Fashion Island is cashing in on “The O.C.”
The shopping center and Coach Inc. are offering “The O.C. experience,” including nearly three hours of shopping at Fashion Island.
The shopping spree is part of a seven-hour tour from Anaheim to Newport Beach. Riders can ogle at homes in Newport Coast and wish for the coastal life as they drive through Corona del Mar. They also can cruise Newport Harbor and receive Fashion Island goodies.
The cost is $44 for adults and $38 for children ages 3 to 11.
For international tourists, Fashion Island is offering a “Newport Beach” package through American Tours International LLC. The package includes a Newport Harbor cruise, a meal at a Fashion Island restaurant and a hotel stay for $235 per person per night.
Speaking of ‘The O.C.’
Randy Schoch, owner of Thaifoon Taste of Asia at Fashion Island said he was “over the moon” after his restaurant recently was featured on “The O.C.”
The Jan. 20 episode opened with the Cohen family ordering takeout from Thaifoon. The characters even ordered dishes by name,crispy calamari salad, siamese rolls and evil jungle princess curry.
Thaifoon didn’t solicit the endorsement, Schoch said.
Speaking of TV
Another Fashion Islander Teuscher Chocolates was featured on the coveted “Oprah” show. Nothing like Oprah savoring a truffle to boost sales.
And another Orange County retailer, Austin Taylor Inc. men’s clothing store in Anaheim, was featured on TV’s “Extreme Makeover.” The tailor spiffed up a man from Huntington Beach, who also had some type of cosmetic surgery done on the show.
Then there’s Heritage Mazda of Tustin. The dealership is set to be featured on an upcoming “Montel Williams Show.” The dealer is giving away a Mazda MPV minivan to the Diaz family of Santa Ana. One of the family members has brain cancer.
Bring Your Laundry
Bake some cookies or flip omelets at the OC Maytag Store, which recently opened at Oakbrook Village next to the Laguna Hills Mall.
The store has a “try it before you buy it” motif. Along with appliances for sale, the store has washers and other items set up for use. Want to find out how good a washer is? Do a load of laundry.
This is the second Maytag store in OC. The original store, the highest grossing Maytag Store, is in Costa Mesa. Laura Garrett, the Business Journal’s vice president of advertising and marketing, is Maytag Store’s chief operating officer.
Cart Start
Cheryl Burnett is hoping to turn her holiday stint running a cart at Fashion Island into a full-time gig. Fashion Island’s specialty retail manager recruited her for the holiday season, Burnett said.
The manager had seen one of Burnett’s silver jewelry pieces and called her about it, she said. Burnett agreed even though she was a bit scared.
“It was a really big step for me to operate a cart,” she said.
Before running the cart at the mall, she earned income primarily by attending craft shows and selling wholesale.
Malls use carts to generate extra income. The Irvine Spectrum Center, also run by The Irvine Company, makes about $7 million yearly from 32 carts and 11 kiosks selling jewelry, clothes and other items. The Spectrum also rents weekend carts for $500 to entrepreneurs who want to test a business idea, without as much of the risk. Carts also can serve as incubators for future stores.
Burnett makes silver jewelry, something she learned how to do in 1999 after taking a night jewelry class. She said she did it as a hobby for years. Each piece is handmade and she often makes her jewelry while she’s working the cart. Her lowest priced item is a bracelet that goes for $28.
“As far as clientele, this is the best place to be at,” she said of Fashion Island.
Burnett said she’s also become an employer, hiring three part-time people to help work the cart. Cart owners are expected to be there during mall hours.
Burnett said she made a profit during the holiday and decided to stay at least through February. Valentine’s Day is a big jewelry day and rent goes down in February.
Just in Time for Valentine’s
Eric Hanan Jewels at Crystal Cove Promenade had its grand opening last week. The jeweler plans to give 10% of its proceeds to the Queen of Hearts Foundation, a nonprofit that raises money for ovarian cancer research.
In Demand Autos
Honda is tops in terms of purchase requests by customers perusing Autobytel.com in January, according to Irvine-based Autobytel Inc.
Here’s the list in order: Honda Accord, Saturn VUE, Toyota Highlander, Honda Civic, Nissan Altima, Saturn ION, Acura TL, Honda Odyssey, BMW 3 Series, Lexus RX.
The Hyundai Sonata, which sells for less than $20,000, tops Autobytel’s list of the seven best buys to come out of the recent Detroit and Los Angeles auto shows.
Here’s the best buys list: 2006 Hyundai Sonata, 2006 VW Jetta, 2006 Audi A3, 2005 Porsche Boxster, 2005 Honda Ridgeline, 2005 Mitsubishi Raider and 2005 Toyota Avalon.
