California Apparel News

No one spends like a tourist, according to boutique owner Fraser Ross.

“The tourist dollar is the best dollar. They buy more, and they don’t return merchandise,” said Ross, who owns the high-profile Kitson chain of boutiques, which has California locations in top tourist spots such as Robertson Boulevard, located in Los Angeles; Malibu; and Anaheim’s Downtown Disney retail district.

Summer officially starts on June 21, and an anticipated increase in tourist business this season has many California retailers hoping for relief from the bumpy economic recovery.

Tourism to the Golden State is forecast to climb 2.7 percent, according to a study released in April by Tourism Economics, which maintains offices in Pennsylvania and Oxford, England. The study, commissioned by the California Travel & Tourism Commission, said the state’s tourism declined 5.5 percent in 2009.

Tourist business is not just gravy to many of the state’s boutiques and shopping centers. A significant amount of income generated at places such as South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, Calif., comes from domestic and foreign tourists. At the Kitson boutiques, 50 percent of sales are tourist-based, Ross said.

More than 58 million tourists are anticipated to visit America this year; 33 million will visit from Canada and Mexico, the rest from overseas, and they’re coming with fat wallets, according to U.S. Department of Commerce research. Average gift spending per party, or a family group, during an American trip declined to $582 per party in 2009, compared with $642 spent per party in 2008. However, tourist spending remained strong in California in 2009, according to Richard Champley, senior analyst with the Department of Commerce. In 2009, tourists spent $670 per party on souvenirs and gifts in California.

A forecasted increase in tourism is enough to boost business forecasts for Rodeo Drive, one of Beverly Hills, Calif.’s most widely recognized retail tourist destinations. Rodeo boutique sales are expected to increase more than 10 percent this summer compared with last year, according to Tom Blumenthal, president of the Rodeo Drive Committee. “2010 seems to be much better,” he said. “Particularly with tourists from Asia and the Middle East. They are the two strongest foreign markets.”

Retailers’ tourist profits are assisted by year-round marketing pushes by organizations such as The Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau. For example, last year the bureau helped sponsor a shopping outing for 500 Japanese women to Rodeo Drive to help spread the word about the street’s 51 flagship boutiques, including Polo Ralph Lauren, Prada, Chanel and Louis Vuitton.Courting the luxury shopper

Tourism also is serious business at South Coast Plaza. Three people on South Coast Plaza’s marketing team work full-time to spread the word about the luxury shopping center to potential tourists. The team’s work could range from meeting with executives of travel companies at tourism conventions across the world to entreating travel bloggers to write about the luxury center or working with managers and concierges of hotels throughout Southern California.

The result has been a steady stream of tour buses arriving at South Coast Plaza. They can run 10 deep in the lot adjacent to the center’s Saks Fifth Avenue store. VIP shoppers can arrange for a car service to bring them from their hotel to South Coast Plaza. High-rolling tourists can arrange for after-hours shopping at the center, which offers three Louis Vuitton stores as well as a boutique for California brand Quiksilver. The center’s four concierge desks can provide translators in 50 languages, according to Debra Gunn Downing, South Coast Plaza’s executive director of marketing.

Last year, South Coast Plaza debuted a VIP lounge on the shopping center’s third level in the Saks wing. It is a place where tourists can take a break from shopping and watch sports on flat-screen televisions. Beer, wine, champagne and hors’ d’oeuvres are available, and, if inspiration strikes, a meditation space is available in the 2,000-square-foot lounge.

Other luxury malls encourage tourist business. With high-profile hotels such as the Sofitel, SLS Hotel and L’Ermitage nearby, the Beverly Center in Los Angeles started a program in January 2009 called “By Invitation Only,” in which concierges tell VIP visitors about discounts and deals available at participating Beverly Center boutiques. The tourist picks up “By Invitation Only” cards at the center’s concierge desks for discounts that range from 10 percent to 20 percent off.

Despite indications of a tourism rebound, many retailers are preparing for the summer season with modest expectations. Kitson’s Ross said he is not expecting this year’s business to be as good as before the Great Recession. “You adapt to less business,” he said. “You wait for the cycle to grow again.”

Gila Leibovitch said even if tourist business is good, she never takes it for granted at her boutiques, under the nameplates of Vault and Premier, respectively, based in Laguna Beach, Calif., and Los Angeles. She said she and her staff keep their boutiques open longer to take advantage of the after-dinner crowds. “We have never worked harder,” she said.