Athleta, Splendid Announce Store Openings
Athleta, the women’s activewear store owned by Gap Inc., is flexing its muscle.
Athleta recently announced it will open two Southern California stores in high-profile retail centers. In early fall, an Athleta location will debut at The Grove shopping center in Los Angeles. Another store will open in Fashion Island in Newport Beach, Calif., according to Callie Canfield, an Athleta spokesperson.
Athleta will occupy an existing store at The Grove, taking over the Gap Body store, according to Karen Diehl, a spokesperson for Caruso Affiliated, The Grove’s owner. A Fashion Island representative declined to comment about Athleta’s debut.
Athleta, recently named one of the top retailers by the International Council of Shopping Centers, forecasts opening 50 stores by 2013.
Gap Inc., based in San Francisco, purchased Athleta in 2008 for $150 million. The acquisition helped Gap enter the growing world of women’s activewear, which is a $30 billion market, according to The NPD Group, a Port Washington, N.Y.–based market-research company. The category is expanding slowly. Sales for women’s activewear increased 2.6 percent from #8232;$29.7 billion in March/April of 2010 to $30.5 billion in March/April of 2011, NPD research shows.
In other retail news, Johnny Was and Splendid will open new stores at The Grove. Splendid, based in Los Angeles, will open a 1,600-square-foot location at The Grove on June 17. Splendid already runs a flagship store on Los Angeles’ stylish Robertson Boulevard, with other locations in Fashion Island, Aventura Mall in Florida and an outlet store in Cabazon Outlets, located in Cabazon, Calif.
Johnny Was, also based in Los Angeles, will open at The Grove this summer, according to Amber Feld, a representative for the brand. Following The Grove debut, Johnny Was plans to roll out a chain of stores. It opened a boutique at the Santa Monica Place mall in Santa Monica, Calif., last year. —Andrew Asch
