the same sort of timeless and feminine gowns that he has for decades.

“Unlike even Armani, [Oscar de la Renta] doesn’t carry a diverse range of merchandise to serve different segments of the market,” Ron Kurtz, president of the American Affluence Research Center, told Daily Finance. “Everything starts at a very high price point.”