Henri Bendel

Henri Bendel, established in 1895, is an American upscale women's specialty store based in New York City that sells the Henri Bendel brand of handbags, jewelry, luxury fashion accessories, home fragrances and gifts. Its flagship New York store is located at 712 Fifth Avenue.

Henri Bendel was the first retailer to have its own fragrance, to offer in-store makeovers, and to stage its own fashion show. The retailer is credited with developing the shop-within-a-shop merchandising concept that’s in use in some department stores today.

History and influence

Henri Willis Bendel was born in Louisiana in 1868 and moved to New York to work as a milliner. He opened his first shop, in Greenwich Village, in 1895. In 1907, he began branding the brown-and-white striped boxes that are still identified with the company. In 1913, Henri Bendel was the first retailer to sell Coco Chanel designs in the U.S.

After Bendel’s death in 1936, his nephew became the store’s president and served until his retirement in 1954. Bendel's nephew, who later founded Belgian Shoes, died in 1997.