Cool new retailers entering Marin in 2011

There have been quite a few new store openings (including some very cool regional retailers), and some closings over the last couple of months. Here's a partial list of what's new and what's on the way:

• First, at Marin Country Mart, James Perse and Poppy Store are now open, but Tam Cellars is closing. San Francisco retailer Unionmade  ($225 vintage Levis) has also signed up for a store
• At Strawberry Village there is a new chocolate store, Chocolatier Blue. Also at Strawberry, the ex-Smith and Hawken store has been leased to Bliss Home Design ("sophisticated, dramatic settings for the bedroom")
• Up at Vintage Oaks, DSW Shoe Warehouse has taken over the space previously occupied by Benjamin Franklin Crafts. Other new stores at Vintage Oaks include Subway, Justice and Southern Pacific Smokehouse.
• In Corte Madera, new stores at The Village include Free People, Ann Taylor Loft (relocating from the Town Center) and Restoration Hardware Baby & Child. Coming soon to the Village are Tommy Bahama, J-Crew's Madewell and North Face.
• Lastly, and possibly a victim of the gourmet fro-yo craze, Baskin Robins in downtown Larkspur has closed.

Can the Marin Country Mart lure upscale Bay Area shoppers?

It's fascinating to see the first batch of new retailers appear at newly-landscaped Marin Country Mart. Owner Jim Rosenfield, who recently said that he had lost $7 million on the Brentwood Country Mart, has been successful in selling the Marin concept to some of his existing Brentwood tenants. So far, either open or in the pipeline, we have:

• Malia Mills (designer swimwear)
• Erica Tanov (Berkeley-based designer fashions)
• James Perse (Los Angeles designer - women's, men's and home)
• Twig and Fig (upscale stationery)
• Miette (Cupcakes and pastries, small store in the San Francisco Ferry Building)
• Rustic Bakery (Larkspur's own organic bakery, with stores on Magnolia Ave. and Grant Street, Novato)
• Poppy Store (Kids designer clothing; another tenant of the original Brentwood Country Mart, and owned by "According To Jim's" wife Jenny Belushi)

Good to see lots of stores that will be new to Marin. There's a clear "upscale designer" theme emerging, that suggests the Mart is being positioned as a regional destination, which is something that no other Marin mall or shopping center has attempted.

The reason the Mart needs to pull customers from beyond the Marin area is that upscale designer boutiques only serve the top end of the market - the wealthiest 5%-10%. Marin is a wealthy place, but there are only 12,157 households that have incomes of $200,000 or more (according to the 2000 Census). That makes for a very thin market, which is why high-end fashion districts and malls are usually only found in the larger cities.

Los Angeles County, where the The Brentwood and Malibu Country Marts are located, had 108,889 households with incomes above $200,000 in 2000.
In the San Francisco Metropolitan Area (the Bay Area), there were over 150,000 households in this highest-income group. These shoppers tend to gravitate towards Filmore Street and Union Square in San Francisco, which are the two largest high-end fashion districts.

The owners of Marin Country Mart are trying to position the center to take a piece of this market. According to the Mart's marketing brochure there are 75,000 households with incomes above $200,000 within a 30-minute drive.  That suggests a trade area that extends as far as Oakland, southern San Francisco and Santa Rosa.

For the concept to work the center will need a critical mass of upscale retailers. The three existing anchor businesses at the center are 24-hour Fitness, the Marin Brewing Company and Bed Bath and Beyond. These are strong business that are local destinations in their own right. They anchor the center, fill the car park, and provide the bulk of the rent. But they are not upscale and are not going to help sell the center as an upscale destination.

It looks like Mr Rosenfield will need to add a few more big-name designer stores and some high-end eating and drinking establishments if he is going to succeed in tempting the the Bay Area's wealthy to make repeat visits to the Marin Country Mart.

*Update: the Mart's website now has some detail, including a mall directory

New stores for Marin Country Mart

News of several new stores for the renovated Marin Country Mart, all of which are new to Marin County and most of which are local Bay Area businesses. Designer Erica Tanov has opened a store at the former Larkspur Landing center, while other stores expected to open soon include James Perse, stationery store Twig & Fig, and Ferry Building cake seller Miette.

Marin Country Mart exposed

Work continues on the transformation of Larkspur Landing Shopping Center to Marin Country Mart, with the most radical action so far being the chopping down of trees along Sir Francis Drake Blvd, exposing the naked and still rather empty shopping center to the eyes of passing motorists.

The large trees that were removed are to be replaced by smaller Olive trees, two of which have already been positioned in the center of the mall, which is currently closed off while the landscaping is underway.

The center has also now got a new online presence, which is at the moment just a placeholder while we wait for some retailers to arrive. There's also a pretty brochure, which gives a few visual clues to the desired positioning of the center - think Janis Joplin, kids with balloons, Dirty Harry, some cheese and a barber's pole. If that doesn't provide clarity, try the brochure blurb:

Exceptional boutique shopping, neighborhood services & fine foods. A community gathering place with a children’s play area, grassy lawn, raised gardening beds, wishing well, picnic tables & benches, a fire pit & a famous duck pond.

Any ideas who the famous duck is? Donald? Daffy?

The only helpful suggestion I have is to take a look at Napa's Oxbow Market. I think that concept could really work here. Although I do also approve of the idea (shown below) of replacing Sir Francis Drake with a bicycle path. Very Marin.

Water Feature News

Readers of the blog will know that I have quite a fondness for water features (there's no property you can't improve with a good pond or waterfall) so it's a sorry duty for me to report the sad demise of the once magnificent fountain at Larkspur Landing Shopping Center.

The old fountain, pictured above, was once a glamorous spouting frenzy of water wonder that enthralled young and old and kept alive an army of potted shrubs.

Sadly, Marin's version of the Trevi Fountain is now is now a sad pathetic spurt that looks more like a sewage pond than the Bellagio it once was.

I guess the new fountain is more appropriate for the minimalist retailer-less and shopper-less shopping center as it goes through its transition to become the Marin Country Mart. But alas, the worst indignity for the poor fountain is yet to come; the unkindest fate for any water feature: replacement by a fire pit.

Marin Country Mart signs first new tenant

The first new retailer at the Marin Country Mart (formerly Larkspur Landing) will be a transplant from new owner JS Rosenfield's Brentwood Country Mart.

Malia Mills is a swimwear designer who has a small number of boutiques, most of which are in New York. This is what to expect from the Marin store, which is slated to open this spring:

We opened our own Malia Mills stores especially to redefine the experience of shopping for swimwear. We strive to create a shopping environment that is anxiety-free and liberating. We want women to enjoy the experience as much as they might enjoy treating themselves to new shoes or lipstick. We can't afford the biggest stores but we make our cozy spaces look more like a living space so you feel comfortable when you're getting undressed.

Read more on the store blog.

Friday news update

Some of the Marin retail news buzzing around this week. Bonus points to anyone who can match the correct story to this picture.

As reported in the Marin IJ, CVS won approval to take over the former Elephant Pharmacy store at 909 Grand Avenue in San Rafael.

The Square in Novato is caught up in a downward spiral, with more retailers planning to vacate the center following the closure of DeLano's market last year. The loss of customer traffic and the presence of an undesirable element hanging out in the car park were cited as key reasons.

Eddie's Ross Grocery store has been bought by the owner of Kentfield's Woodlands Market.

In Corte Madera, Napa Style has closed its store at the Town Center. Over the highway at The Village, Brookstone has closed, but Elegant Living Furniture is soon to open.

The Twin Cities Times chronicles the latest plans for transforming Larkspur Landing Shopping Center into Marin Country Mart. Details are pretty light, save an intention to hold farmers' markets, flower shows and pony rides. Also interesting to note some of the owner's proposals that were denied by the Larkspur Planning Commission, including the construction of a 40 ft water tower and an entrance gate to charge for parking.

Larkspur Landing / Marin Country Mart: landscape plans revealed

The plans for reviving Larkspur Landing Shopping Center (or as it will be known, Marin Country Mart) were revealed today in the North Bay Business Journal. The center's new owner, JS Rosenfield & Co. hopes to find retailers to occupy the 50,000 square feet of space that is

currently either vacant or occupied by non-retail uses.

Goodbye Fountain

The landscape plans approved last month by the City of Larkspur, include renewing the perimeter with $1 million worth of olive trees. In the plaza area, the plans call for removal of the fountain, to be replaced by a play structure and a fire pit.

Landscape improvements will help to freshen the center (although I think it's a mistake to lose the fountain) but the new owner will have to do some impressive leasing to turn the center around and make it relevant as a shopping destination.