New Balance Stores Set to Make a Run for More L.A. Locations

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Paul Tordella is running with the New Balance store concept.


The owner of shoe retailer FrontRunners Inc., which has a FrontRunners store in Brentwood as well as New Balance stores in Santa Monica and Torrance, has plans to open two to four more New Balance locations in the county. He’s looking for possible sites in the San Fernando Valley, Pasadena, Valencia, Palmdale and Lancaster.


After FrontRunners locations in the Westside Pavilion and Santa Monica Place malls closed, Tordella decided to stick with drive-up, destination stores in high-income areas. The New Balance tag, which he has the exclusive right to use in the county, gives the stores instant name recognition.


“The day I put a sign up that says ‘New Balance,’ the customer knows what I stand for,” said Tordella. With New Balance, he added, “I have a simpler business model and a national brand.”


Tordella’s relationship with Boston-based New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc. dates back to the early 1990s when he put a New Balance section in the FrontRunners store. In 1998, the company approached Tordella to open a New Balance location.


Tordella suggested a 7,500-square-foot flagship, much larger than the 1,800 square feet the New Balance stores averaged at the time. “I showed them a vision for their own brand that they didn’t have,” he said.


After vetting several locations, the Santa Monica New Balance store started serving customers in 2000 and the Torrance location opened last year. Now, Tordella said the Santa Monica store is the top revenue-generating New Balance outlet, while the Torrance store is in the top 10.


Across the country, there are now 125 New Balance stores. Following the example set by Tordella, newer stores are roomier than older stores and usually run about 3,000 square feet.


Tordella said consumer interest in New Balance has grown considerably. Early in the brand’s history, he said, it had a following in the middle-aged crowd. It was only when the company came out with a popular trail running shoe that teens and preteens started snatching up New Balance.


However, Tordella isn’t ignoring his FrontRunners location. The store, which opened in 1977, is undergoing an expansion that will increase its selection of active apparel. After that expansion is completed in the spring, the store will renovate the current shoe retailing space.



Special Jetsetters


When Gary Mansour started Avion Private Jet Club LLC in 2003, he thought he’d be catering to first-class passengers tired of commercial airline travel.


But he soon realized that customers of the Beverly Hills-based membership jet program were accustomed to special treatment. In fact, he said about 50 percent of Avion’s 60 members already pay up to millions of dollars for fractional ownership or hourly time cards to use private craft.


“It is pretty interesting how over 10 months, we have realized such a great higher end than ever was anticipated,” he said. “They are not looking at Avion to replace anything. They are using it as a second option when it makes sense.”


For these passengers, Mansour said, exclusivity is all important, and they’ll pay top dollar for privacy. At Avion, initial membership costs range from $12,500 to $50,000, depending upon whether the member is an individual, couple, family or corporation.


The service is more exclusive than commercial first class. While the passengers are not alone on the flights, they fly with other high-paying customers. Unlike other private programs, Avion offers per-seat pricing, and passengers don’t have to fork out for the entire jet.


It’s a concept unique to Avion, but Mansour said it could be catching on: He’s heard of other companies considering setting up shop in other parts of the country.


Avion runs two flights per week between Los Angeles and New York and expects to add six more. The company once planned to run flights to Cabo San Lucas and Las Vegas, but opted to stick with the popular cross-country route. The flights are operated by Burbank-based Avjet Corp.


Mansour conceived of Avion after 9/11, when demand for private travel spiked. He said he saw clients at his Beverly Hills agency, Mansour Travel Co., which specializes in the luxury sector, overpaying to fly private jets, and he wanted to provide a lower-cost option.


Mansour said the first flight, on March 6, 2004, was profitable. As a whole, he estimated Avion will be profitable within the first two years of operation. “It looks like it will be right on target,” he said.


Meanwhile, Mansour Travel Co. will be opening a London branch office in spring. The office will be the first full-time branch office for the boutique travel agency. However, Mansour Travel runs a seasonal branch office in Cannes, France, for the Cannes Film Festival.



Urban Design


With all the lofts being constructed in Long Beach, Brett Hershberger believed there would be a need for stylish furniture.


Hershberger, who owns Artifacts Home Interiors with his designer wife Ceci, moved the store to Long Beach from Redondo Beach to capitalize on the influx of urban residents. Artifacts is filled with modern offerings to spruce up loft living.


“Just having a loft is really cool, and you don’t want to put something cheesy in there,” said Hershberger. “The furniture is very sleek, (with) clean lines.”


He posits that loft dwellers have the disposable income to pony up for furniture with the right look. After all, they are willing to pay pricey rents for cavernous spaces.


To attract loft residents, Artifacts has made a marketing push into loft buildings. The store has sprinkled buildings with flyers to inform the neighborhood of Artifacts’ services.


Artifacts isn’t only about the store: It also makes house calls. For $50 per hour, loft dwellers with little clue of how to decorate their surroundings can receive in-house design consultation.


Although Artifacts has been in Long Beach for just a month, Hershberger is optimistic the move will be worth the hassle. “There have been several clients already,” he said. “We were able to pay our first months rent. I am told that is significant.”



Chamber Chapter


The San Gennaro Caf & #233; in Brentwood, owned by controversial West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce President Jay Handal, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.


Dennis McGoldrick, an attorney for San Gennaro Inc., said a reorganization plan is in the works, but the restaurant is not closing. There is another San Gennaro location in Culver City.


Among San Gennaro’s creditors are produce vendors, utility companies and tax agencies, including Green Farms Inc., the State Board of Equalization, the Department of Water and Power, and Preferred Foods. The company’s largest unsecured claims amount to nearly $65,000.


San Gennaro filed for bankruptcy on Jan. 24 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Northern District of California. McGoldrick said a creditors hearing is scheduled in about a month.


Handal has been at the helm of the West Los Angeles chamber for about seven years. He has angered some other chamber leaders in the past with aggressive tactics to grow the West Los Angeles membership. It recently changed its name and added the “greater” appellation, reflecting its broad ambitions.


According to court records, Handal filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 1991.


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Staff reporter Rachel Brown can be reached at (323) 549-5225, ext. 224, or at

[email protected]

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