Henri Bendel bags

Henri Bendel, a favorite New York boutique of the smash hit TV series “Gossip Girl,” is unveiling its Orange County outpost on Friday, Nov. 6. The boutique, with Bendel’s signature brown and white stripes, is located on the first level of the Bloomingdale’s wing at South Coast Plaza .

For a previous story about the O.C. store, click here.
The original Henri Bendel store opened in 1895 on W. 57th Street in New York.
The store became part of recent popular culture vernacular after it was featured in the movie “Confessions of a Shopaholic” and in  “Gossip Girl.”

No wonder the store bills itself as  “the ultimate girls’ playground.”

When the South Coast Plaza boutique opens, there will be a total of 11 Bendel locations across the U.S. for the Columbus, Ohio-based Limited Brands, which also owns Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works. The store will carry accessories, beauty products, fragrance, jewelry, food and Bendel-branded items.
The first 250 customers to purchase $125 or more worth of goods at the store will receive a limited-edition Henri Bendel tote.
For more information, call (714) 557-1647.

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Jonathan Adler gives peace a chance

Decoristas who love contemporary design are getting two treats this week at Fashion Island.

Jonathan Adler, the New York-based designer who designed the interiors of the way-too-chic hotel called the Parker Palm Springs (which had its own reality show, by the way), just opened a signature pop-up store in the Newport Beach shopping center. The boutique is located where Chip and Pepper used to be - across the koi ponds near Restoration Hardware. Expect to get a good dose of Adler’s groovy and naughty pottery, the origins of which date to 1979, when Adler begged his parents to buy him a wheel and kiln after he tried pottery at summer camp.

Just a quick stroll away from the Jonathan Adler boutique is the new 500-square-foot Alessi store, located where Yours Truly used to be - next door to Express and across from the carousel. The store is the first  that’s located in a shopping center in North America for Alessi, an Italian company known for its contemporary home accessories.

Alessi's La Rosa fruit holder

The last time there was a lot of Alessi in Fashion Island was back in the late ’90s, at the Chiasso store near Gary’s Island.

Think you’re not familiar with Alessi? You are if you’ve seen the Michael Graves-designed bird kettle (with a little bird at the end of the spout), which remains the most iconic and bestselling of all Alessi items.

As for Fashion Island, the Jonathan Adler and Alessi stores underscore how shopping center has been gradually and strategically building its coterie of retailers specializing in contemporary decor and furniture that are not easy to find elsewhere in O.C.

For example, just last month, Laguna Beach designing couple John and Taryn Bernard debuted the first Orange County location of their store Room Service. To see a photo of Room Service and a previous story on it, click here.

Another furniture store, Design Within Reach completed its renovation. Add to all these the opening of Trina Turk, which carries home accessories and fashion - and the contemporary vibe is pretty clear.

Photo of Jonathan Adler: jonathanadler.com

Photo of Alessi fruit holder courtesy of Alessi

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Apparently workers plan on spending 14.4 hours shopping online during November and December according to an information technology trade group.  That’s an increase of nearly 10 hours compared to 2008.

Check out the poll and tell us what you plan on doing this year.

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www.disguise.com

You can’t tell from the crowds in line for costumes at stores such as Party City, but consumer spending on Halloween dropped this year. According to a survey of 8,526 people conducted by BIGresearch for the National Retail Federation (NRF), consumers are spending an average of $56.31 on Halloween this year, down from $66.54 last year. Up until this year, consumer  spending on Halloween was steadily increasing every year.

The reason for this year’s decline,  says NRF president Tracy Mullin: the economy.

Here’s more on consumers’ Halloween spending:

• Nearly a third of consumers said the economy impacted their Halloween plans.

• Of those who said Halloween affected their plans, 88 percent said they are spending less over all, 46.5 percent said they are buying less candy, and 35.4 percent said they planned to put up last year’s decorations with no plans to buy more.

• Among consumers, young adults, last year’s big spenders, plan to scale back significantly. The average 18-24 year-old will spend $68.56, about $18 less than what a young adult spent on Halloween last year.

Let’s put these numbers in perspective, though.

Halloween remains a formidable moneymaker. The same survey found that consumers are spending:

• $250 million in greeting cards
• $1.23 billion in decorations
• $1.52 billion on candy
• $1.75 billion in costumes.

And speaking of costumes, here is a list of what retailers said are their most popular costumes, according to Kathy Grannis, NRF spokeswoman:

Vampires: Can you say “Twilight”,”True Blood” and “Vampire Diaries”?
The King of Pop: Think Michael Jackson’s decorated jackets, shiny white gloves, fedoras - and don’t forget the white socks and black shoes made for for moonwalking.
Hannah Montana: still going strong after all these years
Princess: tiaras, ballgowns and sparkling shoes
Alice in Wonderland: Tim Burton’s take on the Lewis Carroll story is slated for release in March 2010, but there’s a buzz on the Mad Hatter and Alice costumes.
And a new one this year, The Kate Gosselin wig, which is often sold out in stores.

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The store, which just opened, is having a sale through Nov. 30.

Enjoy.

Julie Gallego

Business Editor

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I remember shoppers walking by me and muttering, “It’s not even Halloween.”

So although it feels like more stores are prematurely trying to get us in the December holiday mood before trick-or-treating time is finished, for other stores, putting out the holiday display and merchandise is really a long-standing retail tradition – like sweaters in stores before summer is over.

Macy’s has its holiday décor section in place at its home store at South Coast Plaza. Target already has some shelves stocked with Christmas and Hanukkah décor and cards. Roger’s Gardens’ holiday wonderland store in Corona del Mar is already filled with goodies.

Is there a business rationale behind all this? Yes.

According to the National Retail Federation, 40 percent of people started shopping BEFORE Halloween.

Do you like seeing holiday decor before Halloween? Take the poll below to see what others are saying:

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JM Rugs

Correction: The website link to JM rugs has been changed to the correct web adress.

JM Rugs has opened on the Tustin side of The Market Place near PetSmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods.

It’s a curious location for the retailer, given that most of the home-related stores are either in the Home Depot side of El Camino Real or on the Irvine side of The Market Place.

In any case, the store offers rugs made in America as well as in other countries such as Turkey, Israel, India, Egypt and Belgium. Rugs can be bought off the floor or ordered if a preferred size is not in stock, with free shipping. The store also offers custom sizes, rug cleaning and restoration services.

There’s a grand opening discount of 50 percent off all merchandise through Nov. 30, in case you are looking for a rug when getting the house ready for  holiday guests.
Hours: 10 a.m.- 7 p.m. Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Address: 2865 El Camino Real, Tustin
Phone: (714) 734-8618

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Toys ‘R’ Us, owner of legendary toy retailer FAO Schwarz, said today it will open mini-FAO boutiques inside all its stores nationwide starting next week.

All 585 Toys ‘R’ Us stores, including those in Orange County,  will be outfitted with an “edited assortment of unique” FAO toys at affordable prices ranging from $2.99 to $64.99, the toy company said today. For example, FAO Schwarz Signature Holiday Ornament and 2009 Collectible Bear will be sold at all boutiques, which will be located near the front of stores.

The boutiques will appear in stores Sunday,  Nov. 1. — just in time for the holiday shopping season, said Jerry Storch, Chief executive of Toys ‘R’ Us, which acquired the FAO Schwarz brand in May 2009.

“This holiday season we are proud to celebrate the legacy of the FAO Schwarz brand, making it more accessible to customers from coast-to-coast while creating new traditions for generations of children to come,” he said in a statement.
To find stores near you, go to  www4.toysrus.com/store/.

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The international brand will be exclusively sold in Orange County at the Irvine Spectrum locations. Prices range from $24 for a crystal pendant to $85 for a pewter necklace, owner Darren Frank said this week.

The cart will be near Cheesecake Factory and the small store, which is slightly bigger than the cart, will be opposite the movie theater.

Visit the Irvine Business blog for an image of Bico Australia jewelry.

Find out about six other recent store openings at the Irvine Spectrum.

More about Irvine Spectrum:

For more from OC Retail, see list of links on the right-hand side of this blog.

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Ridemakerz, a Rancho Santa Margarita-based business, opened its first California store last week at Downtown Disney in Anaheim, according to an Around Disney blog post by Sarah Tully.

Here’s an excerpt from that post:

The concept is similar to that of its neighbor — Build-A-Bear Workshop, where kids create their own stuffed animals. It’s no wonder: Build-A-Bear is a partner and minority investor in Ridemakerz, said Larry Andreini, chief executive officer of Ridemakerz. But Ridemakerz is designed for when boys outgrow Build-A-Bear, aimed at ages 6 to 12, Andreini said.

Located between Wetzel’s Pretzels and Little Miss Matched, the shop takes the place of former vendor Department 56.

Little Miss Matched also took over a portion of Department 56. To read more about Department 56, CLICK HERE. 

(Photo by Around Disney blogger Sally French.)

More from OC Retail:

• Target to give $10 gift card with purchase
• O.C. shopping center finds replacement for Circuit City
• South Coast Plaza gives opening dates for 2 O.C. exclusives
• Disney plans major overhaul of its 340 stores
• Design firm with Fashion Island store files for bankruptcy
• Irvine Spectrum announces 6 store openings
• What shoppers may expect this Christmas season
• Sears closes O.C. store
• Video: New Target is 1 of 4 in O.C. selling fresh foods
• Pottery Barn closes O.C. store
• South Coast Plaza, Shops at Mission Viejo stores to close
• $35 movie ticket may be coming to O.C.
• Family may reopen Mervyn’s stores
• Makeup brand sold at Nordstrom, Macy’s to shut down
• Apple to close another O.C. store temporarily
• Mall near O.C. expands by 37,000 sq. ft., names 3 new stores

For more from OC Retail, see list of links on the right-hand side of this blog.

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