Jeany, an upscale jeans store, has opened across from the Apple Store at the Irvine Spectrum Center.
The store is the first for the Los Angeles-based chain. A second is set to open in Santa Monica in a couple of months.
The store sells pricey denim brands,True Religion, Seven For all Mankind, Citizens of Humanity.
Jeany is betting the $150 jean craze will stick around. If not, Jeany could tweak its concept, said David Manglani, operations manager.
The 1,250-square-foot Irvine store has red wood flooring and red furniture laced with copper.
Fashion Island was the first choice for Jeany but the Newport Beach shopping center was full, Manglani said.
The Spectrum is growing, he said.
“Hopefully, we’ll get a piece of that action,” Manglani said.
Being in the Spectrum could make it easier to get into other malls, he said.
Manglani, who drives to the Irvine store from his home in Whittier, is looking to open stores in San Diego and Malibu as well as Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Manglani is working in the Spectrum store as it ramps up.
Jeany has three partners,two families and buyer Neal Gaydos, who used to be a buyer for Fred Segal and others.
Ramesh Manglani, David’s father, represents one of the investor families. The Salek brothers Sia and Sohrob are the other investors.
This is the partners’ first venture together. The Ramesh family also owns about seven Streetz stores, which sell hip-hop clothing in Los Angeles. The Manglani family also plans to expand that chain.
Into Virgin Territory
The Closet clothing store at Triangle Square in Costa Mesa is expanding into the former Virgin Megastore space at the shopping center.
The new and bigger store is expected to have a cafe. It should open in August.
Back Stretch
La Palma-based Relax The Back is expanding in Orange County and elsewhere.
One of its latest stores opened in Newport Beach at Westcliff Plaza. The franchise has been growing by about 30% a year, thanks to “overstressed baby boomers,” according to the company. Relax The Back now has about 100 stores in the U.S. and Canada.
Glamour Push
Canada’s Glamour Secrets, a swanky beauty products chain, plans to open 20 more stores in OC within the next seven years, according to Doug Castino, area developer for the company based near Toronto.
Castino said he’s eyeing malls such as Fashion Island and South Coast Plaza.
Glamour Secrets has about 60 stores worldwide and is set to open 20 more by the end of the year. Glamour Secrets’ only OC store is at Westfield MainPlace in Santa Ana. Glamour Secrets competes with Newport Beach-based Planet Beauty Inc., among others.
Vegan Ware
Humanitaire is set to open soon across from Native Foods at The Camp in Costa Mesa. The store sells vegan products such as shoes, accessories and cosmetics. Also opening at The Camp is AIRe Global Cuisine restaurant, which will feature nightly DJ music. AIRe replaces the Lodge.
Bubble Wrap
Xpecting, a fashionable maternity shop, held an opening party last week on 17th Street in Costa Mesa. The store officially opened in January.
Stephani Gresham, 25, got the idea for the store about a year ago, after noticing a lack of stylish maternity clothes. The store sells casual and professional clothing and special occasion outfits.
Some of the designer brands include Chip and Pepper, Diane von Furstenberg, Earl Jeans, Liz Lange, Michael Stars and Susana Monaco.
Xpecting sells Belli and Tummy Honey lotions and Oi Oi diaper bags, among other products.
Gresham opened the store with her mother, Janet Swanson, who owns about a fifth of the venture. Gresham said she opened the store with a small business loan. The process took about one month from application to approval, she said.
The bank looks for experience, collateral and a detailed business plan, she said. It’s not as difficult as it is sometimes said to be, according to Gresham.
Xpecting looked at a few spots, including pricey Newport Coast, but decided on 17th Street, a trendy, growing shopping haven.
“The street is wonderful,” she said. “Literally you can do everything on 17th Street.”
The street, which spans about a mile or so, has a variety of retailers, including boutiques Lola Rouge, Where’s the Party, Clothes for the Soul, No Rest For Bridget, Tea and Sympathy, Bassinets & Blueberries. There also are hair salons, a grocery store and a children’s bookstore. The street also is flooded with coffee houses,about five within a mile span.
Car Sales U
The Costa Mesa-based Orange County Automobile Dealers Association has started Sales & Marketing University, which teaches people how to sell cars.
Dealers send workers to the three-day classes throughout April and May to learn car sales basics at the group’s Costa Mesa training center.
PCH Rides
Irvine-based Autobytel Inc. names its top 10 “crash and burn super cars,” which it would love to fly down Pacific Coast Highway in.
They are: Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, 2006 Bugatti Veyron, Ferrari FXX, 2007 Ferrari 599 GTB, 2006 Fisker Latigo CS, 2006 Ford GTX1, 2006 Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster, 2006 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, 2006 Porsche Carrera GT and 2006 Saleen S7.
The priciest is the Ferrari FXX, which goes for $1.8 million. The Fisker Latigo, from Newport Beach’s Fisker Coachbuild LLC, is a bargain at $150,000.
The Latigo is designed here by Henrik Fisker, original designer of the Aston Martin DB9.
Saleen S7 is hand built in Irvine at Saleen Inc.
Customizer Saleen plans to open a Saleen Performance Center at the Irvine Spectrum Center.
