California Apparel News

Contemporary retailer Alice + Olivia by Stacey Bendet is on the move. It is scheduled to open a new shop at 8501 Melrose Ave. in West Hollywood, Calif., this summer and shutter its store at 134 S. Robertson Blvd., which is located less than one mile away, said Jay Luchs, a prominent real estate broker who is familiar with the deal. Luchs is executive vice president for NewmarkGrubbKnightFrank.

If the Robertson store stayed open, the contemporary retailer would have three stores doing business in close proximity to each other. (The label also runs a store at 410 N. Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills.) While the Robertson store was judged to be a success, the label wanted to try out the new space on the corner of Melrose and La Cienega, which is a few blocks away from where Rag & Bone opened a popular store in 2012. The Robertson store is scheduled to move after its lease expires this summer. Alice + Olivia did not reply to requests for comment.

The Melrose Avenue neighborhood around La Cienega and the Pacific Design Center has been attracting a well-off, stylish customer, Luchs said.

“Robertson is figuring out its identity again,” Luchs said about the street, which is a mix of high-fashion and contemporary stores. It remains a high-marquee street but has gone through periods when there were no vacancies on the street to other periods with lots of empty storefronts. “Robertson will come back strong—but in a year,” Luchs said.