DR. SEUSS ON THE LOOSE; STORE OPENS IN GLENDALE.

Byline: Dave McNary Daily News Staff Writer

The first Dr. Seuss store in the nation opened over the weekend with little fanfare at the Glendale Galleria, the same mall that launched the Disney Store and ESPN Store chains.

The pint-size outlet occupies about 500 square feet with a front entrance that looks like a pair of London phone booths. It sells T-shirts, boxer shorts, hats and other apparel emblazoned with such characters as the Cat in the Hat, the Grinch, Horton and Yertle the Turtle.

The Dr. Seuss store is operated by San Francisco-based Esprit de Corp, which has been selling items licensed through privately held Dr. Seuss Enterprises since 1994. ``The nostalgia appeal of Dr. Seuss is very broad,'' said Esprit spokesman John Ordona. ``Everyone remembers Dr. Seuss.''

Ordona termed the outlet a ``prototype'' that will help Esprit executives decide whether to start a chain of Dr. Seuss stores. Esprit also is opening Dr. Seuss kiosks this week at four other California malls.

Retail consultant Mark Kissel of Rockville, Md., said it makes sense for Esprit to move into the Seuss brand gradually but directly.

``If Esprit finds they're not getting an overwhelming response, they won't be stuck with paying a yearly lease of $30 a square foot,'' Kissel said. ``It's a better approach than doing a focus group, because there's a real commitment by the consumer. If they like a `Green Eggs and Ham' coffee mug, they buy it.''

The whimsical Seuss characters, who spoke in easy-to-understand rhymes such as ``I Am Sam, Sam I Am, I Do Not Like Green Eggs and Ham,'' became a sensation among baby boomers in the mid-1950s and 1960s as their parents looked for ways to teach children how to read. Eventually, more than 100 million copies of Seuss books were sold in 20 languages.

The Dr. Seuss books were written by Theodor Seuss Geisel, who died in 1991 after earning about $500 million in book royalties. During his lifetime, Geisel turned down nearly all efforts to merchandise his characters but his widow, Audrey Geisel, decided after his death to allow the Seuss name to be marketed in order to protect the trademark.

Dr. Seuss Enterprises, which also has become involved with developing theme parks, Broadway plays and a Nickelodeon cable television show, does not disclose financial results. Business Week magazine has reported that it earned $7 million to $10 million annually in residuals, mostly from books and television specials.

The most famous Dr. Seuss book was 1955's ``The Cat in the Hat,'' created as the result of a bet to write a reading primer using a vocabulary of 225 words. In all, Geisel wrote and illustrated 44 books and penned 14 others from his home in La Jolla.

`` `Green Eggs and Ham' was very dear to me, so I personally would have preferred that it not be commercialized,'' Kissel said. ``But there's no reason why the Seuss characters should not be any different from Barney or the Warner Bros. characters or Mickey Mouse.''

As for Esprit, it has been attempting to regain the sway it held in young women's apparel in the 1980s but ceded to The Gap, J. Crew and Guess. During most of the 1990s, Esprit was held back by management turmoil and poorly executed strategies but has been expanding operations this year.

``Esprit was one of the most palatable expressions of arrogant hipness in the 1980s and doing Dr. Seuss would have been beneath them,'' Kissel said. ``The fact that they're doing it now shows how different they've become.''

The Galleria was the starting point a decade ago for Walt Disney Co.'s first Disney Store, which now number 640. Disney also opened its first ESPN Store at the mall in mid-September. Additionally, descendants of The Three Stooges recently announced plans to launch a Knuckleheads store selling Stooges goods at the Galleria as the first outlet in a nationwide chain.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1--color) Take a peek, Look inside

Grab your Sneech, For a Ride! (excerpt from Dr. Seuss' Cat in the Hat)

(2--color) Shoppers walk by the Dr. Seuss store Monday at the Glendale Galleria.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News