LOS ANGELES — Fresh from the first trading of shares in the Valentino Fashion Group, Valentino Inc. president and chief executive officer Graziano de Boni is fired up about the house’s next phase, marked by the opening Monday of a 3,000-square-foot unit at South Coast Plaza.
The luxurious store at the shopping center, which is an hour’s drive south of Los Angeles in Costa Mesa, is the brand’s sixth in the U.S. There are 36 freestanding Valentino boutiques worldwide.
The company said it needs to open more stores to maintain its double-digit sales momentum.
Shares closed Tuesday on the Milan stock exchange at 19.36 euros, or $23.61.
“When we got involved almost three years ago, the first priority was to look at the retail business we had, then get going with new projects,” de Boni said in an interview, referring to the acquisition of the brand by Marzotto in 2002. De Boni is also president and ceo of Marzotto USA.
The U.S. expansion is part of that to-do list.
And South Coast Plaza was first on the list, de Boni said. The store is next door to Chanel and across from Tiffany, on the ground level of the Nordstrom-anchored wing.
“Orange County is one of the wealthiest counties in America and it is growing fast,” he said. “I’ve been going there for years, and the crème de la crème of Southern California shopping is in South Coast Plaza. That’s who we are. Over the years, the center has become a brand.”
South Coast Plaza retailers, particularly those skewing in the luxury realm, average sales of $800 per square foot. This newest California door might eventually have sales in line with Beverly Hills, de Boni believes, partly because of the “sheer amount of locals and tourists” who visit the sprawling shopping center.
While Valentino’s arrival at South Coast Plaza comes later than many of its luxury brand neighbors, de Boni said, “I wouldn’t say it took a while. But there are circumstances that pulled Valentino — the company — into different hands over the last seven, eight years,” he said, referring to the house’s ownership changes since 1998.
Related Articles
You May Also Like
The interior concept is different from the Beverly Hills store’s, and more in line with Las Vegas. The limestone walls and flooring counter the silvered mirrors. Accessories are on display within oil-rubbed bronze cases and on long planks of ebony stained oak.
A new element is the larger handbag and shoe area, reflecting expansion in those categories, particularly in the U.S. Neither product was available here as recently as 2002. “We’re experiencing an amazing growth in shoes and handbags — triple digits in the last two years,” de Boni said. The accessories have become so significant that “some of the stores do 30 percent of the business in shoes, bags and even small accessories.”
Besides Valentino ready-to-wear, stock will include the younger-skewed Valentino Red collection.
Next on the list as possible U.S. addresses are San Francisco, Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, Houston and Boston.
“They are the next tier of doors for any luxury brand in America. No location is firmed up for now,” de Boni said: But he added, in reference to the profile of existing stores on the West and East Coasts, “We have yet to address the Midwest and Southwest.
De Boni — a fan of Orange County beaches, particularly Laguna Beach — said he will attend the grand opening gala celebrating the South Coast Plaza store, slated for September. “I’ll definitely be there.”