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Kleinfeld isn’t getting hitched yet, but it has finally found a promising relationship.
The 72-year-old Big Apple bridal boutique — which for years has rebuffed overtures from corporate suitors looking to acquire or otherwise partner with it — cut a licensing deal last week with Canada-based Hudson’s Bay.
As a result, a second Kleinfeld Bridal shop is slated to open next spring, occupying 20,000 square feet inside The Bay’s 1 million square-foot flagship in Toronto.
This will be no casual tie-up, says Ronnie Rothstein, who owns Kleinfeld with Mara Urshel and Wayne Rogers, the actor who played Trapper John on the “M*A*S*H” TV series.
“This is not like opening a Gap store — it’s a hands-on type of business,” Rothstein says, explaining that the legendary service Kleinfeld lavishes on brides-to-be is an around-the-clock job.
Indeed, Hudson’s Bay, which also owns Lord & Taylor, will send 70 workers to train for months at Kleinfeld’s swanky 35,000 square-foot shop in Chelsea.
There, Kleinfeld’s staff of more than 300 will show Bay employees the finer points of dress fittings, accessories-matching and stress management for brides.
“You can always call us any time for any reason — every girl gets an e-mail and a home number,” Rothstein says.
Kleinfeld’s over-the-top standards were too much for other retailers looking to woo the company, he added.
“Everybody was looking to kind of cheapen the brand,” Rothstein said, noting that he fended off suggestions to pare down service and dress selections.
“It would be like taking Le Bernardin,” Rothstein said, referring to the five-star French restaurant in Midtown, “and converting it into the Shake Shack.”