Filling a niche at the plaza

A void may have been filled at South Coast Plaza with a new store for

men that is being touted as a rarity in the modern fashion scene.

“There’s not a lot of specialty mens’ retailers anymore,” said

Beth Tunney, an executive vice president for John Varvatos. “There’s

a big void.”

The South Coast Plaza shop is the third John Varvatos store in the

West, Tunney said. The first opened in New York in 2000.

Thomas Savage, general manager of the South Coast Plaza store,

said the first weeks of business since its Sept. 10 opening have been

encouraging.

“It’s good. We had a soft opening, but we opened gangbusters,”

Savage said.

The store’s offerings, which Tunney described as the hip products

known as a “lifestyle brand,” range from business clothes to casual

designer wear such as $98 beanies.

“We have a really interesting business because [our customers]

really range from [their] 20s to 50s,” Tunney said. “It’s really

about an attitude of dressing.”

Tunney acknowledged the store’s $1,400 suits are likely out of the

range of younger customers’ budgets. She said the store is trying to

attract younger clientele by marketing a new brand of jeans and a

special line of Converse shoes.

Most of the store’s more casual goods are displayed in a niche

behind the dress shirts, coats and ties.

“In the back of the store, it’s a much younger attitude, kind of

vintage and hip,” Tunney said.

Prices for the jeans and designer sneakers are around the $100

mark. Tunney said she hopes customers who discover the store through

those products stick around to line their closets with more designer

clothes as their purchasing power increases.

“Hopefully, we get that customer to come in in their 30s and 40s,”

she said.

The store’s lineup also includes footwear and fragrances. It is on

first floor of South Coast Plaza.

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers business and the environment. He can be

reached at (714) 966-4624 or by e-mail at

[email protected].