West Hollywood is getting its own Fred Segal.
The iconic L.A. apparel retailer will open a store in the Fall of 2017 at the Sunset LaCienega hotel and condo complex being constructed by the CIM Group at 8500 Sunset Blvd.
The new store, first reported by Apparel News, an industry trade publication, will be different from the Fred Segal on Melrose Avenue at Crescent Heights Boulevard, which offers a collection of various retailers. However, according to Apparel News, the WeHo Fred Segal also will include a bakery and a coffee bar, a gym, a salon, a wine shop, a florist and a restaurant run by Bill Chait. It also will feature the first U.S. version of the Mart at Fred Segal, which originally opened in Japan. The Mart includes a cafe that sells donuts made by Blue Star Donuts of Portland, Ore., known for its brioche and donut glazes and fillings. The Sunset Boulevard location will occupy 20,000 square feet also offering different retailer. The space also will accommodate events and performances.
Fred Segal opened what became a retail hit in 1960 on Santa Monica Boulevard and Crescent Heights in West Hollywood. The 350-square-foot store quickly expanded into 700 square feet. Its initial focus was on high-end jeans for men — priced at $10 to $20 compared to the $2 or $3 price for a pair of jeans in a more generic store. Segal’s jeans were unique in that they were form fitting, a common style these days. Segal eventually moved to Melrose Avenue and Crescent Heights, just outside of West Hollywood’s city limits.
The Segal brand was purchased in 2012 by Sandow Media, the New York-based publisher of magazines focused on fashion and accessories. An investment group that Sandow, Evolution Media Partners, Creative Artists Agency, TPG Growth and Participant Media now owns Segal.
Fred Segal is the first retailer announced for the 8500 Sunset project and, given the prominence of the brand, is likely to have a significant impact in drawing shoppers to that area of Sunset Boulevard and the nearby Sunset Plaza. Jay Luchs, the real estate agent who represented both CIM and Fred Segal, told Apparel News that he hopes to lease another 10,000 square feet to a prominent tenant.
“It’s a curated project, you just don’t lease it out,” Luchs said. “This place will be one of the special buildings in Los Angeles, and there is no tenant better than Fred Segal.”
