Back to Basics
Sales increases for men’s products have meant an enlarged stock at Crabtree & Evelyn shops. Having the Sienna products listed among the top 10 fragrances in Details didn’t hurt sales, says Alan Calgaro, manager of the South Coast Plaza store. For Father’s Day, find a full line of alcohol-free shaving products and beautiful old-fashioned shaving sets. The traditional brush and razor sets come in black, red, blue, gray and nickel. Tools are $17.50 to $110. Products, such as hard soap in a mug, sell for $8.50 to $35.
Less Gap
Dig the Gap’s wardrobe staples but not the prices? Then you’ll love the Old Navy Clothing Co., which prices 80% of its stock for babies to parents at less than $22. Take men’s cotton pique shirts for $14 or khakis for $22. The chain, sure to be the hippest in the value-priced market, opened its Tustin Marketplace store Wednesday--the ninth in the chain and the first in O.C. The 12,000-square-foot store goes for industrial chic with concrete floors, exposed ducts, lockers as display cases, checkout counters and shopping carts. Spokesman Richard Crisman calls it “family-friendly.” There are plans to open 45 nationwide this year alone--mostly in strip malls and other areas where no Gap stores exist. After all, it is a division of Gap Inc., which also operates the higher priced Banana Republic. “It’s a three-tier strategy for us,” says Crisman, “but it will assume its own identity like the others.”
A Real Catch
Bluewater Wear is more than quality duds for the fashionable fisherman. The Irvine label has its practical side too, like shorts made of stain-resistant Supplex with a map-size back pocket. Even blood spills are no trouble. Started in 1989 by Sea World co-founders Milton and Peggie Shedd, Bluewater Wear is a division of AFTCO Mftg, the international leader of big-game fishing-rod components. The line ($40 to $55) also takes a cue from sailing, diving, surfing and other marine sports. So ocean-occupied is the Bluewater crew that 10% of profits go into conservation efforts. “We’re the real thing,” says spokesman Ben Secrest. “I can tell when an artist forgets a fin.” To keep that authentic edge, the sales and design team must spend at least 100 days a year fishing--mostly catch and release. How do they handle the stress?
