G-Star Raw, a clothing chain from the Netherlands, plans to open its sixth store in the U.S. at Fashion Island in February.
The company sells its own brand of jeans, similar to Italy’s Diesel SPA.
G-Star jeans, designed by Pierre Morisette, go for about $150. Retailers such as Nordstrom also carry them.
The company opened its first store in 1989, selling only men’s jeans. Since then the company has added women’s clothes.
G-Star’s other U.S. stores are in Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.
The company has $540 million in sales worldwide, according to Women’s Wear Daily.
G-Star has other stores, including in Australia, Germany, Ireland and Hong Kong.
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Crevier BMW: county’s top BMW dealer |
MainPlace Strategy
Julia Theios, new marketing director at Westfield MainPlace in Santa Ana, said she plans to focus less on event marketing and more on customers, with the mall operator’s “wow” program.
The effort aims to get shoppers to stay longer and come back more often by offering better customer service and free services such as gift wrapping.
Owner Westfield Group of Australia still is working on buying the Robinsons-May building at MainPlace from Federated Department Stores Inc. The mall would like to include the building as part of an overhaul.
“That’s definitely our hope,” she said.
Pod Retailing
Apple Computer Inc. recently opened a Brea Mall store with T-shirts and other giveaways. The store features the Studio, for assistance with Mac projects, and a Genius Bar, where you can get your technical questions answered.
Apple also plans a store at Irvine Spectrum Center. No date has been set.
Spa Treatment
Las Vegas-based Nu Image MedSpace Inc. has opened a 4,500-square-foot business development and training facility for its franchisees across from South Coast Plaza at the Plaza Tower.
Nu Med medical spas do all the latest youth enhancing treatments, such as Botox, Restylane, chemical peels and collagen injections.
California Out-shopped
Which state spends the most on women’s clothing?
Women’s Wear Daily did a survey and discovered it wasn’t California. The Golden State was No. 7 out of the top 10, with average household spending of $903 a year.
No. 1? Connecticut.
The survey included all households in a state. That’s why New York, with its rural upstate areas, didn’t make the top 10.
Here’s the list in order: Connecticut at $975 in spending a year; New Jersey, $948 a year; Massachusetts, $929; Delaware, $918; New Hampshire, $912; Virginia, $911; California, $903; Georgia, $901; Maryland, $900; Utah, $894.
Diedrich Drive-Through
Diedrich Coffee Inc.’s latest coffeehouse in Dana Point is the first of the Irvine-based company’s 27 Southern California spots to have a drive-through window. Rival and coffee kingpin Starbucks Corp. has several Orange County drive-through windows.
Village News
The Village at Orange has a few stores and eateries opening this month in time for the holidays: Lane Bryant, Gloria Jean’s Coffee, Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, Sbarros and Chocolate Moose, which sells chocolate and bulk candy.
Hispanic Push
Tuttle-Click Tustin Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge recently hired Omar Fierro, host of Spanish TV station KWHY Channel 22, to be its media spokesman as part of its Hispanic marketing campaign.
Fierro hosts the variety show “De Todo Un Poco.” He hosted an auto financing workshop for the dealership this past weekend.
Mercedes vs. BMW
Mercedes-Benz still rules in OC, largely due to Newport Beach’s Fletcher Jones Motorcars, the automaker’s top selling dealership in the nation.
But now BMW has overtaken Mercedes in global sales this year, according to Edmunds.com.
BMW dealers here are chasing Fletcher and the other Mercedes dealers. They include Crevier BMW in Santa Ana and Shelley BMW in Buena Park. In all, about 10,000 new Mercedes are sold here a year, versus about 9,000 BMWs.
