Talulah G's Rags-to-Riches Tale
The Talulah G boutique chain marked the grand opening of its store in Fashion Island, in Newport Beach, Calif., on March 31 with a trunk show featuring appearances by top Los Angeles designers, including Pegah Anvarian and Brad Beckerman of Trunk Ltd.
The party was also a happy ending to Talulah G’s rags-to-riches story. With no previous retail experience, Chief Executive Officer Meital Grantz started her business just after the world’s economy sputtered to a halt in November 2001, two months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Her timing didn’t deliver a knockout punch, and the first address of her designer and denim boutique wasn’t exactly a winner, either. The store was located across the street from a topless bar in downtown Las Vegas, far from the action of the Las Vegas Strip.
Timing and location may have not been on her side, but Grantz said her boutique succeeded because it filled a niche that was not being served.
“I didn’t enjoy shopping at stores other than Nieman [Marcus] and Saks [Fifth Avenue] in Las Vegas,” said the New York native. “Newer designers need a venue to display in stores there.”
In addition to their new 2,200-square-foot California digs, Grantz and her husband, Joshua, run other Talulah G shops in Las Vegas’ chi-chi Fashion Show mall and Summerland district and are also planning a new store at the Red Rock Station resort in Las Vegas, which will open in March 2006.
Tallulah G carries labels such as Balenciaga, Chloe, Stella McCartney, Matthew Williamson, Missoni, Michael Kors, Valentino and James Perse and denim from True Religion, Citizens for Humanity and Paper Denim & Cloth, among other brands. —Andrew Asch
