Piperlime to Open First Store in New York

Piperlime, Gap Inc's online boutique for dresses and accessories, will open its first brick-and-mortar store in New York City this autumn, the company said on Wednesday.

Launched in 2006, Piperlime caters to an eccentric and more fashion oriented clientele. With sales of $301 million for Piperlime and sportswear brand Athleta combined, the concept is a small pecentage of Gap's overall sales of $14.55 billion in fiscal 2011.

The new 4,000-square-foot store will have a similar feel to its online counterpart and be styled like a boutique, Gap said.

"Our customers have been asking for a place where they can experience Piperlime in person, and New York is the perfect location for this," said Jennifer Gosselin, senior vice president and general manager of Piperlime.

In April, online men's clothing retailer Bonobos said it had teamed up with Nordstrom to sell its clothes in the department store chain, saying there was demand to "touch and feel clothing before they purchase." (Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Chicago; Editing by Maureen Bavdek)