SAN DIEGO — Bloomingdale’s launched a 219,000-square-foot unit at Fashion Valley shopping center here on Saturday, marking the company’s first foray into California’s second-largest city.
“It’s an enormous opportunity for us,” said Michael Gould, chairman and chief executive officer of Bloomingdale’s. “We thought if we were in San Diego, in South Coast Plaza [in Costa Mesa], in Newport Beach and Los Angeles, then we really have serviced Orange County, Los Angeles and San Diego counties. It will really position us appropriately in the state of California.”
The San Diego opening came days after the company unveiled an expanded 189,000-square-foot flagship in the Boston suburb Chestnut Hill, and just over a month after the opening of Bloomingdale’s largest store outside of New York, a 330,000-square-foot unit in San Francisco.
San Diego is home to about 1.2 million residents, with the county population around 2.8 million, according to 2005 Census Bureau statistics. The median annual income in the city was $67,925, compared with $47,434 for Los Angeles and $73,180 for San Francisco.
Gould said the San Diego store was, “a little more complicated than the others because there’s already a Neiman Marcus, a Saks and a Nordstrom in the same center. It made it very laborious for us to try to convince people…that Bloomingdale’s can separate itself from the rest of the upscale market.”
The outdoor Fashion Valley center has more than 200 stores and restaurants, including Tiffany & Co., James Perse and Guess.
On a tour of Bloomingdale’s, Jack Hruska, executive vice president of creative services, said the retailer distinguishes itself in the Simon Property Group-owned center through its merchandising. “We show our customer how to put things together throughout the store — in any department you go into,” he said.
As in the other new units, the three-level store, which had been a Robinsons-May, adopts Bloomingdale’s most recent visual concept, defined by a spacious floor plan and a black-and-white color palette.
“San Diego, San Francisco and Chestnut Hill were all designed at the same time,” Hruska said. “The design of the stores is a refinement of everything we do in New York. We’ve expanded the use of black….we try to use the color in a way that expresses the brand without competing with the product.”
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This goal translates into displays framed by black, and black-and-white checkered floors and signage. “Black-and-white is the signature color [combination] of Bloomingdale’s, and of New York,” Hruska said.
Still, the company hopes to connect with the local consumer through accents that pay homage to the sun-drenched region. Black-and-white photo scrims of beach scenes loom large in the 20,675-square-foot Y.E.S. contemporary department, and video monitors playing sunny scenic footage are peppered throughout.
The store also features boutiques for Burberry, Elie Tahari, Anne Klein and St. John, among others.
One of the first-floor entrances opens to a designer sunglass department, featuring brands such as Prada, Gucci and Chanel. “We wanted to make a major statement in sun,” said Tony Spring, senior executive vice president of stores.
Y.E.S. adds bright pink and pale blue to the color palette, and features displays for brands such as Lacoste, Vince and Theory, as well as a sizeable denim presentation, showcasing brands such as Seven For All Mankind, Paige Denim and Joe’s Jeans.