Retailers Eyeing So Cal
There may be a recession, but not all retailers are receding from the marketplace. In fact, a number of apparel merchants are expanding into California, and most notably, Southern California.
Dress Barn, Chicos FAS Inc. and Charming Shoppes Inc. are among the companies who are scouting out real estate in the area.
Suffern, N.Y.-based Dress Barn has about 35 locations in California and is seeking a larger presence in the state’s southern region. In the last three weeks, the company, which sells moderately priced clothing, opened stores in San Dimas and Culver City and plans to open one in Fountain Valley this week.
“We’re just getting into L.A.,” said Richard Sosnovy, vice president of real estate for the 689-store chain. “L.A. is a new growth area for us. It’s an opportunistic area for us.”
Most of the stores are combination locations of Dress Barn and Dress Barn Woman for missy and large-size customers, and they average around 8,500 square feet, he said.
Sosnovy said that the rollout is part of the company’s bigger strategy to convert from an off-price retailer to a nationally branded fashion specialty store, a strategy that includes transitioning into a private label–focused chain and creating non-outlet stores.
New stock darling Chicos, which reported a 16.5 percent same-store sales increase in August, is adding about 50 to 60 stores a year to its chain. The Ft. Myers, Fla.-based retailer, which sells loose-fitting separates to the over-35 female customer, has about 40 stores in California.
“Our expansion includes plans to open in California,” said James West, Chico’s vice president of real estate. “Our customers have an above-average household income of $70,000 and California has a lot of [people who earn such an income]. It’s a very good market.”
West said the company recently hired its first West Coast regional manager to oversee the expansion, which will target lifestyle centers for its boutique-style stores, which average 2,600 square feet. The company opened stores in Calabasas, Long Beach, and at the Ontario Mills in Ontario earlier this year and plans to open at the Promenade at Westlake in Thousand Oaks by November. In the pipeline for next year are two stores in Los Angeles, including one at the Grove in Farmers Market, as well as locations in San Jose, San Diego and Sacramento.
Charming Shoppes, a retail chain specializing in plus-size and misses apparel, has plans to open a number of stores in California next year, said Tim Henry, the company’s West Coast real estate manager. However, Henry declined to specify locations.
The Bensalem, Pa.-based operator of Fashion Bug and Catherine’s added to its store portfolio with the acquisition of Lane Bryant, a subsidiary of The Limited Inc., in August. Henry said the company is seeking outdoor centers anchored by discount department stores.
California’s lifestyle and strong demographics are fundamentals every merchant seeks, but the region isn’t all wine and roses, cautions analysts.
“It’s true that retailers need to grow or they’ll wither, and everybody thinks California is an easy market to crack, but they should first look at existing same-store sales for some apparel chains out here,” said John Golisch, retail partner at Arthur Andersen LLP.
Company officials say their firms specialize in niches that are going underserved. —Nola Sarkisian-Miller
