Melrose Heights Parties for More Traffic
The hunt for new customers never ends for retailers. When the 11 boutique owners of the Melrose Heights Merchants’ Association pooled their resources for the first time in two years to attract more foot traffic to their stores, their marketing strategy was simple: They threw a party.
Managers of the boutiques at the intersection of Melrose Avenue and Crescent Heights Boulevard in Los Angeles—including Betsey Johnson, Fornarina and Xin—stayed up late on Aug. 19 to throw a party featuring deejays, cocktails and, in most stores, a 10 percent to 20 percent discount on clothes.
The informal merchants’ association, which charges no membership fees, started two years ago to get more bodies to the neighborhood, which is anchored by Fred Segal Melrose. The association hopes to brand the area as a walking neighborhood where fashionistas can shop at a wide variety of stores.
The association held two block parties in late 2001 and mounted a public relations campaign in 2002, when they coined the name Melrose Heights in reference to the area’s major intersection. Foot traffic increased by an estimated 25 percent because of this campaign, according to Gordon Morikawa, co-owner of Xin and a member of the association.
The association lost steam after the public relations campaign, and traffic reached a plateau. Demand for traffic became stronger, however, because retailers such as BCBG Max Azria, Miss Sixty and Dragonfly moved to the area in the past two years.
In July, Adrienne Weller, communications director of Fornarina, talked to Morikawa about how the association could bring a sense of community to the area and boost the neighborhood’s foot traffic. The idea of the block party was born.
Each store mailed more than 500 invitations, chipped in more than $55 and found sponsors, including Virgin Cola, Coppola Wines and Red Bull. They attracted loyal customers as well as locals and passersby who never have time to shop on weekdays.
“If I wanted to shop here, I couldn’t,” said Anne Toole, a Los Angeles–based writers’ assistant browsing through Betsey Johnson. “These stores close too early.”
Morikawa deemed the event a success but stated that the future of the Melrose Heights Block party was an open question.
“You can’t have a collective event unless everyone wants to participate,” Morikawa said. “It’s got to be a group decision if there’s going to be another block party.”
The association wants to increase sidewalk space and have the district’s two governing jurisdictions, the cities of Los Angeles and West Hollywood, formally recognize the area as a separate neighborhood.
Retailers informally polled for this article said they believed the night was a success. “People will know us better,” said Jaga Buyan, owner of better contemporary boutique Thesis, which opened in July. —Andrew Asch
