While it is fairly easy to line up luxury retailers as tenants in an upscale mall, Americana at Brand had a bit of a different challenge: It wanted to establish itself as upscale at the same time it incorporated a few regular retailers that would be useful to the many residents who will live there.
That means that getting the magic mix of retailers was a bit trickier than usual. After all, how do you fashion a mall to lure destination shoppers who want to say “Wow!” at the same time serving on-site residents who need a box of Band-Aids?
“You want to have a mix that supports living here,” Rick Caruso, the mall’s developer, said during a tour of the site a few days before its opening last week. “One of the reasons we have a Rite-Aid is that it provides the pharmacy, it provides the basic goods that you need paper towels, milk, soda.”
In addition to the few ordinary retailers, Caruso wanted to focus mostly on extraordinary ones. That way, Americana will draw customers from a broader area.
“The retail mix is much more driven by the demand and the fact that there aren’t really luxury retailers in this marketplace,” he said. “We felt there was a void in this market and we could fill this void.”
Hence the directory: Barney’s New York Co-Op, Juicy Couture and Tiffany’s. Those upscale retailers share the billing with H & M;, Pinkberry, a diner and, of course, Rite-Aid.
What Americana doesn’t include are department stores. However, the Glendale Galleria across the street has six of them.
On the luxury front, several Americana retailers will offer upper-end service. For example, Australian clothing shop Peter Alexander is among those offering a delivery service. Store manager Josh Aldin said workers would hand-deliver merchandise, including piles of Alexander’s colorful negligees and cotton-silk blend pajama sets for residents’ pajama parties.
Americana also offers concierge service for residents and shoppers. The concierge can handle a wide range of tasks, from reserving tee-times at local golf courses, to fashion consulting and notary services.
“There is nothing like it in the country,” Caruso said.
