New York designer Tory Burch is opening a store at South Coast Plaza in August, the designer’s fifth.
Burch has one other California store, a 2,000-square-foot boutique on Roberston Boulevard in Los Angeles. The designer’s stores sell luxury clothes and accessories for women. Burch’s designs are known for their Bohemian touches and ethnic patterns.
A cotton tank top studded with rhinestones goes for $185 on the Tory Burch Web site.
Burch learned the fashion world working for other designer heavies, including Vera Wang and Ralph Lauren.
Jonny Lichenstein, spokesman for the retailer, said Burch’s recent business boom is owed in part to being on “Oprah” last year as one of the “next big things.”
It’s all true, he said, of the sales bounce from being on the show, something known as the Oprah Effect.
Burch’s online site received more than 7 million hits after the show. Yearly sales are about $15 million, according to industry estimates.
The designs also are sold at stores including Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.
The retailer changed its name to Tory Burch from Tory by TRB for better name recognition as the company plans to open two to three stores a year.
Other stores are planned for Dallas and Greenwich, Conn. Burch has plans to expand globally by wholesaling to retailers Harvey Nichols in Hong Kong and Dubai and Holt Renfrew in Canada, among others.
Blue Coral in Newport
Blue Coral Seafood & Spirits, a new restaurant by Outback Steakhouse Inc. and Newport Beach-based restaurateur Paul Fleming,the P.F. in P.F. Chang’s China Bistro,is set to debut at Fashion Island in July.
The restaurant is opening between two other Outback staples, Roy’s and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar.
Fleming’s was founded in Newport Beach in 1998 by Fleming and Bill Allen, who became Outback’s chief executive last year.
There are about 32 Fleming’s. The chain is expanding in Tennessee, Florida and Arizona this year. Outback and Fleming also started other restaurants, including Paul Lee’s Chinese Kitchen.
Sutra’s Thunderdome
Sutra Lounge at Triangle Square in Costa Mesa plans to host a spring and summer fashion show on Friday.
Local designers and retailers set to show off clothes include Costa Mesa-based Paul Frank Industries Inc., Anaheim-based Beach Bums Inc., Roxy from Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver Inc., Costa Mesa-based Rvca Clothing and Volcom Inc. of Costa Mesa.
Sutra plans a thunderdome motif, as in the movie “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.” Models cruising the catwalk are set to look like “runway warriors.”
Ellison in Target
Lake Forest-based Ellison Corp., a maker of die-cutting tools for schools and crafts enthusiasts, has come out with a version of its product in more than 300 Targets.
Ellison’s tools, die cutters that use patterns to cut shapes out of paper and other materials, are used for making crafts, decorating and scrapbooking.
|
|
Mercedes 2007 GL-Class: taking on Escalade |
New Benz SUV
Mercedes-Benz, part of Germany’s DaimlerChrysler AG, is set to deliver its 2007 GL-Class heavyweight sport utility vehicle to showrooms in May.
The new seven-seater will battle with the Cadillac Escalade,the redesigned 2007 Escalade already is in showrooms.
The Mercedes was designed with the American market in mind, said Tom Cregg, director of marketing for Caliber Motors in Anaheim Hills. It has a new engine and was put together at the Mercedes plant in Alabama, he said.
There haven’t been many advanced details about the vehicle. Cregg was headed to Fashion Week in Los Angeles to check one out. Mercedes is the title sponsor of the fashion show.
There may not be much of a showdown between Mercedes and Cadillac in Orange County, said Jim Hossack, a consultant with Tustin-based AutoPacific Inc.
People here either love Cadillac or Mercedes, he said.
Mercedes could sell 12,000 to 18,000 GL-Class SUVs in the U.S. yearly, according to AutoPacific.
Both Mercedes and Cadillac are swimming against the tide.
The SUV market is flat. Some drivers are moving from the large, Escalade types to smaller “crossover” SUVs.
