LOS ANGELES — When brothers Oren and Noy Hayun, owners of young contemporary retail chain Planet Funk, were mulling over how to expand in 2005, they zeroed in on a flourishing market being pioneered by many of their best-selling vendors: premium children’s wear.
The resulting retail concept, Play@Planet Funk, corralled kids’ collections from established high-end sportswear brands — including True Religion, Trunk, Deisel and Seven For All Mankind — with a handful of ultra-hip kids-only brands.
The concept, which targets label-conscious parents and gift-givers, is growing despite the high prices of much of its merchandise.
The company, based here, launched a 1,600-square-foot Play@Planet Funk store in Dallas’ NorthPark Center mall on Jan. 11 and will open a fourth unit at the Westside Pavilion here in mid-2007.
The first Play location opened in 2005 at Westfield Fashion Square mall in Sherman Oaks, Calif., and the second was launched last August at Westfield Valley Fair shopping center in Santa Clarita, Calif. The company operates 14 young contemporary Planet Funk stores throughout California, and a 15th unit is to open at Westfield San Francisco shopping center this year.
“There was really nowhere to shop for high-end [kids’] brands when we started,” said Oren Hayun, 33. “The department stores would have a kids’ section, but overall, it was so froufrou.”
In creating the Play stores, the company designed a no-frills atmosphere that would engage parents — after all, they have the credit cards — more than kids.
“We thought, ‘What we’re doing for adults, we can do for kids, too,'” said Noy Hayun, 34, who has three children under the age of six. “I was out there in the market. I knew what was out there.”
Floors and ceilings have an industrial feel, and apparel hangs in inset wall displays that are backlit in neon blue. A pint-size motorcycle is parked in each unit’s front window. There’s not a teddy bear in sight.
“There’s this disconnect when rock ‘n’ roll types have little ones, and they have to buy something with little pom-poms on it,” said Oren Hayun, who added that, before the concept was launched, premium denim brands would call the company to gauge its stance on selling kids’ products such as shrunk-down jeans. “There was a lot of interest in the kids’ market from the premium brands…but when we launched, half the premium lines didn’t do kids.”
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More established companies have entered the kids’ market since the concept made its debut, making it easier to stock a wide and varied selection of stylish kids’ clothes, said Oren Hayun.
Echoing a sentiment heard throughout the kids’ wear market, he said, “The strength is in [looks] that make kids look like little adults,” adding that brands with established young contemporary and contemporary lines sold more strongly than pure kids’ brands. Top-selling brands include Antik Denim, Seven For All Mankind, Rock & Republic and True Religion.
Prices are steep, considering the rate at which kids outgrow their clothes. Antik Denim, Rock & Republic and Seven For All Mankind jeans for toddlers and girls retail for about $150; a Miss Sixty kimono-style wrap top sells for $85; L.A.M.B. tennis shoes are between $49 and $69; a Diesel nylon bomber jacket sells for $95, and Ed Hardy mesh trucker hats retail for $44. Still, the brothers said stores haven’t met with much price resistance from shoppers beyond the first month of opening.
The success of both Planet Funk and Play@Planet Funk has been based largely on the merchandising of denim, a less stable business format than in years past. But Oren Hayun maintained that both stores would adapt to new trends, noting, “For the Play concept, it’s not so much about the denim as it is the premium brands.”
The company hopes eventually to grow the concept to 25 percent to 30 percent of total company sales, about the same percentage of its young men’s sales at Planet Funk stores.