After retiring from the National Football League last spring, former San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman is making moves in a decidedly different field.
He’s building an apparel business in downtown Los Angeles that he plans on growing into a lifestyle brand that will eventually include accessories, toiletries and toys. Merriman began selling T-shirts and hats for the brand, dubbed Lights Out after his football nickname, in retail outlets at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas late last month.
He said he’s also in the late stages of finalizing a deal that will bring his casual apparel to stores in other MGM properties including Mandalay Bay, Bellagio and Mirage hotel casinos in Las Vegas.
The MGM deal is not a first for Merriman, who struck a small regional deal with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in Bentonville, Ark., a couple of years ago, but he said the casino deal is more in line with his vision for the brand.
“I felt Lights Out was a bigger brand and I wanted to go higher quality,” he said. “I thought the MGM Grand was a great place to launch the brand because they get so much traffic and the age group I’m trying to push for was just perfect there.”
Merriman said he expects his T-shirts and hats, made in both men’s and women’s styles, to appeal to people from 16 to 40.
Merriman said he’s simultaneously working to build a line of glow-in-the-dark toys for the Lights Out brand, including board games, miniature basketball hoops and air hockey tables. He expects to sell those items on his website and in toy stores nationwide, assuming he can make the appropriate deals.
“Lights Out is not just a nickname, not just a T-shirt company,” he said. “This is going to be all across the country in the next six months.”
Brick-and-Mortar Corner
After years of negative sentiment and dour economic predictions, the L.A. retail market is poised to turn a corner this year, according to a research report by real estate investment brokerage Marcus & Millichap.
The combination of rising employment, increased construction contracts and elevated rental rates is expected to contribute to a healthier retail climate this year. The company predicted Los Angeles would add about 90,000 jobs and 450,000 square feet of retail space this year. Rental rates are expected to rise 2 percent.
Enrique Wong, regional manager at the downtown L.A. office for Marcus & Millichap, said he noticed increased optimism from both investors and consumers.
“Investor sentiment is a lot healthier today, and I think overall the consumer sentiment is a lot healthier than it was even a year ago,” he said. “People are starting to see appreciation in their homes and in turn are feeling more comfortable spending more.”
Revolving Doors
International luxury jewelry buyer Circa opened its first West Coast location last month, a 4,000-square-foot private office with four buying rooms in Beverly Hills. … Stella Barra, a second restaurant for Santa Monica restaurant company Lettuce Entertain You, opened near Hollywood’s ArcLight Cinemas at the Cinerama Dome Entertainment Center on Sunset Boulevard last month. Two other eateries, Roadside and Blue C Sushi, will open nearby this fall. … Downtown L.A. restaurant company Innovative Dining Group, which owns and operates Sushi Roku and BOA Steakhouse restaurants, opened Chinese restaurant Chi Lin in West Hollywood last month. … Philadelphia fashion retailer Urban Outfitters Inc. last month announced that it planned to open a store in downtown Los Angeles at the Rialto Theatre on Broadway. The theater, which debuted in 1917, will require renovations after sitting vacant for decades. Urban Outfitters will sell men’s and women’s clothing as well as housewares and gifts from the two-story shop. … Swedish fashion brand Acne Retail announced it will also open a store and an affiliated coffee shop on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles. The 5,000-square-foot corner store will sell men’s and women’s clothing, bags, accessories and footwear.
At Your Service
Los Angeles pan-Asian restaurant chain Buddha’s Belly, which operates in central Los Angeles and in Santa Monica, has named Kevin Luzande executive chef. Luzande previously worked as chef de cuisine at Playa Restaurant on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles. … Westlake Village shoe retailer K-Swiss Inc. named Larry Remington president and chief executive in the wake of its $170 million acquisition by South Korean retailer E. Land World. He replaces longtime Chief Executive Steven Nichols and former President David Nichols. Remington previously served as president of the Palladium brand for K-Swiss.
Staff reporter Bethany Firnhaber can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 235.
