The number of wide-eyed tourists wandering aimlessly in search of a Harry Winston Inc. store should drop markedly soon. A new illustrated map of Rodeo Drive rolled off the presses last week.
“The Rodeo map is gorgeous,” said Anne Joyce, Chief Concierge at The Regent Beverly Wilshire. “This is a map that I am excited to share with my guests. It’s easy to read, easy to carry, and especially helpful to people who may spend just a few hours here and need to find their way around quickly.”
The Rodeo Drive Committee, Donahue Group and more than 100 Rodeo Drive businesses participated in the Trends Media Group project. The five-color illustrated map highlights restaurants, shops and hotels.
Los Angeles-based Trends has also produced walking maps for Old Town Pasadena, Catalina Island, West Hollywood, downtown Long Beach and a Huntington Beach version is coming soon. The company has already distributed 500,000 copies of its Beverly Hills map.
Trends Publisher Jeff Leit said his company has received requests for such a map for years.
“There is no map of Rodeo Drive,” Leit said. “The last one was published in the 1980s. So the (Beverly Hills Convention & Visitors Bureau) asked us to help out.”
Several Rodeo Drive businesses have bought ads that appear on the map.
It will be distributed free of charge by the tourist board and hotels, including The Regent Beverly Wilshire and Four Seasons, The Beverly Hills Hotel, The Peninsula and Beverly Hilton.
Strike Authorized
Hilton Hotels Corp. had a rough week on the labor front as workers authorized strikes in Chicago, Honolulu and San Francisco. The Beverly Hills-based hotel chain posted lower-than expected second quarter earnings earlier this month, but its continued effort to reduce debt by selling off several European hotels and fitness centers, has kept investors optimistic.
Until last week, that is. Hilton stock dropped steadily and was trading at $24.30 Thursday, down from $28 back in June. This slide despite the U.S. hotels posting a 7.4 percent year-over-year room revenue increase for the week ended August 19. The survey included Marriott, Starwood and Hilton Hotels.
The workers, represented by Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees union, voted to authorize a strike with the contract set to expire on August 31. Union spokesperson Amanda Cooper said it’s not uncommon for workers to give their leadership permission to call a strike in order to strengthen their negotiators’ hand at the bargaining table. Kathy Shepard, vice president of corporate communications at Hilton, emphasized that the authorization to strike does not mean workers will strike and noted that the talks are ongoing.
Looking South
True Religion Apparel Inc. has named an exclusive South and Central American distributor.
Thads Commercio, a high-end clothing retailer and distributor based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, will fill the bill. In what could be seen as an indicator that the upstart denim manufacturer is moving in to the big leagues of fashion, Commercio also distributes John Galliano, Versace, Just Cavalli and Malo to more than 175 retailers in Latin America. The company announced its first outlet location, similarly situated with top luxury brands, earlier this month.
Covered by the pact are Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela, Belize, Colombia Chile and Argentina.
True Religion also announced that Zihaad Wells would be the company’s design director, a newly created position. Wells, 31, has already served as a designer at Levi Strauss & Co. Europe, where he helped engineer the Levi’s Vintage clothing concept.
London Calling
Iconix Brand Group Inc., the New York-based company that has been in protracted negotiations to purchase Mossimo Inc., said last week that it would acquire the London Fog outerwear brand from London Fog Group Inc.
Iconix will pay $30.5 million in cash and $7 million in Iconix stock. The company has been rapidly expanding its brand portfolio of late.
Iconix licenses Bongo, Candie’s and Joe Boxer to third parties. Its acquisition of Mossimo is expected to close in September. Mossimo licenses its name to Target Corp. for a line of clothing and accessories.
The Iconix-Mossimo deal is expected to close in September when the Securities and Exchange Commission has completed its review.
Santa Monica-based Mossimo posted strong second quarter results earlier this month. Earnings rose 22 percent and revenues were up 14 percent on better sales and lower costs. Mossimo was trading at $7.57 Thursday. Iconix was at $14.49.
Knit Picking
JEM Sportswear Inc., a leading knit-top manufacturer, named Andrei Najjar senior vice president. He will be in charge of growing the men’s and boy’s division at JEM, which is known for its screen-printed tees that often pop up at Robertson Boulevard boutiques. Najjar comes from Target Corp., where he managed the junior knits business.
Staff reporter Emily Bryson York can be reached at
[email protected]
or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 235.
