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Ondademar Bows on Robertson
Colombian swimwear brand Ondademar took its West Coast bow last month on Los Angeles’ Robertson Boulevard.
Located in a 1,300-square-foot storefront at 130 S. Robertson Blvd., which once housed a True Religion store, the Ondademar shop will serve as a beachhead for the Colombian label. By the end of 2014, the brand plans to open three other Los Angeles–area stores. The company runs three Miami-area stores and more than 46 stores in South America and Mexico.
High-profile Robertson Boulevard also is the address to swimwear stores Beach Bunny Swimwear, at 136 S. Robertson Blvd., and Zimmerman, at 110 S. Robertson Blvd. However, the street is not becoming a swimwear hub, according to Kazuko Morgan, vice chairman of real estate company Cushman & Wakefield. She handled the deal to bring Ondademar to Robertson.
Rather, Robertson will continue to cultivate its role as a retail street where companies introduce retail concepts to the West Coast. Earlier this year, Tommy Hilfiger opened a flagship store at 157 N. Robertson Blvd. French contemporary brand The Kooples recently signed a lease on Robertson Boulevard, where it will open its first American boutique. In late 2012, U.K. brand Joseph took its American bow at 156 S. Robertson Blvd.
“You get a lot of tourists, a lot of locals,” Morgan said of Robertson. “It’s a highly trafficked street for vehicles. … Everyone in the world knows where Robertson is.” Morgan is headquartered in San Francisco but travels extensively to Southern California and also is involved with a prominent commercial real estate venture in Hawaii.
Cushman & Wakefield was appointed as the retail leasing agent for the 31,000-square-foot mixed-use project The Shops on Kalakaua in Waikiki. The project will break ground next year. It is slated to open in 2016. The project is part of the renovation of the Ainahau hotel tower and a new hotel and residential tower.
The project is located in one of Waikiki’s most popular retail areas. Morgan said that the new project and its upcoming stores will considerably raise the profile of the neighborhood’s retail.
