Cheap chic retailer H&M will open a store at Westfield Century City on Thursday.
To celebrate the opening, the store will offer the first 200 shoppers an H&M T-shirt and an Access to Fashion Pass, a shopping card containing a value from $10 to $300.
The store opens at noon at the mall, which is located at 10250 Santa Monica Blvd.
-- Andrea Chang
Gap Inc., parent to the Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy chains, today announced several moves to expand its international presence.
The San Francisco company said it would open its first Gap-brand store in China in 2010; increase the number of its international outlet stores; and launch online businesses in Canada and Britain next year.
The Gap brand will also return to television advertising in November after a two-year absence, the company said.
“With our improved economic model, we’re ready to step up our investments and strategies to regain market share and expand our international platform,” Glenn Murphy, chairman and chief executive of Gap Inc., said in a statement.
The company’s chains will also work to improve their stores and product assortments.
The Gap brand, which in August launched a line of premium denim, will continue to focus on reinventing key product categories, such as khakis and pants, through 2010, the company said.
Banana Republic, which the company said became “too serious” and “too heavily work-focused,” is working to create a more versatile lineup “that balances products more evenly across weekend, work and going-out occasions.”
Gap Inc. operates more than 3,100 stores in the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Japan and Ireland. Its fiscal 2008 sales were $14.5 billion.
-- Andrea Chang
Photo: The Gap brand rolled out a line of premium denim in August. Credit: Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times
Kohl's will open 35 new stores in former Mervyns locations on Sept. 30, including 30 in California.
The department store chain has waited for years to make a big move into California. Currently, the company only has 91 stores in the state, and many of them are in outlying suburbs.
But Kohl's faces many of the same economic challenges that led to the collapse of Mervyns and other retailers.
With unemployment at 12.2% in California, many consumers are in no mood to spend on apparel and accessories -- the very kinds of merchandise Kohl's sells.
The retailer will also face stiff competition from sellers including JCPenney, Target and Ross.
But Chief Executive Kevin Mansell said the chain has already proven it can weather the recession and noted Kohl's has fresher merchandise than Mervyns and a lineup of exclusive, national and private brands. The chain, which has more than 1,000 stores in 49 states, has consistently beat Wall Street's sales expectations throughout the year.
Read the full story, with comments from Mansell and reality-TV-star-turned-fashion-designer Lauren Conrad, here.
-- Andrea Chang
Photo: Workers put the finishing touches on a new Kohl's store in Redondo Beach. Credit: Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times
And here's a video about Kohl's move.
Reporting from San Diego -- Distressed denim, plaid button-down tops and one-piece swimsuits were among the most popular looks at the Seventeen magazine/Action Sports Retailer runway show today.
A dozen young women modeled outfits that mostly featured a rock and grunge vibe. One model paired a checkered handbag with a black T-shirt, fuschia skirt and black leather ankle boots. Another wore a denim jacket over a black-and-white geometric-pattern short dress and shiny army boots.
In the accessories department, slouchy knit hats, chunky jewelry and smaller waist-length purses were widely represented.
The runway show took place at the Action Sports Retailer trade show at the San Diego Convention Center. The three-day event is one of the biggest in the surf and skate industry.
-- Andrea Chang
Piperlime, an online seller of shoes and handbags, is now offering women's apparel from a mix of brands including Marc by Marc Jacobs, 7 For All Mankind, Joie, J Brand and Juicy Couture.
"Apparel is an obvious next step,” said Jennifer Gosselin, vice president and general manager of Piperlime, which is owned by San Francisco-based Gap Inc. “Our customers have come to rely on Piperlime’s style expertise and advice, and we are thrilled to extend our fashion point of view into apparel.”
With the expansion, Piperlime will offer about 65 clothing brands. The collection is focused on premium denim including Paige Premium Denim and Joe’s Jeans. Tops, dresses and knits from designer brands are also available and feature fall's hottest styles, such as distressed skinny jeans and boyfriend jackets.
In addition to apparel, Piperlime also carries more than 250 footwear brands for men, women and children.
-- Andrea Chang
Photo: Piperlime's selection now includes apparel, such as this 7 For All Mankind skinny blazer. Credit: Piperlime.com
Gap has introduced a line of premium jeans, called 1969, as the retailer tries to reverse a prolonged sales slump.
But there's a fundamental problem with the strategy, consumer columnist David Lazarus says, involving Gap's serious lack of coolness. With that in mind, Lazarus has a few ideas on how Gap should be promoting the new line.
The Barneys Warehouse Sale is back with its semiannual orgy of high-fashion discountery. But this time is different. The West Coast version of the bargain bin has moved east a bit from Santa Monica to downtown's L.A. Convention Center.
Reporter Carla Hall made the trek and found that Westsiders weren't thrilled with the new venue.
There was grumbling about the $12 parking fee at the convention center and the healthy walk from wheels to deals. At the Santa Monica Airport, parking was free and closer.
On the upside: actual bathrooms, not port-a-potties as in Santa Monica. The sale runs until Aug. 23. Hours vary. The Los Angeles Convention Center, South Hall, 1201 S. Figueroa St.
Photo: Shoppers search for bargains at the Barneys Warehouse Sale at the L.A Convention Center. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times
After weeks of hype, Gap officially launched its premium denim line today with new styles such as the Sexy Boot and the Always Skinny.
The 1969 Premium Jeans, which have been rolling out in stores in recent weeks, replace all of the chain's old denim and start at $59.50 for women and $54.50 for men -- the same price as the former line.
Selling premium denim is a new concept for classic and casual Gap, which is hoping to take market share away from designer denim brands such as True Religion and 7 for All Mankind.
"Denim is our birthright -- I think we have ceded some of our business to others over the years as the market has changed and as people have looked to status brands," Marka Hansen, president of Gap North America, said in an interview. "We're not changing our positioning, not at all. What we're trying to change is relevance."
The apparel company has seen its sales and image sag in recent years as customers have turned to more stylish competitors.
For the full article, click here.
-- Andrea Chang
Photo: Patrick Robinson, Gap's executive vice president of design, led the overhaul of the chain's denim line. Credit: Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times
[Update: Here's a video explaining it all.]
Gap is opening a pop-up store on trendy Robertson Boulevard on Friday to showcase its new line of premium denim.
The denim line, called 1969 Premium Jeans in homage to the year the San Francisco company was founded, is set to officially debut on Aug. 13, though the jeans are currently rolling out in stores nationwide.
Gap executives are hoping the jeans, which start at $59.50, will help the retailer capture a share of the designer denim market, which for the most part has been recession-proof despite prices of more than $200 for a pair of ripped jeans.
The pop-up store, called the 1969 Jeans Shop, is at 108 N. Robertson Blvd. in Los Angeles and will be open until Sunday, Sept. 27. Hours are 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
-- Andrea Chang
Photo: Gap's "perfect boot jeans" in dark wash are part of the retailer's new premium denim line. Credit: Gap
Premium denim is refusing to fade, at least judging from True Religion's latest earnings.
For the three months ended June 30, True Religion Apparel posted an 18% increase in profit and boosted its earnings outlook for fiscal 2009 thanks to a big kick in the pants from its branded retail stores and website.
Designer jeans have had a leg up on other consumer goods during the recession, analysts say. Sales of premium brand jeans grew by 17% during 2008 and managed a 2.3% increase in the three months ended in February, making pricey denim one of a few "pockets of growth in an otherwise fizzling fashion market," market research firm NPD Group said recently.
True Religion, based in less-than-fashionable Vernon, said net income rose to $11 million, or 45 cents a share, from $9.3 million, 39 cents, in the second quarter of last year. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected earnings of 39 cents a share on average.
Sales swelled 12% to $72.1 million even though the company's wholesale operation, which peddles clothing to other retailers, saw a 20% decline in revenue. The big increase came from True Religion's own stores and website, which sold 60% more in the second quarter compared with the year-earlier period.
During the quarter, True Religion opened 10 stores, bring its total to 59 on June 30 compared with 30 a year earlier. True Religion opened another store in July.
True Religion said it expects to earn $1.76 to $1.84 a share for the full year. That's an improvement over the earlier outlook of $1.73 to $1.81 a share.
“In the second quarter, we continued to build brand awareness through the expansion of our consumer direct platform, execute alongside our retail partners and expand our distribution worldwide," Chief Executive Jeffrey Lubell said in a statement. "This multifaceted approach to growth enabled us to mitigate the broader economic challenges."
True Religion shares were up $1.56 to $24.06 at 11 a.m. Pacific time.
-- Nancy Rivera Brooks
Credit: Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times
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