Developers Battling to Nab High-End Stores By SHELLY GARCIA Senior Reporter Some of the most tony names in retailing are looking to expand along the 101 corridor, and several different developers are scrambling to get their attention. Westfield America, Macerich Co. and Selleck Development Group are all believed to be in talks with Nordstrom Inc., Neiman Marcus Group or both in a kind of beauty contest made all the more competitive because these high-fashion retailers open only a small number of stores each year. “We purchased The Oaks Mall last year and we purchased it with the intention of trying to remodel and expand it,” said Randy Brant, senior vice president at Macerich of the shopping center in Thousand Oaks. “We felt that the project did not keep up with the growth of the market, both in quality and quantity, and we are talking to fashion retailers not represented in the market.” Macerich officials declined to specify the retailers they have targeted, but the names Nordstrom and Neiman’s were both dropped at meetings the company held with community residents late in April to discuss the expansion. Westfield, which is shopping for another anchor store as part of a major expansion and renovation at Shoppingtown Topanga in Canoga Park, has set up tables in the center inviting customers to complete comment cards that say, “Yes!” in bold, red letters. “I want Neiman Marcus to open at Westfield Shoppingtown Topanga.” “We’re working to redevelop the center and what you have is a marketing tool to determine interest levels in the marketplace,” said Catherine Dickey, a Westfield spokeswoman. Dickey decline to comment further, but others point out that such efforts go beyond the usual scope of research. “They’re pulling out all the stops,” said Richard Giss, a partner with the retail service group of Deloitte & Touche LLP, when told of Westfield’s campaign. “They’re sending a real strong message, we want you here, and they are trying to build their case and bolster their case with as much fact-based information as they can.” Nordstrom expanding Westfield and Nordstrom have just reached an agreement to expand the retailer’s Topanga center store, now within the enclosed mall, into a separate, three-story building of about 200,000 square feet, about 30 percent larger than the space it currently occupies. A decade of growth in population as well as prosperity in the area that stretches from Woodland Hills to the eastern end of Ventura County has left the market with a pocketful of cash and nowhere to spend it locally, at least where luxury stores are concerned. Officials at both Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus say they do not comment on new store plans until firm agreements have been reached, but other brokers in the market say that both retailers have been investigating the region because of its attractive demographics. The average income of shoppers at The Oaks Mall, for example, is $109,468; $83,000 for Shoppingtown. The Oaks is anchored by Macy’s and Robinsons-May. Nordstrom is the only upper end retailer in the region. The wild card in the equation is Selleck Development Group which tried unsuccessfully last year to build a Home Depot-anchored shopping center in Agoura Hills. Such a location would not only draw from all the affluent West Valley neighborhoods, it could also attract shoppers from Malibu, a short ride through the canyon. As a direct result of opposition to Home Depot, Agoura Hills passed a measure prohibiting the construction of stores of 60,000 feet or larger, and that legislation would have to be modified or overturned before Selleck could proceed. More favorable reaction? But city officials privately concede that community reaction to a Neiman Marcus would likely be far more positive than the response to Home Depot. “The council has heard various times that the people would prefer an upscale development that would include a Nordstrom or Saks or Neiman Marcus,” said an Agoura Hills official. Oddly enough, past experience with luxury retailers in the West Valley is not deterring any of the current efforts. Back in the 1980s and earlier, I. Magnin and then Saks Fifth Avenue opened in the Woodland Hills Promenade, a center that adjoins Topanga, but closed after several years, unable to find customers for their wares. Brokers said much has changed since those days, however. “Twenty years ago Westlake Village didn’t exist. Calabasas didn’t exist,” said a broker who specializes in retail properties in the West Valley. “When Saks and I. Magnin were here, everyone lived in Encino and they drove over the hill.”
