Fred Segal’s Playa Vista play may be a bit more clear with the retailer set to shutter its Santa Monica space.
Fred Segal’s parent New York-based Sandow confirmed earlier this year plans to open a new emporium that’s a little more than 20,000 square feet at the Runway at Playa Vista project but said little else on the thinking behind the decision to open there when a company spokeswoman was reached at that time. Build-out on the space is currently underway.
“The location in Santa Monica is closing because that property’s being redeveloped,” said business development director Monica Del Borrello, who went on to mention the company’s previously disclosed Playa Vista store “as part of our ongoing expansion plan.”
Del Borrello added additional details on that growth would come in due time, declining to say whether the company intends to shop for new Santa Monica space.
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Fred Segal Santa Monica, which is roughly 24,000 square feet, is set to close at the end of the month, Del Borrello confirmed. The company’s presence in the city had previously been comprised of two buildings, one at 500 Broadway Avenue and the building it’s currently at, across the street at 420 Broadway Avenue. The retailer vacated the 500 Broadway building in 2014 to make way for new development there.
Runway is a mixed-use project that includes about 217,000 square feet of retail with Fred Segal creating a buzz for the development when its lease there was announced in February. It will join Barnabas Clothing Co., Mellore, Whole Foods, Cinemark Theater and several restaurants — including Hal’s Bar & Grill, previously on Abbot Kinney Boulevard — among other tenants at the west side shopping center. The area’s been likened to a Silicon Valley of sorts with YouTube, Facebook, Google and Yahoo taking up a presence there. Honest Co. said last year it planned to relocate from Santa Monica to Playa Vista.
Sandow this month opened a second Fred Segal in Japan that totals some 17,500 square feet across four floors in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. The company’s first store in Japan and first outside the U.S. opened last year in Daikanyama, Tokyo. Stateside, Fred Segal is located on Melrose Place and also has an outpost at Los Angeles International Airport. A location at the SLS Las Vegas closed last year.