Scoop NYC Opens in LA’s Brentwood Neighborhood
Susan Davidson, chief executive of the high-profile Scoop NYC boutique company, arrived in Los Angeles’ Brentwood neighborhood May 2 for the debut party of Scoop’s first California boutique—and the company’s 17th store.
The 2,700-square-foot boutique offers fashions for women and men rooted in contemporary looks that Davidson said were best suited for “play and party.” Brentwood is the latest stop on Scoop’s growth path. Davidson said she was scouting real estate in California and Texas to build additional Scoops. She hopes to build 25 boutiques domestically before opening Scoop boutiques overseas.
The Los Angeles area was a top choice to open a Scoop because the region has ranked as the company’s second-biggest market for its e-commerce store (www.scoopnyc.com). The company opened a store in Brentwood—not on traditional Los Angeles fashion streets such as Robertson Boulevard and Melrose Avenue—because the wealthy neighborhood was similar demographically and had a similar per-capita income as Greenwich, Conn., where Scoop runs a highly successful boutique.
The Brentwood Scoop opened a month after one of its chief competitors, Intermix, opened a shop across the street at the Brentwood Country Mart retail center. Scoop and Intermix have opened a few shops in the same neighborhood—sometimes mere weeks apart. Scoop and Intermix, in addition to Brentwood, have neighboring shops in Greenwich, Boston and Chicago.
Scoop had started renovating its Brentwood space—it is located at 216 26th St.—some time before Scoop executives became aware of Intermix’s intention to build in the neighborhood. “They are a worthy competitor,” Davidson said. Being a lone destination store might be bad business. More shoppers visit a shopping street if the neighborhood is the address of competing stores, Davidson contended.
The Brentwood Scoop features some of the same design characteristics of other shops in the company: cement floors, white walls and stainless steel. But the company worked with New York architecture firm 212 Design to offer some looks considered more Southern California, such as natural light and flowers.
The boutique’s private-label brands, Scoop for women and S.C.P. for men, make up 15 percent of its sales. The multi-line boutique also sells brands such as Rag & Bone, AG, Montcler, Tailgate Clothing, Mason’s, Acne, Inhabit and Zac Posen.
Davidson also runs the Zac Posen label. Investment firm The Yucaipa Companies, the parent company of Scoop and Zac Posen, hired Davidson to run Scoop in September 2009 and to run Zac Posen in September 2010.
She intends to spend one day entirely devoted to one company and another day devoted to the next. But these best-laid time-management plans typically go astray. “I’m always running back and forth,” she said.
Davidson is able to stay in front of the challenges of both companies by grooming good leaders. “I hire good teams,” she said. “It’s about team building. You look for diverse talents who work well together.”—Andrew Asch
