Going green could get even easier for retail buyers next year with the debut of an eco-friendly trade show.
The showcase, Conscious Biz LA, will bring together more than 100 eco-friendly businesses at the Reef near downtown L.A.’s Fashion District in January, with most of the businesses hailing from Los Angeles.
The event, produced by downtown event production company Curated Events, is meant to offer potential buyers from stores such as Bloomingdale’s, Fred Segal and Crate & Barrel a one-stop shop for discovering and purchasing eco-friendly products for their stores.
Lauren Schiff, event producer for Curated Events, said her personal interest in greencentric companies led her to create Conscious Biz LA.
“We’ve produced large-scale events for years around L.A.,” she said. “We usually focus on areas in which L.A. is kind of lacking or things we see will be impactful, and (this) is a very obvious trend.”
It took a year to plan and organize the trade show, which Curated Events plans to hold annually. It will be the first show at the Reef dedicated to green and sustainable items in home décor, beauty, jewelry and fashion accessories.
The Conscious Biz LA launch will coincide with LA Mart’s Winter Market trade show, the L.A. Gift & Home Market at the California Market Center and LAMKT (formerly the California Gift Show) at the Los Angeles Convention Center. As an added bonus, LA Mart will provide shuttle buses for buyers looking to visit all three locations.
Conscious Biz LA will be held on the second floor of the Reef, occupying a 60,000-square-foot space. Booth prices start at $500 for exhibitors.
Schiff said many vendors have already signed up to display their wares, and it’s not just eco-friendly businesses.
“Conscious Biz just means responsible business practices – everything from vegan leathers to nontoxic candles created with conscious ingredients or … fair trade,” she said.
Dining Out
Glendale’s DineEquity Inc., which operates the Applebee’s and IHOP restaurant chains, is serving up meals in the Philippines.
Applebee’s announced the opening last month of an outpost in Metro Manila, its first location in the country.
It’s the first of three planned locations with franchise partner Global Restaurant Concepts Inc., which already operates seven IHOP restaurants in the Philippines.
Daniel del Olmo, president of international at DineEquity, said Global Restaurant Concepts has been a great franchise partner with its IHOP brand, so it made sense to expand to Applebee’s.
“They have done a terrific job of incorporating local favorites and flavors in our menu that are not only delicious, but remain true to our heritage of delighting our guests through culinary innovation,” del Olmo said in a statement.
With the addition of the Philippines, Applebee’s restaurants can now be found in 15 countries and two U.S. territories.
Del Olmo said DineEquity is in discussions with existing and prospective franchise partners to open additional restaurants – specifically markets in the Middle East, Asia, Pacific Rim and Latin America.
The company operates more than 3,600 restaurants in 20 countries and U.S. territories with more than 400 franchisees.
Revolving Doors
London retailer Topshop and Topman will be opening a store at the Americana at Brand in Glendale in the spring. The store will also house Topshop’s beauty products and accessories. … Downtown L.A. gourmet breakfast food concept Eggslut has chosen Venice for its first standalone location – two blocks from the historic Venice sign over Windward Avenue. An opening date has yet to be announced. … L.A.’s Innovative Dining Group, which operates restaurants including BOA Steakhouse, closed its original Sushi Roku restaurant on Third Street near the Beverly Center over the weekend to make way for a new restaurant concept called Roku. It’s expected to open next month. … Hartmann Luggage of Milwaukee will be opening its first West Coast location next month at the Beverly Center. … Mall operator Simon Property Group Inc.’s Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance held its opening-day celebration this month with the launch of Nordstrom’s 140,000-square foot space, as well as 100 other retailers, including Kate Spade and Hugo Boss. Mall renovations are expected to be fully completed next year. … Nike opened a retail concept called Nike Community Store in East Los Angeles last week – its first one in the L.A. market. In addition to serving as a retail store, it will provide 25 hours a month of sports programming to local youth and partner with the Boys and Girls Club. … Chicago stationary and gift retailer Paper Source will be opening a 2,280-square-foot location in El Segundo next month.
At Your Service
Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has named Adam Tabachnikoff senior vice president of global brand strategy. Tabachnikoff previously served as vice president of marketing activation and product innovation at fast-food chain Church’s Chicken.
Staff reporter Subrina Hudson can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 251.
