Hot Topic Inc. founder Orval Madden plans to bring his Metropark store to the Irvine Spectrum Center sometime in the fall.
Metropark caters to the new yuppie,the 24- to 34-year-old who has money to spend, eats out, goes to clubs and likes art and culture.
According to Josh Kouzomis, director of marketing for Metropark USA Inc., the stores are for folks who’ve graduated from Hot Topic and PacSun, which is run by Anaheim-based Pacific Sunwear of California Inc.
Metropark is based in Industry, hometown of Hot Topic.
The stores sell brands such as Joe’s Jeans, Seven and True Religion.
“Howe is a big brand for us,” Kouzomis said, referring to the Los Angeles-based buzz brand for men.
There’s art on the walls of Metropark stores. Big flat-panel TVs play music videos. A DJ spins records on weekends. There’s a lounge area in back of the stores, which ranges from 2,700 to 3,000 square feet.
The Irvine store is set to be slightly larger at 3,200 square feet.
Metropark USA hopes to add about five stores this year and some 15 the next, Kouzomis said. The chain now has five stores. Along with the Spectrum, another is planned in Riverside.
Metropark recently opened its first store outside California at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn.
Madden’s history with Hot Topic has helped Metropark get into malls, Kouzomis said.
“Mall owners have been real receptive,” he said.
Others behind Metropark: Jay Johnson, former Hot Topic chief financial officer, and Lawrence Tanenbaum, Hot Topic president and cofounder.
At the Mall of America opening, Metropark brought a bit of Southern California flair,”West Coast hip hype” as one local paper put it,with a Dogtown skateboarding exhibit and artist Shepard Fairey’s Andre the Giant, the inspiration behind Santa Ana-based Obey Clothing.
Ace: Seeking Stores
Oak Brook, Ill.-based Ace Hardware Corp. hopes to expand in Orange County by appealing to investors.
ACE has 23 stores in OC today, including Huntington Beach-based Crown Ace Hardware, a chain of 11 stores owned by father and son team, Jeff and Mark Schulein.
Ace has expanded by converting independent hardware stores, said John Venhuizen, director of business development. In the past six years, Ace converted 765 stores.
“We call it the easiest way to grow,” he said.
With fewer independents to convert, Ace now needs another tactic. So it’s trying to appeal to investors and franchisers that may want to diversify by opening their own stores.
The pitch: Ace isn’t your typical franchise. It’s a cooperative, where buying is done in bulk for stores in a bid to compete with Home Depot Inc. and Lowe’s Cos.
“We’re the unfranchise,” Venhuizen said. “There’s a lot more freedom.”
Storeowners run their stores and own shares of Ace Hardware. Anything Ace doesn’t spend on marketing and other things is given back to owners.
A typical store costs about $1 million to open. A $300,000 investment is needed to start.
Ace Hardware likes OC for the large number of Lowe’s and Home Depots here.
“Our strategy is not to run from them,” Venhuizen said. “Our strategy is to go where they are.”
Auto Sales: Strong Q1
First-quarter auto sales were up 4.6% from a year earlier, according to the Orange County Automobile Dealers Association, based in Costa Mesa.
The trade group for local auto dealers chalked up the gain to rising incomes and home prices.
Gas prices still are high, but they haven’t been a deterrent, according to the association’s Auto Outlook report. If gas prices hit $2.50 per gallon and stay there, then auto sales could be affected, the report says.
The top 10 selling autos were unchanged in the first quarter, with one exception: BMW and Lexus swapped places. Lexus took the No. 7 spot. BMW moved down to No. 8.
Along with Toyota and Honda, Lexus was the only brand that boosted its first-quarter market share, though just barely, by 0.1% to 4.4%.
Toyota again led the pack, upping its OC market share 1.6% to 20.6%. Honda also boosted its share, by 0.6% to 10.5%.
Nationally, auto sales were up 4.6% in March after slumping in January and February.
