NEW YORK—Luxury Optical Holdings (LOH) moved its Morgenthal Frederics flagship store into New York City's historic Carlton House at 680 Madison Avenue on Saturday, April 18, 2015. It is the first commercial resident of the historic building, just steps away from the luxury optical retail store's original flagship location at 699 Madison Avenue, where it has operated since 1999 and will continue to do so until mid-May.

Morgenthal Frederics' new flagship store in New York City is the first commercial resident of the historic Carlton House.

"We are very excited about this new location and thrilled that we'll be able to retain the staff," LOH's president Glenn Reisch told dba.

When the opportunity presented itself to move to a renovated space in the historic Carlton House, "we were thrilled to find something so close to the current location with new construction," Jeff Press, Sr. VP of merchandising and design, told dba, referring to the renovated space the store will occupy on the ground floor. "It's a great opportunity to have a new location in the right neighborhood, arguably the best in the country."

The new flagship store is an intimate space of 700 square feet with select frames on display and space to stock 2,000 frames. It will carry one of the largest selections of buffalo horn frames in the world, according to the company. Morgenthal Frederics' buffalo horn frames are handcrafted in Germany from multiple layers of Asian water buffalo horn. Each horn's unique natural colorations allow Morgenthal Frederics to create truly one-of-a-kind frames.

In addition, the new flagship store will also feature the complete Morgenthal Frederics Classic Collection, Cartier, Chrome Hearts, Maybach, Francis Klein, Mykita Mylon and Margiela, Retrospecs and Judith Lieber.

The first Morgenthal Frederics store was born on Madison Avenue in 1986 when optician Richard Morgenthal purchased the iconic Frederics Opticians. The brand slowly expanded into several other luxury optical shops in Manhattan. It was purchased by the newly formed Luxury Optical Holdings in 2006, and Richard Morgenthal's protégé, Jeff Press, was named chief designer.

Today, Morgenthal Frederics operates 11 locations in high-end retail environments throughout the country, and the brand is part of the LOH family that also includes Optica, Robert Marc Eyewear (acquired Sept. 12, 2014), Davante, Leonard Opticians (acquired Sept. 16, 2013), and other luxury eyewear lines.

Riehle Opticians Joins LOH Portfolio
Most recently, LOH acquired Riehle Opticians in Warwick, NY. Known locally for its diverse assortment of luxury frames, Riehle Opticians relocated on Thursday, April 23, 2015, to a 1,000-square-foot space in a completely renovated historical building. The new addition to the LOH portfolio will keep its name. "When we acquire stores with such great heritage we like to maintain that and the relationships with the clients that have developed over the years," Press said.

"We continue to grow as we have in recent years with optical stores that we can pride ourselves on," Press said. "Riehle fits perfectly into that and gives us another phenomenal optical store. We will continue to grow when the opportunities are right."

Riehle Opticians in Warwick, NY, is the newest brand to join the Luxury Optical Holdings portfolio.