Remember the penguin?
The flightless Antarctic bird was an icon on golf shirts in the 1950s. Well, the penguin’s back with a hip flare.
The Original Penguin, part of Miami-based Perry Ellis International Inc., plans to open at Fashion Island in February. Original Penguin also has stores in Miami and New York.
Perry Ellis said it plans to open six stores nationwide by the end of next year.
Penguin was your father’s shirt. Golfers such as Arnold Palmer, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby made the shirts famous. Even Richard Nixon wore them.
These days the company is targeting a younger market,both men and women,with shoes, shirts, sunglasses, even denim.
Perry Ellis has kept the brand’s tuxedoed penguin icon the same. Advertising Age called the penguin turnabout one of the most successful branding stories for 2004. Chris Kolbe, formerly the men’s merchandising manager for Urban Outfitters Inc., revived the brand to include women’s clothing and shoes.
Minneapolis-based Munsingwear, an underwear maker and military supply company, launched the penguin on golf shirts in 1955. In 1996, Perry Ellis bought Munsingwear trademarks for $75 million and relaunched the Original Penguin in 2003.
Also at Fashion Island
Kate Spade LLC is set to open at Fashion Island in February. The Newport Beach store will be the purse maker’s 20th and third in California. Kate Spade also is in Palo Alto and San Francisco.
Kate Spade opened its first store in New York in 1993. Designer Kate Spade made her mark selling classically styled handbags. The bags, known for their minimalist logos, were the “it” bag of the 1990s. They still have a strong following and Kate Spade since has added shoes, sunglasses, accessories and other products.
Tween Play
Justice for Girls, a mid-priced store for “tweens”,girls 7 to 14,is set to open Nov. 22 at The Market Place in Tustin. In March, Justice for Girls plans to open at Bella Terra in Huntington Beach.
The chain is part of Ohio’s Too Inc., owners of Limited Too, a pricier chain. Justice, which launched nearly two years ago, has about 80 stores.
“There’s a few girls we missed at Limited Too,” said Robert Atkinson, a Too’s spokesman.
There are about 17 million tween girls, he said.
In terms of price, Justice falls between Limited Too and a Wal-Mart, according to Atkinson.
Right now, there are few Justice stores in California, he said. When Justice started, it looked at Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit and other places where it could get better real estate deals, he said.
But, as with Limited Too, California is projected to have about 10% of Justice stores, Atkinson said.
Limited Too is nearly tapped out at 572 stores, he said. The company expects to open about 750 Justice stores. Limited Too is limited, so to speak, because the stores are in malls. There are about 850 malls nationwide, Atkinson said.
Justice, on the other hand, goes into strip malls anchored by big retailers. There are about 8,000 of what are known as power strip centers.
Not Spooked at All
Beleaguered Triangle Square in Costa Mesa saw some heavy,if not fleeting,business before Halloween.
Halloween Express, which took over Niketown’s former space for the season, did brisk business.
All of the Triangle Square’s problems seemed temporarily forgotten. Halloween weekend, shoppers didn’t care if the signs were bad,they just wandered around the mall until they found the entrance. And they didn’t care if parking was limited,some parked across the street and walked.
Customers were in pursuit of a Halloween costume and they waited in long lines to get one.
Hey Jude
Ice Accessories, a Culver City-based operator of jewelry stores, has opened a Jude Frances boutique within its store at South Coast Plaza. Jude Frances is a Corona del Mar jewelry designer, made up of Jude Steele and Frances Gadbois. The duo is set to be at Ice Nov. 15 showing their wares.
Cobbler Visit
Steve Madden was in town recently checking out his namesake shoes stores. Madden apparently is unassuming and a casual dresser.
Madden has Orange County stores at The Shops at Mission Viejo, Brea Mall and South Coast Plaza.
Car Talk
The 10 most popular new cars, based on October purchase requests from Irvine-based Autobytel Inc.: Honda Civic, Nissan Altima, Honda Accord, Lexus RX, Acura TL, Volkswagen Jetta, Ford F-150, Toyota Camry, Dodge Ram and Toyota Corolla.
The mix is slightly different than February, which included sport utility vehicles and a minivan: Honda Accord, Saturn VUE, Toyota Highlander, Honda Civic, Nissan Altima, Saturn ION, Acura TL, Honda Odyssey, BMW 3 Series, Lexus RX.
The most popular luxury cars in October: Lexus RX, Acura TL, BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C, Lexus IS, Audi A4, BMW 5 Series, Lexus ES, Lexus GS and Acura MDX.
Edmunds.com expands on the top 10 lists and includes lists of the hippest vehicles to take to the beach. Here are the top 10 cars for chief executives: Audi A8 L, Cadillac STS, Chrysler 300C, Jaguar XJ8 LWB, Maserati Quattroporte, Porsche 911 Carrera S, Ford GT, Mercedes-Benz SL600, BMW 645Ci, Bentley Continental GT.
