MAC closes Times Square flagship after 12 years

The outlet’s closure at 1540 Broadway was a big surprise to experts and customers.

Canadian color cosmetics brand MAC closed its flagship store in Times Square after 12 years of operation. The outlet’s closure at 1540 Broadway was a big surprise to experts and customers.

The company said closing the flagship was made “due to the changing retail landscape.” The brand promises to continue investing in business development at key retail locations across the U.S. and has no plans for new closures.

The 1,700-square-foot store in Times Square opened in 2010 and was among the top locations in the cosmetics brand’s portfolio. Information about the former outlet has now been removed from the company’s official website.

MAC also owns six other stores in Manhattan and several stores in other boroughs. Meanwhile, at Times Square, foot traffic is up nearly 200 percent relative to 2021 and just 17 percent behind 2019.

MAC (an acronym for Make-Up Art Cosmetics) is a Canadian manufacturer and retailer founded in Toronto in 1984 by Frank Toscan and Frank Angelo. The company is headquartered in New York after it became a subsidiary of Estée Lauder Companies in 1998.