LOS ANGELES — Three Dots, a Garden Grove, Calif., sportswear company, opened its first retail store Monday on Melrose Avenue here.
The firm chose the location because of the surrounding retailers. “You have all the good people there — from Paul Smith to Marc Jacobs to Ron Herman,” said David Lazar, executive vice president of sales and merchandising. “We’re keeping great company.”
The 11-year-old firm, famous for its T-shirts and distinctive trademark — an ellipsis heat-stamped directly onto the fabric — shipped more than $25 million in product last year to about 1,000 specialty stores and better department boutiques, including Barneys New York, Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom.
At about 1,000 square feet, the store is a study in austerity. White walls are topped with a dropped white ceiling housing recessed track lighting. White built-in shelving abuts short, sectioned-off racks. The company did not estimate annual sales volume.
The store opens with the first major-season collection designed by Yuchin Mao, a former senior designer for Helmut Lang and head designer for TSE, who signed on as creative director in May 2005.
For spring, Mao integrated a smart mix of easy-fitting knit tank and tunic dresses to complement Three Dots’ signature T-shirts.
A Three Dots store owned by a company distributor opened in Tokyo in 2001, but the boutique here is the first company-owned retail endeavor.
“The store will be a great laboratory for us,” Lazar said. “Our wholesalers are really excited about us opening a store because we’ll be able to test items and new ideas in there.”