Parents complain about today’s shortened childhoods, but for one Los Angeles retailer it’s a new sales opportunity.

Planet Funk, a retailer of contemporary clothing, is opening a new line of children’s stores, starting with an outlet this summer at Westfield Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks.

The new store, called Play@Planet Funk, will feature True Religion jeans and other clothing that’s a hit with L.A.’s hipsters and has been downsized for the infant to 10-year-old age group.

“Traditionally, kid’s stores and baby stores are very frou frou pink for girls, and light blue for boys. This store is the antithesis of that.” said Oren Hayun, a principal of Hayun Fashion Investments Corp., the company behind Planet Funk.

An operator of 12 mall-based stores, Planet Funk started as a retailer of women’s clothing and expanded its orbit once before, moving into men’s clothing. Hayun believes that parents have the same desire to shop in mall stores as the chain’s primary customers, men and women in the 18 to 35 age group.

But Richard Giss, a partner in the consumer business practice at the L.A. office of Deloitte & Touche LLP, said that retailers like Planet Funk risk undercutting their core market when they spread into other arenas like children’s clothes.

“If the store itself is viewed as a children’s store, young adults are going to be less likely to want to shop there,” he said, even while acknowledging that children are becoming more stylish.

Planet Funk was launched by Hayun and his brother, Noy. The pair targets customers who want to buy clothes at upscale stores like Fred Segal, but may be intimidated to shop at them.

The brothers envision more than 100 stores and are expanding concentrically from the chain’s Southern California base. In the past month, a Planet Funk store has opened at the Beverly Center and at the Westfield Horton Plaza in San Diego. “There is a tremendous amount of potential in this brand. It serves a real void in the market,” said Noy Hayun.

Rare Burgers


Those who say that Los Angeles isn’t even half the city of New York may have a point at least in terms of pricey burgers.

At $21, the Tower Bar at the Argyle Hotel in West Hollywood offers one of the most expensive hamburgers in L.A. But that’s nowhere near the $50 version that graced the menu of DB Bistro Moderne in New York.

Still, the Tower Bar’s eight-ounce Kobe beef hamburger with melted brie, grilled onion and purple mustard is no workingman’s Big Mac. It’s the creation of Executive Chef Collin Crannell, formerly of Chloe and the Water Grill, who claims that the price stems from its high-quality ingredients the beef comes from Darling Down Farms in Australia and his kitchen’s skillful cooking techniques, such as infusing mustard with grapes.

“At a fine dining restaurant like mine, it is not just like getting a regular hamburger. It is done at a more gourmet level,” he said. “Everything is homemade on the plate, from the bun to the burger to the fries.”

Sky-high prices for burgers and other menu items, however, may be more about publicity than about product quality, according to long-time restaurant critic Merrill Shindler, host of “Feed Your Face” on KLSX-FM (97.1). “A lot of this doesn’t exist on the level of any sort of reality. It exists on the level of getting attention,” he said.

Shindler advises diners to stick with the old standouts. Father’s Office in Santa Monica is frequently mentioned as having one of the best hamburgers in the city. It’s pricey but not off the charts at $12.50 and features dry aged beef with Maytag blue cheese, arugula, gruyere, caramelized onion and applewood bacon compote.

Cartier Style


Cartier North America’s Beverly Hills boutique has moved back to its 370 North Rodeo Drive location after being in a temporary space for a year during a $10 million renovation.

A second story was added to the store, which has been in Beverly Hills for 25 years, expanding its size to 5,350 square feet from 3,550 square feet.

The extra room will be used to beef up the accessory offerings and house the new bridal collection. Cartier, renowned for its jewelry, started selling engagement and wedding rings in April.

*Staff reporter Rachel Brown can be reached by phone at (323) 549-5225, ext. 224, or by e-mail at

[email protected]

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