Amen Wardy Sets Up Shop on the Far Side
Amen Wardy is breaking the rules of retailing. Again.
Until now, Wardy has been known for his opulent shop, which features high-priced women’s clothing, situated next to Newport Beach’s Fashion Island, the Orange County shopping mall. This 8-year-old, 30,000-square-foot store, complete with its own Venetian ballroom, was built on the site of a J.C. Penney’s auto repair shop and draws shoppers from around the country.
Now, Wardy has brought his lavish style of retailing to Beverly Hills, to the polished gray granite building recently vacated by Drexel Burnham Lambert, 131 S. Rodeo Drive.
Rodeo addresses are coveted by retailers and designers alike, but the catch here is that the store is south of Wilshire, in an area of office and apartment buildings, several blocks away from the regular tourist route. Retail wags will tell you it’s not possible to survive there simply because it is off the beaten path.
But Wardy has an entirely different perspective of North Rodeo Drive: “All of the shops are crowded in up there. Here, I’ve got 15,000 square feet, and I’ve got my own identity. I’ve got the best location in Beverly Hills.” He beams. “And if you’ve got what the customer wants, she’ll come. She followed me to Newport Beach.”
Rodeo retailer Torie Steele, who is leaving the street but whose Valentino and Soprani boutiques will remain open, sees the south-of-Wilshire address as a risk. “The store is not going to pick up foot traffic, which is an important part of the business.”
“I don’t want foot traffic. It’s not my customer,” Wardy replies. “My customer does not walk down the street. She drives up.”
Designer James Galanos, who has his own alcove in the new, as well as in the original, Wardy store, whipped up some exclusive designs for the new shop, which is the sort of thing Wardy is known for arranging. Says Galanos of the new shop: “I don’t consider it Rodeo. It’s much classier.”
Other labels include Bob Mackie, Oscar de la Renta and Gianfranco Ferre, David Webb for jewelry and Judith Leiber for handbags. But Emanuel Ungaro and Valentino, both staples in Wardy’s Orange County store, won’t be carried because the designers have their own boutiques on Rodeo Drive.
Private label clothes, made exclusively for Wardy’s shop, make up about 50% of his stock.
“Every store has the same merchandise,” he comments. “To open another store in Beverly Hills with the same clothes--what’s that going to do? We have to give something new.”
The lure that attracted Wardy to Beverly Hills was the Regent Beverly Wilshire hotel, just across the street, and its recent $65-million renovation. He likes the proximity to the wealthy patrons from around the world who stay at the hotel. “You can’t leave the hotel without seeing my store,” he says, walking to the store window that faces the hotel’s carriage way and adjusting a saffron-yellow ball gown as he speaks.
Rumors are flying that he will close his Newport Beach store now. But he denies it. Time will tell.
Wardy, age 50 and 55 pounds lighter due to a new diet, counts among his loyal customers both Joan and Jackie Collins, Marianne (Mrs. Kenny) Rogers, Candy Spelling, Diahann Carroll and Mary Hart, and they will find many similarities between his two stores.
Interior designer Budd Holden, who created both, used many of the same details, including handmade parquet floors, eye-level display cases (Wardy doesn’t like to see customers bending over to look in floor-mounted showcases) and enormous dressing rooms. Big pots of fresh orchids are the preferred flower in both places, too.
In response to the differences between the two cities--Newport Beach with its covered-up matrons versus the flashier Beverly Hills socialites--Wardy says he will carry some younger looks, including more skin-baring clothes, in the new store.
So far, the plan seems to be working. Singer Paula Abdul, who’d never heard of Wardy, saw his Rodeo store’s preview ad and was taken with the shimmery gold Bob Mackie dress pictured. Not one to wait until the store was open, she called up and had the dress sent over. It was the dress she wore to the Grammy awards last month.
Wardy’s prices start at $400 for a private label silk blouse and gabardine pants set, and almost reach the $30,000 mark for beaded Galanos confections.
