California Apparel News

Bloomingdale’s opened only one full-line department store in the United States in 2013—in Glendale, Calif.

The store opened Nov. 8 at the Glendale Galleria retail center, and the General Growth Properties–owned mall also is wrapping up an extensive renovation the same week.

Along with being the newest, the Glendale Galleria Bloomingdale’s also holds records. It offers the most shops-in-shop (or separate environments for individual brands) in a single Bloomingdale’s department store. It also is one of the smallest in the luxe emporium’s fleet of department stores.

With a footprint of 115,000 square feet (most full-line Bloomingdale’s are 130,000 square feet or more), the Glendale store will nonetheless strive to offer one of the most diverse arrays of vendors and branded experiences at a Bloomingdale’s.

The store’s two levels are lined with 48 shops-in-shop from brands for women’s, men’s and accessories. It offers grand, enclosed boutiques for heritage brands Gucci and Louis Vuitton, as well as open-air environments for brands including Ted Baker, Tori Burch, John Varvatos, Theory, Sandro and Bloomingdale’s private-label women’s brand Aqua.

Like the 36 other full-line Bloomingdale’s locations in the United States, the Glendale location features the retailer’s signature black-and-white checkerboard floors. But in a move for design independence, the store offers a unique theme. In a nod to Los Angeles’ high-marquee film industry, the Glendale Bloomingdale’s offers vignettes and displays inspired by film history.

The store features an installation of gowns worn in famous films, including Elizabeth Taylor’s dress in the 1956 film “Giant.” There also are posters from decades-old films on loan from Warner Bros., said Jack Hruska, Bloomingdale’s executive vice president of creative services. “We were able to design a space that echoes the local Hollywood glamor,” he said, “but with a unique and modern approach.”

The newest Bloomingdale’s also focuses on new retail technology. The shoe department offers tablets with which shoppers can search specific footwear in their size. The tablets also will offer lookbooks and mobile checkouts. Some of the Glendale Bloomingdale’s fitting rooms feature different lighting options, from face lighting that can be dimmed or brightened to back lighting. As part of a new omni-channel service, consumers can order items online at www.bloomingdales.com and pick the items up at the Glendale store. There’s also a temporary installation of a bank of nine plasma screens on the store’s second floor, which displays a calendar of events going on at Bloomingdale’s.

The first floor of the Glendale Bloomingdale’s hosts the Gucci and Louis Vuitton shops, the cosmetics department, fashion jewelry, sunglasses, and the men’s department. There is no separate shop for suiting in the men’s department, which is a unique feature in the store. Rather, the branded environments display the entire range of their looks—from casual to suiting—altogether in one shop-in-shop. The men’s department also features a beauty and skin-care salon for men.

The second floor provides the real estate for women’s fashions, a woman’s denim wall, a department of designer clothes for children, an 8,500-square-foot department for shoes and a studio-services section, where clothing is made available for film productions.

The opening of the Glendale store follows an announcement of a new chief executive officer at Bloomingdale’s. On Oct. 30, Tony Spring was named the new chairman and chief executive officer of Bloomingdale’s. He will start his new job in February and succeed Mike Gould, who has served as Bloomingdale’s chairman and chief executive officer since 1991. Spring had served as Bloomingdale’s president. A replacement for his job will be announced next year.

Bloomingdale’s will open one new store annually for the next few years, Hruska said. In the Los Angeles area, the company is scheduled to renovate portions of the Bloomingdale’s in the Beverly Center mall in mid-2014. Also in 2014, in Palo Alto, Calif., Bloomingdale’s will completely rebuild its store at the Stanford Shopping Center, owned by Simon Malls.

Bloomingdale’s is owned by Macy’s Inc. Terry J. Lundgren, Macy’s Inc. chairman, president and chief executive officer, said Bloomingdale’s future is being charted in cyberspace and internationally.

“Bloomingdale’s has been pursuing multi-dimensional growth opportunities,” Lundgren said. “These include strategic omni-channel integration of 37 Bloomingdale’s stores, Bloomingdales.com and related mobile applications to serve the rapidly evolving nature of consumer demand. In addition, Bloomingdale’s initiated an international store presence in Dubai in 2010; international shipping to more than 100 countries, beginning in 2011; and a Bloomingdale’s Outlet store strategy, which now includes 13 locations across the U.S. opened over three years.”

A Bloomingdale’s Outlet store was opened in Rosemont, Ill., this year.

During a Nov. 5 tour of the new store, Brooke Jaffe, Bloomingdale’s fashion director of women’s ready-to-wear, gave a fashion presentation of some of the women’s styles available in the new store. One of the most popular styles is fashion activewear. “It’s California,” she said of the trend of wearing fashionable and stylish gym and yoga clothes.” But it’s becoming a bicoastal trend.”