Hollister Co. sells SoCal style but from a distance,the teen clothing retailer, part of Abercrombie & Fitch Co., is based in Ohio.
Local trendsetters even have called Hollister a surfwear poseur because of its Midwest digs.
So what’s the company to do? Set up cameras underneath the Huntington Beach pier and beam live Southern California surfing and beach scenes into its stores.
The retailer worked out a deal with the city, said Ryan Risenmay, spokesman for Redmond, Wash.-based PlayNetworks Inc., which installed the system.
Now Surf City is blasted to 50 of Hollister’s 239 stores so far, including a new one in Fashion Island.
The camera beams live images all day, Risenmay said. Hollister’s video walls are typically placed in the middle of the stores, he said. The monitors also show the local temperature and time, he said.
Chocolate Factory
Here’s one that was popular with the luxury crowd,extravagant chocolate bunnies.
Crown City Confections, a small Santa Ana chocolatier, went Willy Wonka making chocolate Easter bunnies for high-end retailers such as Neiman Marcus. The catalyst: Its chocolate bunnies were named in a Wall Street Journal story as the “best overall.”
Crown City also makes chocolates for Nordstrom, Harry & David, Saks Fifth Avenue and other high-end retailers.
Neiman Marcus sells the 4.8-pound, 19-inch lavishly decorated bunnies for,are you ready,$115. That’s some bunny. The second-highest priced bunny that the newspaper looked at was Lake Champlain’s for $66.50.
From the Wall Street Journal: “Though $115, the Neiman Marcus rabbit had plenty of craftsmanship for the price.” Each bunny is handmade, according to the company.
The Wall Street Journal compared chocolate bunnies from Godiva, Williams-Sonoma, among others. The Santa Ana company also was featured on NBC’s “Today Show.” Broadcasters Matt Lauer and Anne Curry oohed and ahhed over Crown City’s bunnies.
Crown City has been in business since the 1980s. Owner and president Steve Slater took over the company last May.
South Coast Couture
Italian designer Valentino Garavani, known simply as Valentino, is bringing his luxury boutique to South Coast Plaza this summer.
Actress Cate Blanchett wore a yellow Valentino to the Oscars. Oprah Winfrey and Sharon Stone fawn over the dressmaker’s clothing.
Valentino has several stores in the U.S. and abroad, including at Caesar’s Palace’s Forum Shops in Las Vegas and on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.
Triangulation
More reups at Triangle Square in Costa Mesa.
GNC, which opened 10 years ago at the center, renewed its lease, as did Virgin Megastore. Virgin, a tenant for 12 years, signed a one-year lease for 13,912 square feet.
There haven’t been any takers yet for Niketown’s former high-profile space.
Triangle Square’s leasing manager said he’s working on a deal for a gym to fill a 40,000-square-foot space in the basement.
“The No. 1 thing is to get the gym anchor filled,” said the center’s leasing agent Josh Shapiro of Los Angeles-based Shapco Realty. “We just need that kickstart.”
Shapiro, who used to handle leasing at Charles Dunn Co., which manages Triangle Square, said he decided he could do a better job filling up the center on his own. So he launched Shapco Realty at the beginning of the year.
He said poor signs, inappropriate retailers and constant management turnover have dogged the center.
And he said it’s been a while since management, brokers and the landlord have been on the same page, he said. Shapiro said that’s changing. While Triangle Square hasn’t changed management companies of late, there are new people in charge at Charles Dunn, he said.
“I want to let the community know there is a plan,” he said.
The strategy for the three-tiered center: lower level, sign the gym deal; middle level, get more stores; and upper level, nab restaurants and entertainment.
Shapiro said they are going to wait it out for a solid retailer to fill the Niketown space. A potential deal with The Closet didn’t pan out and no other retailers are in line, he said. He’d like to see something like a Best Buy in the space.
On the Move
Honda was the biggest market-share gainer in January in Orange County. The biggest decliner: Ford.
That’s according to the latest Orange County Outlook, a report by Costa Mesa-based Orange County Automobile Dealers Association.
Honda saw its market share jump 1.3 percentage points to 11.4% of the OC market. Ford plummeted 4.9 percentage points to 9.2%. The association tracks new car and truck registrations.
Other January highlights: Chrysler saw its sales rise 62% and Toyota’s Scion sales jumped 58%.
Chrysler’s Dodge Magnum station wagon has been selling well, said Geoffrey Mallard, sales manager for Tuttle Click at the Irvine Auto Center.
Luxury auto registrations were up in January. Mercedes saw a 16% gain, Lexus saw an 8% rise and BMW posted a 2% gain.
