San Francisco's Retail Scene

[FourOneFive]

With all the retail activity around Union Square and the impending opening of the Westfield San Francisco Center next year, I figured it deserved its own thread.

Juicy picks S.F. for 1st flagship
Sarah Duxbury

San Francisco is ripe for Juicy.

Come spring 2006, the city will be home to Juicy Couture's first flagship store. San Francisco will be the company's fourth and largest location as it expands and repositions itself as a luxury lifestyle brand.

Juicy signed a 10-year master lease on the corner of Grant Avenue and Geary Street, and will feature its products in more than 5,000 square feet on four selling floors. The company was looking for a site for about six months.

"We knew we wanted to open a flagship in San Francisco," said Susan Kellogg, group president at Liz Claiborne Inc., Juicy's parent company. "We wanted to make sure we were in a prime location, next to luxury retailers and off the Square."

Juicy's new neighbors include Hermès, Bottega Veneta and Prada.

Architecturally significant flagship stores are increasingly important for companies looking to define and showcase their brands. Inside, the retailers create their ideal shopping environment.

Juicy founders Pamela Skaist-Levy and Gela Nash-Taylor will have ultimate say over the look and layout of the San Francisco store.

"When you have your own store, you are able to maximize the high end of the business and create a separate ambiance for luxury pieces," Kennedy said. "It's very difficult to do that in a department store."

In retail, size does matter.

"This location lets people see the breadth of their line," said Kazuko Morgan, who brokered the deal.

Only three other standalone Juicy stores are open -- in Las Vegas, Atlanta and Dallas. All are smaller than the San Francisco flagship. A lease has been signed for a site on Boston's Newberry Street, and a flagship store is scheduled to open in Tokyo in early 2006.

The flurry of real estate activity signals how eager Juicy is to expand. The company plans to open 10 to 15 stores worldwide in 2006, depending on its luck finding real estate.

Liz Claiborne bought Juicy in 2003 with designs to grow the popular brand beyond its casual T-shirt and tracksuit roots. Juicy now has complete men's and children's lines, as well as jewelry and handbags that sell for $1,500. Next spring, Juicy will introduce a highly anticipated evening collection called Couture Couture, as well as new accessory categories. A fresh deal with Movado will have Juicy hocking watches by the end of 2006.

Soon, those T-shirts and tracksuits will account for less than 50 percent of Juicy revenue. Standalone stores are central to that shift.

San Francisco, with its taste for fashion on both the casual and luxury ends of the spectrum, is clearly a high priority. In addition to the flagship, Juicy could open a second standalone store in Westfield San Francisco Centre when that project opens next fall.

Kennedy allowed that the Westfield project was "a possibility," but would neither confirm nor deny that Juicy is interested in a second store there.

Sarah Duxbury covers retail for the San Francisco Business Times.
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