Faith Hope Consolo, NYC Retail Leader, Passes Away

By Therese Fitzgerald

Faith Hope Consolo

New York City retail maven Faith Hope Consolo, chairman of the retail leasing & sales division at Douglas Elliman Real Estate, has passed away.

Consolo was known for bringing many national and international retailers (including Cartier, Versace, Armani and FAO Schwarz) to the city’s best-known corridors and for her larger-than-life personality. She embraced the power of the press and worked tirelessly to live up to her nickname “Queen of Retail.”

A native of Ohio, Consolo came to New York in the mid-1980s and joined Garrick-Aug Worldwide. In 1987, she opened the firm’s Paris office. During the 1990s, she was a consultant to the city’s Economic Development Corp. on the redevelopment of Times Square. When Garrick-Aug dissolved in 2005, she started the retail  division at Douglas Elliman.

Consolo co-founded the SBS Group of Worldwide Fashion Brokers, an international network of luxury retail brokers. She was a CREW Network board member and a chairman emeritus of the New York chapter. She was also a member of the board of directors of the New York/Northeast Council of FIABCI International Real Estate Federation. 

“Faith was an inspiration to me from the onset of my career,” said Karen Bellantoni, vice chairman of RKF, a retail leasing and investment sales firm. “She will be remembered as a true force of nature, a trailblazer in the industry for women, a mentor to many, and for her wonderful sense of humor.”