Kitson Announces New California Stores
Kitson is going on a growth spurt this fall.
Fraser Ross, founder of the high-profile Los Angeles-based specialty-boutique chain, plans to open three Kitson boutiques in Southern California starting before the crucial holiday shopping season.
In September, Ross plans to open a 3,600-square-foot Kitson store in Santa Barbara, Calif. The boutique will sell men's and women's fashions and will be located on the grounds of the compound of the Blue Bee luxury stores on State Street, Santa Barbara's main commercial drag. The Blue Bee family of designer and contemporary stores closed in March.
"Blue Bee had a great business," Ross said. "There's a college crowd, and it's an affluent community. There's a tourist season all year round there."
In October, Kitson is scheduled to open another 3,600-square-foot store, at the Fashion Island retail center in Newport Beach, Calif. The store will be located in a new building in the center's Neiman Marcus-Bloomingdale's courtyard, a representative from Fashion Island confirmed.
The Fashion Island Kitson also will sell men's and women's clothing. "We have a large Orange County crowd that comes to us," Fraser said, referring to Kitson's flagship on Los Angeles' Robertson Boulevard. "We're going to bring new brands to Newport Beach."
Ross also plans to open another Kitson, most likely a Kitson Kids store, this fall. Ross closed a Kitson Kids location in the Downtown Disney retail district in Anaheim, Calif., earlier this year.
While many businesses are anxious over the weak economic recovery, Ross said he is expanding because real estate opportunities are too good to pass up. "It is economically feasible,"he said. "Landlords are finally opening their eyes. They have to be more accommodating to retailers or just sit with vacant stores."
Ross is also planning a big global expansion for Kitson. In May, he hired Christopher Lee, a former Forever 21 executive, to serve as the retailer's first chief executive. The duo plans to roll out more than 200 Kitson stores, including 40 in the United States and the rest spread around major cities around the world.
The international stores will seek to duplicate Kitson's Los Angeles success story. The stores will be encouraged to introduce designer and contemporary brands while producing events where celebrities will visit stores and be photographed wearing Kitson merchandise.
Kitson gained notoriety when it opened in 2000 and Ross invited celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Kim Kardashian to shop there and be photographed for celebrity magazines.
There are currently more than eight Kitson stores in Japan and 10 Kitson stores in Los Angeles County, including the e-commerce store at www.shopkitson.com. A Kitson shop-in-shop recently opened at the Takashimaya department store in Taipei, Taiwan.
Travelers passing through Los Angeles International Airport will get their own Kitson experience. In late December, the retailer is scheduled to open a Kitson location in Terminal 7. The airport Kitson is estimated to be about 1,200 square feet, and it will sell clothes for men, women and children, as well as gifts and novelties.
