looks like theyve got a lot riding on their SF location. Interesting that there are actual departments on the same level as BART
San Francisco Treat: Bloomingdale's Lands Flagship on Union Square
By David Moin
Photos: Kristen Loken
Big-city downtown department stores aren't being built that often anymore-unless you're Bloomingdale's and aim to be daring.
On Sept. 28, the retailer will open its second-largest store, a five-floor, 330,000-square-foot unit in the Westfield San Francisco Centre on Market and Fifth Streets that is seen generating about $75 million in first-year sales and costing about $60 million to build.
"This is a true flagship store," said Michael Gould, chairman and chief executive officer of Bloomingdale's. "More than any other store, we tried to translate the excitement of the 59th Street flagship," which, at more than 900,000 gross square feet (including 549,000 square feet for selling), is the largest unit in the chain.
The San Francisco debut is another seminal moment for Bloomingdale's. Two-and-a-half years ago, the retailer opened a 79,000-square-foot store in SoHo in Manhattan, making its mark on the contemporary world and finessing a new, smaller format. "SoHo changed perceptions about Bloomingdale's total character and about who we are," Gould said.
Now Bloomingdale's is muscling into a city where its fiercest competitors are firmly entrenched, generating huge volumes. They have been aggressively renovating in anticipation of Bloomingdale's arrival. In addition, Barneys New York will open a 60,000-square-foot flagship at 48 Stockton Street, just off Union Square, in fall 2007.
In the Westfield center is a Nordstrom store that is said to have had sales of $126 million last year, and is undergoing a multimillion-dollar remodeling, bringing in many new designer and upscale shops. The store has 350,000 gross square feet, with an estimated 250,000 square feet for selling.
Five blocks away is Union Square, home to the Macy's West flagship, considered the most fashionable Macy's unit in the chain, as well as a Neiman Marcus that recently was expanded and renovated and posts $116 million in sales. There also is a Saks Fifth Avenue that has sales of about $112 million annually, sources said. And all around the square is a plethora of designer specialty shops.
The arrival of Bloomingdale's is part of a $460 million renovation of the Westfield center, which doubled in size to 1.5 million square feet and linked the new Bloomingdale's to the mall. The center is a jointly owned project of Westfield and Forest City.
"If San Francisco is successful, it opens up enormous opportunities around the country," Gould said. "The competition here is just incredible."
Bloomingdale's San Francisco unit, with its dramatic glass exterior on the Mission Street facade, strong luxury statement underscored by Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior shops that anchor the main floor entrance and intensified contemporary sportswear presentation, sets the standard for future stores. On Nov. 10, a relocated Chestnut Hill, Mass., store will open, followed by a San Diego unit on Nov. 18, and another in the spring in South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, Calif. Next August, Bloomingdale's will bow a "lifestyle home furnishings" concept, officials said, without going into further detail.
In San Francisco and other locations, Bloomingdale's is moving into real estate made available as a result of department store mergers, including its parent Federated's takeover of May Department Stores last year. The South Coast Plaza and San Diego units are former Robinsons-May stores, the Chestnut Hill, Pa., store is a former Filene's and the San Francisco unit is a former Emporium unit that's been vacant for a decade and owned by Federated.
Several regions of the country that have upscale markets remain untapped by Bloomingdale's, including Arizona, Texas and the Pacific Northwest. Phoenix, Dallas and Seattle are among the cities where the retailer is said to be prowling for sites.
Last year, the 37-unit Bloomingdale's posted more than $2.3 billion in sales. Considering all the planned and potential openings, it is within Bloomingdale's grasp to become a $3 billion brand in a few years.
"There is still an opportunity for Bloomingdale's in a number of major cities in the country," said Tony Spring, senior executive vice president and director of stores. "There are even more opportunities for SoHo and alternate concepts."
Bloomingdale's San Francisco has been a 10-year project, that was stalled for a variety of reasons, including changes in the ownership of the mall, seismic issues and some litigation. In addition, the glass dome from the old Emporium store was relocated over the mall, and merchandise planning for the store has been challenging in light of the competition and the fact that many upscale brands already were situated in the city, either selling to the majors or operating their own stores.
Spring said the vendor matrix essentially was established over the last 15 or 16 months and, according to Gould, the linchpin was landing Louis Vuitton.
"When Vuitton agreed to come in, other people said, ‘Whoa,'" said Gould. "Designer and upscale resources take enormous time to make distribution decisions. They are very careful. But why did they come to us? They saw this as a very unique project. They saw what was happening at Bloomingdale's is very unique today."
Gould said business still thrives when freestanding vendor shops operate not far from their outposts inside Bloomingdale's. At 59th Street, he said, "Diesel is our number-two resource in men's sportswear, but they have a flagship right on the corner" of Lexington Avenue, across the street from Bloomingdale's.
"Armani and Chanel are our number-one and number-two resources in designer," even while operating freestanding shops on Madison Avenue and 57th Street, he continued. "There are some customers who feel comfortable in a specialty store setting and some customers who want to be entertained by a whole lot of things," meaning a department store.
Aside from Vuitton and Dior, the 65,223-square-foot main floor of Bloomingdale's San Francisco will feature handbag shops from Marc Jacobs, Fendi, Lambertson Truex and Coach. They lead to the checkerboard B-way and pale pink cosmetic treatment bars, and then there is a French Art Deco-inspired mirrored perfumery. Among the cosmetic and beauty lines: BeneFit, Bobbi Brown, Chanel, Clarins, Clé de Peau, Clinique, Crème de la Mer, Dior, Estée Lauder, Giorgio Armani Color, Guerlain, Jo Malone, Lancôme, La Prairie, Laura Mercier, MAC, Nars, Shiseido and YSL.
The main floor also has shoes from Ferragamo, Chloé, Jimmy Choo (a first for Bloomingdale's, as is Dior handbags), Sigerson Morrison, Lambertson Truex, Fendi, Sergio Rossi and Michael Kors. Dress accessories include Burberry, M Missoni, Pucci and Adrienne Landau; sunglass labels include Chanel, Gucci and Christian Dior, and fashion watches from Phillip Stein, Michele and L.A.M.B. by Gwen Stefani will be sold, to name a few. Fashion jewelry is divided by bridge offerings from Juicy Couture, Betsey Johnson, Carolee and Kenneth Jay Lane, and a "cul-de-sac" featuring Good Charma, Michele Negrin and Chan Luu. Fine jewelry includes Roberto Coin, John Hardy and Judith Ripka. There also will be Tag Heuer boutique and David Yurman boutiques.
Below is the BART level, encompassing 56,497 square feet and housing home, children's, the bridal registry and corporate services. There's also luxury bedding, gourmet cookware, cutlery, gadgets and small electrics.
Level two, with 55,175 square feet, houses The New View bridge department with Tahari, DKNY, M Missoni, Dana Buchman, Ellen Tracy and Eileen Fisher; designer sportswear from such labels as Akris Punto, Ralph Lauren Black Label, Michael Kors, St. John Collection, Biba and Sonia Rykiel, as well as intimate apparel and "At Your Service" personal shopping. The coat department offers Burberry, Mackage, St. John, Searle and Moncler, and dresses are from Badgley Mischka, Nicole Miller, Teri Jon and Carmen Marc Valvo.
In terms of designer offerings, the San Francisco store will be Bloomingdale's third most concentrated site, next to Chestnut Hill and 59th Street. Also, there are 71 vendor shops, whereas branches generally contain about 30 vendor shops.
The 35,000-square-foot third level features contemporary sportswear, coats and dresses from Diane von Furstenberg, Vince, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Nanette Lepore, Rebecca Taylor, BCBG, Joie, Robert Rodriguez, Iisli, Alice + Olivia, Juicy Couture, Theory, James Perse and Birdie. There is a large premium denim presentation with Rock & Republic, Chip & Pepper, Joe's Jeans, True Religion, Miss Sixty, Diesel, Seven For All Mankind and Citizens of Humanity. Also on three is the Mission View room for special events.
The 41,012-square-foot fourth floor houses men's, which is split between classic and contemporary looks. Classic sportswear brands include Polo Ralph Lauren, Boss Hugo Boss, Corneliani, Burberry London, John Varvatos and Ballantyne, while "The Lab," for contemporary sportswear, will sell Marc Jacobs, Martin Margiela, Dsquared, Viktor & Rolf, Number Nine and APC.
According to Jack Hruska, executive vice president of creative services: "We decided the building should read as five specialty stores. Each floor is distinguished by its own display techniques, its own music and different service components. Even the restrooms are designed individually."
However, the store and its shops are tied together in a Bloomingdale's mood by the signature black trim that frames almost every business, Hruska noted. "It's the eyebrow," he said. The one exception is the men's floor, which is finished in taupe and darker woods. The store has a total of 252,834 square feet of selling space.
With the south side of the store done in glass, natural light flows onto the floors, affecting the flow of traffic. "The light from outside pulls you through the building," Hruska said. Vistas extend across the selling floors, with escalators placed in the rear to improve sight lines and provide better space for vendors. The store has five main aisles, so no brand is buried behind another, and each shop is just 15 to 16 feet deep, making shopping easier. "There's a lot of beachfront property. You can see the offerings up close and you can see out to where you are going," Gould said.
High ceilings, at 13 to 14 feet, add to the openness, and the shoe department has a richer, residential feel, with screens that break up the floor. For the San Francisco project, Bloomingdale's worked with architects Robert Young and Associates, KA Architects and John Pederson Fox, as well as the interior design firm of Tucci, Segrete & Rosen.
The investment in staff is greater than usual. The store will employ about 550 people and training programs were extended to 19 weeks from 13 for senior managers, and to 11 weeks from eight for junior managers. To hype the opening and connect with the community, Bloomingdale's will offer a special plastic-coated zippered shopping bag, guerrilla market with outdoor billboards featuring the Happening tag line, distribute its Hot catalogue, run newspaper ads and stage a benefit for the University of California San Francisco Children's Cancer program at the store Sept. 26 that will be followed by a week of other charity events. Proceeds of a Bloomingdale's-designed umbrella will be donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
But success in the crowded San Francisco market depends on providing a distinctive shopping experience in terms of product mix, service and the environment, Gould observed. "This is not about opening our biggest store next to 59th Street," he said. "The world doesn't need another big store. It's about what we do to make this an intimate place to shop. On one hand, it's a headquarters assortment; on the other, it's a warm, exciting experience."
It's also about Bloomingdale's ability to provide a synergistic, unique mix of products, Gould stressed. It's a niche ranging from designer, contemporary, bridge and better, and from fashion to home. "We have the ability to mix it up better than others. That gives us a different energy."
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