Bebe Bows New Footwear Concept Store
For Bebe, the next chapter in its retail growth may be walking on shoes.
The Brisbane, Calif.–based company is making a gambit for retail expansion in footwear and accessories. On Sept. 28, it debuted shoe and accessory boutique Neda by Bebe at the Westfield San Francisco Centre. Typical price points for the 2,400-squarefoot boutique ranges from $495 to $800. With the footwear made out of raw materials from Italy and Britain, some product costs more than $1,000. Shoe sizes ranges from 6 to 10.
Neda by Bebe also will be sold at select Bebe locations. And the company is scouting real estate for a stand-alone store in Los Angeles.
The timing for a new shoe brand may be good, said Jeffrey Van Sinderen, a retail analyst at Los Angeles–based B. Riley & Co.
The market for footwear and accessory stores is not crowded, he said, and it is dominated by small independent businesses. “There’s an opportunity to build a business with greater resources and greater marketing brand power than small players can muster,” Van Sinderen said.
Other mall-based retailers have explored footwear concepts. In April, Anaheim, Calif.- based Pacific Sunwear launched One Thousand Steps. It’s a mid-price footwear store that sell mens and women’s shoes from brands such as Steve Madden, Miss Sixty, Ben Sherman and Tsubo. The company opened nine locations. It’s California stores are based in the city of Riverside, Northridge and Cerritos. —Andrew Asch
