Brides are big business for South Coast Plaza.
Every spring, the Costa Mesa shopping center holds a bridal fest in a bid to have engaged women do their big day shopping at South Coast Plaza.
This year, things are turning up a notch.
New York-based Fairchild Publications Inc., publisher of Bride, Modern Bride and Modern Bride Southern California magazines, has tapped South Coast Plaza for its Wedding March bridal expo on the West Coast, the weekend of April 30.
Fairchild has held similar events in Manhattan and Chicago. The publisher was considering holding its West Coast event at Rodeo Drive or South Coast, according to Debra Gunn Downing, executive director of marketing for South Coast Plaza.
“They called us first,” she said.
Some 500 brides are expected to attend the weekend event. Some of the who’s who in bridal planning also are expected to be on hand, including celebrity floral designer Preston Bailey and wedding planner Mindy Weiss.
South Coast Plaza plans to advertise the event nationally, according to Gunn Downing, along with its yearly ads in Coast magazine.
More South Coast:
Mischa Barton, one of the stars of “The O.C.,” did more than make a promotional stop at Keds at South Coast Plaza. She also went on a shopping spree, hitting Barneys Co-Op among others.
The trendy new Barneys store didn’t hold back on color in its store design, which includes blue mannequins. The store is Barneys New York’s second mall store.
Louis Vuitton is closing in May at South Coast and moving into temporary digs. Louis Vuitton is expanding and redesigning its current spot, which is set to reopen in the fall.
Bernard Arnault, chief executive of LVMH Mo & #235;t Hennessy SA, recently flew in from France with his entourage to get a sneak peek of the remodeling and to check out his other South Coast stores. Word is he went home pleased.
For now, Louis Vuitton is moving into a former temporary Chanel store,Chanel is set to open in a new space at South Coast in about three weeks.
The temporary store has been a swing spot at South Coast,a place for stores to go while they expand their main spots.
The new buzzword in luxury retailing is “affordable luxury,” according to South Coast’s Gunn Downing. That’s upscale goods that aren’t quite as expensive, such as Coach and Dooney & Bourke, she said. But affordable luxury just may be a buzzword. A Dooney mini handbag goes for nearly $100.
Other South Coast news: Oliver Peoples opened last week. The eyeglasses store is unique in at least one respect: Unlike other retailers that give away products to celebrities for endorsements, celebrities have to buy their Oliver Peoples glasses Silk Trading Co. at Home has opened on Bear Street near its first store at South Coast, Silk Trading Co. The 3,500-square-foot Silk Trading Co. at Home sells decorative, Asian-themed furniture and accessories. The original store sells textiles and drapes … It’s time for fall fashion already. The collection from Irvine-based St. John Knits International Inc. is set to be on display at the St. John store on April 23 Nicky Hilton will be previewing her clothing line Chick by Nicky Hilton at Nordstrom on April 16.
Neiman Marcus on The Block
Women’s Wear Daily is reporting that investment firms Apollo Advisors LP of Purchase, N.Y., and Blackstone Group Inc. of New York, are interested in Neiman Marcus Group Inc.
Apollo Advisors, known for buying hurting businesses, would be diversifying with the luxury retailer, which is doing well.
Blackstone, one of the Business Journal’s companies to watch for this year, is an investor in Irvine-based Freedom Communications Inc. and last year sold 15 acres at Irvine’s Park Place to Los Angeles-based Maguire Properties Inc. for $260 million.
Auto Dealer Deal
New Jersey-based DCH Auto Group sold off 16 acres in Temecula to four dealers, including Tustin Toyota, according to the North County Times.
In August, DCH bought 41 acres in all from the owner of Norm Reeves Super Group in a bankruptcy proceeding. The company then sold about four acres each to the dealers.
Tustin Toyota and the others reportedly paid about $2.7 million to $3.5 million for the land.
Norm Reeves Super Group didn’t own the Norm Reeves Honda Superstore of Huntington Beach. The company sold that dealership and one in Cerritos in the 1980s.
CarMax: Brisk Sales
Richmond-Va.-based CarMax Inc., which recently opened an Irvine store, said its Buena Park site is performing beyond expectations. The dealership opened last year.
CarMax sells late-model used cars at a set price.
A typical CarMax store sells about 5,200 cars per year, which is about five times more than the traditional dealer, said Trina Lee, spokeswoman for CarMax.
The Buena Park store is selling more than that, she said, though she declined to offer specifics.
“We are seeing significantly higher volume of sales through the Internet,” Lee said.
CarMax Chief Executive Austin Ligon was out for the grand opening of the Irvine dealership.
