New Ron Herman Store Set For Malibu
Legendary Los Angeles retailer Ron Herman confirmed he will open a store at the Malibu Country Mart in April, and the theme of this store, named Ron Herman, will be a big company coming down to earth.
“The key is fun and small,” Herman said. “We’re not going there to set the world on fire—it’s just going to be fun.”
In this case, Herman’s sense of fun means constructing a freestanding building at the Malibu Country Mart, which will house a 1,000-square-foot store and outside patio. Santa Monica-based architect Darren Dominigue will design the building, which will be across from Country Mart businesses L’Occitane and Malibu Kitchen.
The store will sell men’s and women’s clothes. Half of the store will be reserved for clothes and accessories produced by Herman’s design team. The other half will give space for apparel lines Herman said are rarely retailed in Malibu.
“It could be anything. We’ll probably have shoes, fun accessories, knits, we could sell some swimwear, it’s going to be casual,” Herman said.
The store will service a well-todo customer base in Malibu that rarely travels down Pacific Coast Highway to shop in Hollywood or West Los Angeles. “I’m not going for the tourists; I’m going for the residents,” he said. “It’s the right time to do it because of the customer who lives there. Malibu has grown so much.”
Arnold York, publisher of community newspaper The Malibu Times agreed that the city is looking for designer clothes more than ever. “At one time Malibu was a relatively modest place. Forty years ago, you could buy a house for $30,000,” York said. “But there’s been an explosion in real estate values. The median house value is $1.5 million. As the houses churn over, the people who move in are very affluent; they want to buy the best.” —A.A.
