Caliber Motors is expanding in a bid to woo customers,not only from other luxury auto dealers but also from Ford and Chevy lots, too.
The dealership is expanding on 5.5 acres along the Riverside (91) Freeway in Anaheim Hills, where it will have its main showroom. The Mercedes-Benz dealership’s current home, less than a mile away, is set to become a service facility with a smaller showroom.
The new dealership is expected to cost about $10 million to build and should open late this year, said Tom Cregg, director of marketing for Caliber.
The service facility at the new site is set to be bigger, he said. The dealership is getting input from customers on how to design the waiting area, according to Cregg.
“We’ve got the opportunity to find out what it is they like,” he said. “We want to stand out from the crowd.”
Luxury dealers in Orange County are looking for ways to outdo each other. For the first time in several years, BMW dealers’ sales are close to surpassing those of Mercedes. Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus also is making its mark here.
A new Lexus dealership from Toyota of Orange’s David Wilson is expected to open next year near Mercedes dealer Fletcher Jones Motor Cars Inc. in Newport Beach.
The market for upscale cars is expanding in OC, according to Cregg. Caliber’s competition isn’t just the other Mercedes or BMW dealers anymore, he said. It’s also higher-end models from Ford and Chevrolet.
The cheapest Mercedes are more affordable at a time when the county is getting wealthier, Cregg said.
“Things have changed in their lifestyles,” he said. “They’re treating themselves to a Mercedes-Benz and sometimes a BMW.”
Caliber bills it self as the fastest growing Mercedes dealer in OC, though it trails Fletcher and other big guys in the number of cars sold. Caliber is shooting to sell 330 new and used cars a month. Fletcher Jones sells twice as many.
Chocolate Chances
Valentine’s Day is coming, a big holiday for jewelers, chocolatiers and retailers in general. Godiva, which has stores at South Coast Plaza, Westfield Shoppingtown MainPlace and The Shops at Mission Viejo, is selling Valentine’s chocolates. Inside one box is a chance to shop in New York for up to 52 pairs of Manolo Blahnik shoes.
Alternative Agenda
About 6,000 retailers attended the Action Sports Retailer show in San Diego earlier this month. Some 1,000 headed for a smaller show a few blocks away to check out upstart brands they may not have seen at the apparel industry’s big trade show.
The Agenda, as the smaller show is called, was held in an empty parking garage.
“It’s a great show,” said Sunshine Mehler, a store manager at Huntington Surf & Sport in Huntington Beach.
ASR and Agenda have a similar goal: to bring together buyers and clothing designers. But the similarities stop there.
At Agenda, there aren’t any elaborate booths, Mehler said. It’s all racks and tables, she said. Displays are right next to one another. There are no fashion shows, no parties. It’s strictly business, Mehler said.
Huntington Surf & Sport found a couple of brands it plans to try at its stores, according to Mehler: Cypress-based Tankfarm Clothing and Costa Mesa-based Fiasco.
Some of the retailers at Agenda: The Closet, Jacks Surf Shop, Active Ride shop, Zumiez Inc., Hot Topic Inc., Metropark (started by Orv Madden, the founder of Hot Topic) and Anchor Blue Clothing Co.
Some big retailers passed on Agenda, including Anaheim-based Pacific Sunwear of California Inc., which only went to ASR.
Some clothing designers also picked one show over the other.
Last year, San Clemente clothing designer Mada was one of ASR’s hip new exhibitors. This year, Mada left ASR for Agenda.
Big established names have made the jump, too. Nike Inc. pulled out of ASR to be at Agenda.
Aaron Levant said he and his partner, Luis Pulido, started the show in 2003 as a way for smaller entrepreneurs to show their wares.
Agenda costs $1,200, no matter how big the company. ASR can set a company back $10,000 or more.
“Everyone is on an even playing field” at Agenda, Levant said.
About 70% to 80% of the companies displaying are from Southern California, including about half from OC, he said.
“We used to do ASR,” Levant said.
But the parties and the “OC dude, bro surfer thing” grew tired, he said.
So Levant and Pulido started their own show with 30 designers at Naga Restaurant in Long Beach. Agenda plans its show at the same time as ASR. Levant calls the Agenda show a stepping stone to ASR.
