Small Boutiques Expect to Ride on Bloomingdale’s Coattails
One might expect fashion designer Todd Oldham to be concerned that a Bloomingdale’s is opening today less than 2 miles from his Beverly Boulevard boutique.
After all, Bloomingdale’s will help the Beverly Center attract even more of the young, fashion-forward consumers Oldham has tried to reach through his store and MTV appearances.
But instead, Oldham and many other retailers in the area, which is building a national reputation as a showplace for trend-setting apparel, are bracing for a surge in sales.
“I envision people driving past our store en route to the Beverly Center,” said Oldham. “These people will notice our store for the first time. . . . Bloomingdale’s will actually create more traffic and more business for my store.”
The Beverly Center, on La Cienega Boulevard, is in the heart of a fashion district that extends to Melrose Avenue on the north, Wilshire Boulevard on the south, La Brea Avenue on the east and Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills on the west.
Lined with a hodgepodge of clothiers, restaurants and fancy furniture stores, those streets will be more active beginning today, Oldham predicts.
With the opening of Bloomie’s, the relationship between many of these stores and the Beverly Center is becoming more symbiotic than competitive.
For example, Bloomingdale’s features apparel designed by Oldham, who in turn hopes the additional exposure will prompt shoppers to seek the wider selections at his store.
“I’m very happy to have merchandise in Bloomingdale’s,” said Oldham, who’s known for his daring stylings for women.
Karen Kane, whose women’s apparel shop is 2 miles west of the mall in Beverly Hills, has a boutique in Bloomingdale’s.
The close proximity is no problem, said Lonnie Kane, president of Vernon-based Karen Kane Inc. Bloomingdale’s, Kane said, has generated business for neighboring retailers since it made its Southland debut in November by opening stores at Century City Center in Los Angeles, Fashion Island in Newport Beach and Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks.
The chain, known for its exclusive merchandise and moderate-to-upscale pricing, also opens a home furnishings store today at Fashion Square.
Bloomingdale’s “won’t pull business away from Beverly Drive,” said Kane, referring to the core Beverly Hills store customer. “People who prefer to shop on the street will continue to shop on the street.”
The French Connection on Beverly is also betting that its boutique in the new Bloomie’s won’t hurt sales of its mostly casual fashion-forward threads for men and women.
A variety of retailers on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills also are featured at Bloomingdale’s, including Polo, Guess and BCBG. Designer Tommy Hilfiger, who will open a store on Rodeo later this year, already has a boutique in the department store.
Rodeo competes with the Beverly Center for lucrative tourist dollars. About 30% of the mall’s revenue comes from tourists. Otherwise, there’s not much competition between the two shopping areas, said Fred Hayman, dean of Rodeo’s retailers. Hayman, owner of Fred Hayman Beverly Hills, said Rodeo tends to attract consumers who are even more upscale than the Beverly Center’s high-end shoppers.
The Beverly Center competes more directly with the Century City Center, said Bloomingdale’s Chairman Michael Gould. Ironically, Bloomingdale’s could add to that competition by opening the Beverly Center store so close to its store in Century City about 3 miles west.
The New York-based retailer has tried to mitigate any conflict by creating its first “fashion-only” store at the Beverly Center. The store has apparel, shoes, jewelry, accessories, cosmetics and some gift items. The Century City store also sells bedroom and kitchen merchandise.
That focus on fashion allows the company to stock the Beverly Center store with more clothing, including more fashion-forward apparel by California designers.
“We think the Beverly Center store has an enormous market east of Beverly Hills,” Gould said. “We also think we can attract business from West Hollywood and from as far as San Marino and Pasadena.”
The mall attracts a younger and more racially and ethnically diverse group of shoppers than nearby malls, said Beverly Center marketing director Evette Caceres. The core customer base is 22 to 35 years old. Among the most loyal customers, said Caceres, are performers and executives in the entertainment industry.
These are the same types of consumers who shop for cutting-edge fashion at nearby boutiques, said Sandy Potter, a fashion consultant to major retail chains.
“These are advanced, sophisticated shoppers--not fashion followers,” Potter said. “These shoppers create their own look--their own fashion.”
Not all retailers are convinced, however, that Bloomingdale’s will be good for business.
“The opening might affect some of us for a while because shoppers want to experience something new,” said the manager of the Agnes B. store, who goes by the name Mathis. The store is in an exclusive two-block section of Robertson--within walking distance of the Beverly Center--that is home to renowned designers such as Cynthia Rowley.
“The environment in the area is much more competitive,” Mathis said.
