Musicians, ready your demos.
Mark Reynado, new marketing director for the Block at Orange, plans to bring more bands to the outdoor mall. He said he’s after quality acts. Perhaps a jazz concert series, he said.
Reynado, former assistant marketing director at Simon Property Group Inc.’s Brea Mall, used to handle the Simon Detour music tour, which brought performers such as Ashlee Simpson,and fans in droves,to Brea Mall. Similar to Detour, Reynado plans to get sponsors for events at the Block, which is owned by Mills Corp.
He’s also looking to add other events, attract more national stores and improve ties with store operators.
“We’re only as successful as our tenants,” he said. “We have to get them involved.”
One of the first things Reynado said he did when he signed on in October was to visit each store, say hello and collect e-mail addresses. Reynado said he plans to alert tenants to mall events as well as post store promotions on the mall’s Web site.
During the holidays, the Block put on a Hawaiian-themed Christmas celebration with Kahuna Claus who arrived in a golf cart decorated by Hawaiian store Hilo Hattie. Proceeds from a Hawaii trip raffle were donated to Orangewood Children’s Foundation, he said.
Reynado said he hopes to get more involved in the community by attending small business events.
“Orange is a nice, small town,” he said.
He said he just bought a house in Orange.
Reynado isn’t the only new guy at the Block. The mall, which has been short-staffed since spring, now has a new operations director, Ricky Reyes, and general manager, Steven Schwartz. The team has jelled, he said.
“We have a really good working relationship,” he said.
The Block is about 90% full, Reynado said. Entertainment largely drives the mall with Lucky Strike bowling, Vans Skatepark, Dave & Buster’s and AMC Theatres.
The mall is working to bring in more name brands. Last year saw the opening of Hollister and Victoria’s Secret.
The Block is in talks to bring on a young women’s retailer along the lines of H & M; or Forever 21, Reynado said.
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Newport Lexus: opened in July |
Car Talk
This ought to get dealers out of the office: Chris Gardner, the once-homeless, now millionaire inspiration for the movie “The Pursuit of Happyness,” is set to be the speaker at the Orange County Auto Dealers Association’s annual meeting on Jan. 17.
Higher Dealer Fees
Jan. 1 rung in higher fees dealers can charge for paperwork processing. Dealers now can charge $55, up from $45, thanks to legislation passed last year. Dealers in Florida can charge as much as $599.
Nov. Registrations Rebound
New auto registrations for Orange County, a barometer of sales, were up 3% in November. But for the year through November, registrations were down 5.7%, according to the Orange County Auto Dealers Association’s monthly report.
The end of the year for auto dealers can be the same as for other retailers. It can make or break a year.
In a flip, sport utility vehicle sales in November were way up, while cars were down. Light truck registrations, including SUVs, were up 7.4% in November. Cars were down a slight 0.3%.
Gainers in November included Hyundai, up 40% to 257 autos, Jeep, up 37.7% to 231, and Mini Cooper, up 36.7% to 82 autos.
As for total registrations, Toyota was No. 1, up 9.3% to 3,299 autos. Honda was up 1% with 1,404; Chevrolet was up 12% to 899; and Ford, down 15.4% with 856 autos.
Checking out the luxury brand race in OC, Lexus registrations in November were up 7.2% to 848 autos; Mercedes-Benz was up 13.3% to 743; and BMW is lagging, down 10.3% at 641.
Mercedes stills leads through November, up 5.3% with 9,820 autos. Lexus is up 12.2% with 9,161 for the 11 months, helped by the July opening of Newport Lexus. BMW is down 2.7% with 7,666 autos.
Other luxury brands such as Cadillac and Porsche also were up in November. Cadillac registrations were up 20% to 161 autos. Porsche was up 11% to 90. Hummer was flat at 65.
