Sep 29, 2006

Westfield opens largest mall in the West, flagship Bloomingdale's

By Catherine Nash

Fashionistas, eat your heart out: The biggest urban shopping center west of the Mississippi opened Thursday in San Francisco.
The Westfield San Francisco Centre is home to the new Bloomingdale's West Coast flagship store, as well as 170 boutiques, seven full-service restaurants, 15 fast casual eateries, the city's largest day spa, a nine-screen movie theater and 245,000 square feet of office space.
The complex, which cost nearly $450 million to build, is located along Market and Mission streets between 4th and 5th streets. It marries the existing San Francisco Centre (which is anchored by Nordstrom) with the old Emporium, San Francisco's first department store. Together, they occupy 1.5 million square feet of combined retail and office space.
The glass and steel structure of Bloomingdale's is unquestionably the crown jewel of the shopping center. It's the largest Bloomie's outside New York, and it opened a day before the rest of the mall. Danville resident Sandra Wong came into town on Wednesday for the grand opening, and waited for 40 minutes in a line that snaked along Mission and up 4th before getting inside.
"It was crazy," she said, "but it's beautiful. It's so interesting to see what they did to the old Emporium."
East Coast transplant Teyu Tai, who moved to L.A. from Boston last month, was in town on Thursday sightseeing, and popped in for a look.
"Even compared to the Bloomingdale's in New York, this is fancier," he said.
The Emporium was originally built in 1896, but only the sandstone and brick Beaux-Arts facade survived the 1906 earthquake. The store was soon rebuilt behind it and attracted shoppers for a century before closing in 1996, eight years after the San Francisco Centre opened next door.
The revamped Emporium includes the painstakingly restored dome, which crowned the original building. The 102-foot wide, 500,000-pound structure now sits atop a light-filled atrium and promenade.
Some of the center's amenities include separate valet parking for Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom, as well as a center-wide concierge service with complimentary cell phone charging, Internet access, shopping bags and gift boxes.
Not all the stores were ready in time for opening day. Martin + Osa, the new concept from American Eagle Outfitters, was still shuttered, as was J. Crew, one of several shops that's relocating from next door to take advantage of the new space. Chains like Zara, H&M and Banana Republic have all opened additional locations, but other boutiques, like Italian luxury brand Furla, are new to the Bay Area.
Blue Holdings Inc., the company behind edgy denim brands Taverniti So, Yanuk and Antik Denim, is launching Blu, a new store concept. They opened their first Antik Denim store in Los Angeles last August, but Blu marks the first time the company's denim brands have be collected under one roof.
According to Paul Guez, company chairman, CEO and president, the store is a testing ground. "If this one is a success, we would like to do many, many more."
San Francisco finally has its own Forth & Towne, the latest concept from local corporate giant Gap Inc. The brand is aimed at women 35 and over, with price points that fall between those at Gap and Banana Republic. With four unique lines - Allegory, Prize, Vocabulary and Gap Edition - and a small selection of shoes, bags and accessories, it's almost a mini-department store.
Kimberley Grayson, senior vice president of marketing for Forth & Towne, says, "We offer a wide range of apparel choices. You can put together multiple looks from casual wear to work wear to nighttime."
Each collection is housed separately. Though they all follow the classic tailoring that you'd expect from Gap brands, each has a slightly different esthetic. Allegory, for example, focuses on work separates in nubby tweeds, while Prize showcases trendier pieces like cropped velvet pants and black denim. The lines are meant to mix and match, and mannequins throughout the store model cross-pollinated looks.
The real draw at Forth & Towne is the dressing rooms. Arranged in a circle in the middle of the store (pictured left), each room is individually decorated and comes with a three-way mirror and adjustable lighting. In the middle of the rooms is a table piled high with fashion magazines and accessories to help customers put together a complete outfit.
"Our customers love spending time in the fitting salon," says Grayson. "It is purposefully placed in the center, at the literal and figurative heart of the store experience."