The Oaks Enters Transitional Phase as 20th Anniversary Nears

The next couple of years are likely to be particularly busy ones at The Oaks shopping center in Thousand Oaks.

And Rebecca Bresson, newly hired general manager of the complex, will be at the front line of the activity.

As the county’s largest mall approaches its 20th anniversary in 1998, leases signed by many of the original tenants will begin to expire. As they do, Bresson said, mall officials will meet with business owners to discuss changes in store concept and size to satisfy the ever-changing customer demand.

“It will be a matter of analyzing which tenants want to renew and which tenants we want to get into a new store concept with,” said Bresson, who joined The Oaks last month. “Some may want to relocate to another area in the [mall] by moving into larger or smaller store space. In those cases, we will be getting new tenants to replace them.”

Bresson pointed to the Miller’s Outpost store as an example. When its lease came up for renewal in June, the clothing outlet moved into a larger space at The Oaks.

Four or five new stores are due to open at The Oaks in August and September, Bresson said, including the Final Touch cosmetic and beauty supply store and Casual Corner, a women’s clothing store. Favoritz Restaurant is under construction and scheduled to open by early fall, and a Johnny Rockets diner is tentatively scheduled for an early 1997 opening.

Bresson was hired at The Oaks to replace Barbara Teuscher, who in April took the general manager position at the Fashion Show shopping center in Las Vegas. Teuscher had served as the top executive at The Oaks for 11 years.

The Oaks, at about 1.1 million square feet, houses about 140 retail tenants. It is owned by the San Diego-based Hahn Co., which has developed 50 shopping centers throughout the country, including Nevada’s Fashion Show.

Bresson previously was general manager at The Shops, a Hahn-owned shopping center in Palos Verdes. She has been involved with Hahn operations for 16 years, in marketing and in other executive positions.

Though retail developments are popping up regularly throughout Thousand Oaks, Bresson said there are enough customers to go around.

“I think if you look at the traffic patterns for most of Southern California, it’s not inconceivable that shoppers in all areas of Ventura County and the Los Angeles area would come here, and they do,” Bresson said. “Certainly any retail entity is a competitor, but with some it can be more complementary or synergistic. I think we all provide uses that the consumer needs. The Oaks provides the better-to-upscale shopping experience.”