After years of lobbying, permitting and construction, the Americana at Brand shopping center in Glendale took another step towards reality earlier this month, announcing a second slate of stores that have signed on.
Americana at Brand, which broke ground last summer, is a $369 million development on 15.5 acres bounded by Brand Boulevard, Central Avenue and Colorado Boulevard. The mall, which will open next spring, is 80 percent leased.
Americana has secured two first-in-region stores, a Kate Spade store and a Concept Five, a new college student-focused shop by Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
“This expanded and eclectic retail lineup reflects our company’s merchandising philosophy of providing customers with distinctive shops, boutiques and restaurants that represent the latest fashion and lifestyle tastes and trends,” said Todd M. Russell, senior vice president of leasing and marketing for Caruso Affiliated. “The Americana at Brand will distinguish itself in the competitive L.A. market by bringing in new retailers to the area and offering a level of style and sophistication unmatched in the region.”
The mall will also feature a Barney’s New York Co-op, a Cheesecake Factory, and a Sur La Table, the high-end kitchen and tabletop store.
Other additions to the roster include: Barnes & Noble, Calidora Spa, J. Crew, Free People, Michael Stars, True Religion and Pinkberry.
Tenants named in the initial slate included: Anthropologie, A/X Armani Exchange, Aveda Lifestyle Salon, BCBG Max Azria, H & M;, Juicy Couture, Kiehl’s, Lacoste, Sigrid Olsen and Urban Outfitters, and an 18-plex Pacific Theatres.
Wink and a Smile
UWink Inc., the much-ballyhooed third act for Atari games and Chuck E. Cheese pizza chain founder Nolan Bushnell, filed a common stock and warrant offering of up to $15 million last week.
The Los Angeles-based company is now traded over the counter. Shares closed Wednesday at $1.19. The company declined to comment on the offering, saying it has gone into a quiet period.
Merriman Curhan Ford & Co. is the lead placement agent on the offering, and Sterne Agee & Leach is the co-placement agent in connection with the offering.
The company will use the proceeds for new restaurant development, marketing its franchise program and general working capital.
UWink’s first location is in Woodland Hills, and plans have been announced for a Hollywood & Highland location. The company also announced its first franchise agreement earlier this month, which applies to Miami-Dade County. Franchisor OCC Partners LLC is obligated to open three restaurants in the area within the next four years.
Tweety Couture
The craze for childish couture is continuing unabated. Walt Disney Co.’s couture line remains popular at chic Los Angeles boutiques, and the company now sells character-inspired wedding dresses as well as a line of high-priced underwear.
Warner Bros. is getting in on the action, too, with the opening of a Tweety Bird boutique in Beverly Hills next month.
The boutique will bow July 25 and the Tweety clothes will be exclusive to the Wilshire Boulevard boutique until September 3. The Tweety line was introduced to top boutiques two years ago and then launched in Mexico, Monaco, Spain, France, Brazil, Singapore and Hong Kong.
The new collection will be upscale and targeted to a “sophisticated customer.” The original launch collection at Kitson was more about T-shirts and flip-flops. For the new collection, for instance, Jean Yu is doing an $8,000 gown.
“Tweety has really taken the world of fashion by storm since we launched our first exclusive collections more than two years ago,” said Karen McTier, executive vice president for domestic licensing and worldwide marketing at Warner Bros. Consumer Products. “It’s appropriate that as Tweety takes a step into the rarefied air of designer fashion, we highlight many of those international successes as part of the collection, while we add new interpretations from other leading designers.”
Other designers for the collection include Alexander Wang, James Jeans and Charlotte Ronson.
Staff reporter Emily Bryon-York can be reached at (323) 549-5225, ext. 235, or at
[email protected]
