Barneys to Help Camarillo Outlet Grow in Style

If the September announcement that Saks Fifth Avenue would become part of the Camarillo Factory Stores didn’t hammer the point home, then last week’s addition of upscale clothier Barneys New York probably did the trick.

The 8-month-old discount retail center is trying to make a name for itself with big-name merchandise.

“This brands us as more of an upscale, fashion-oriented outlet than anyone else in the market,” said Michele Rothstein, vice president of marketing for Chelsea GCA Realty Inc., the real estate investment trust that owns and operates the Camarillo Factory Stores and 16 other outlet centers across the country.

Outlet stores typically offer merchandise for about 25% to 70% off regular retail prices.

Both the Barneys outlet and the Saks outlet, to be called Off 5th--Saks Fifth Avenue, are part of an 80,000-square-foot second phase under construction at the Camarillo center. Barneys is scheduled to open Nov. 2, with Saks to follow Nov. 17.

Mall manager Terri Cameron said about 14 of the 18 stores in the second phase will be up and running by Nov. 17. Other initial tenants on the list include Spa & Sport, Jones New York Country and Ann Taylor Loft.

“People will seek us out because we have stores that they recognize by name. If they know we have Ann Taylor, they are going to come here for Ann Taylor,” Cameron said. “Recognizable names will help people understand what this center is about.”

Camarillo Factory Stores opened in February, with a 150,000-square-foot first phase accommodating 46 shops. A third phase, of about 170,000 square feet to contain an additional 40 stores, is scheduled for completion in the fall of 1996.

Rothstein compared the Camarillo Factory Stores with another Chelsea GCA property, the Desert Hills Factory Stores in Cabazon, Calif., near Palm Springs.

She said that by bringing upscale fashion stores--including Barneys--to the Cabazon development, the center has attracted international tourists. She is working with Los Angeles-area tourism organizations, including the Japan Travel Bureau, to establish the Camarillo outlet as a similar international destination.

In addition to attracting tourists, Rothstein said it is important for the Camarillo outlet to create a niche in upscale fashions because of its close proximity to the Oxnard Factory Outlet.

“We are certainly aware that we’re not the only outlet center in the market,” she said. “We are shooting to appeal to a higher-end customer.”

William H. Carpenter Jr., president and chief operating officer of Prime Retail Inc., developer and part owner of the Oxnard outlet center, said having Saks and Barneys join the competition is not of particular concern.

“We both serve the L.A.-to-Santa Barbara market--that’s about 14 million people,” he said. “The market is big enough to absorb both of these centers. When they are all built out, they may make up about 600,000 square feet between them, which is a typical size for a market of just 2 million.”

Oxnard’s factory outlet, which opened in June, 1994, is a joint venture of Baltimore-based Prime Retail, U.S. Outlets of California Inc. of Los Angeles and Fru-Con Development Corp. of St. Louis.

The 148,000-square-foot center is home to 37 stores, including The Gap Outlet, L.A. Gear and Bugle Boy. A proposed second phase of development, currently in the leasing stage, would add about 100,000 square feet to serve as many as 25 tenants. Carpenter said he hopes to have 50% of the tenants signed by next January or February, when the company wants to begin construction. Weather permitting, he said, construction would take about seven months to complete.

“As we are doing the tenant mix, we are trying to find tenants that are different from the ones in Camarillo, so that we’re not competing for the same dollars necessarily,” Carpenter said. “I think when we finish you’ll see more of an upscale, medium-to-better-quality mix.”

Retail business analyst Reed Henkelman, vice president of retail property for C. B. Commercial Real Estate Group Inc., said it is impossible to say whether both outlets will flourish, but that the Camarillo center has certainly established itself with the latest tenant additions.

“It’s a true outlet center in the respect that it has designer brands that for the most part aren’t available in this area, or are, but at full price,” he said.