Hollywood & Highland retail woes mount as parking, layout criticized. (Up Front).

The stairway leading up to the Kodak Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland complex is called Awards Walk. But merchants whose stores line that area have their own name for it: the "Corridor of Death."

That's because sales at many of the high-end stores bordering the walkway are not doing as well as stores located off Babylon Court, the center's main area marked by two huge white elephants that tower over a stylishly designed outdoor plaza.

Three months after Hollywood & High-land's much-anticipated opening, two shops already have closed along Awards Walk, and even some of the stores off Babylon Court are experiencing lower-than-anticipated sales.

The parking and layout at the multi-tiered structure appear to be primary culprits. Officials at TrizecHahn Corp., the mall's developer, said they are aware of the problems and have been working on them.

"I've had 20 written complaints left at the store about the parking," said David Ramos, one of the managers at Bebe, a high-end women's store. It costs $3 an hour to park if tickets aren't validated.

While business is off at malls nationwide, Hollywood & Highland has had an especially difficult time because its success depends on international travelers -- many of whom are staying home as a result of the recession and concerns about terrorism.

"Knowing the business model makes me think it is going to be tough for them because tourism was supposed to be an important component," said Richard Giss, a retail expert at Deloitte & Touche. "While tourism is down it will be difficult."

Many of Hollywood & Highland's retailers are committed to sticking it out until the economy turns around and the tourists return. "We believe it is going to be the next Third Street Promenade. It's just in the infancy stage right now," said David Oliver, president of Ames, a women's clothing store. Currently his store sales are down 15 to 20 percent from post-Sept. 11 sales projections.

"I don't feel the need to panic right now," said Emilie Davidson Hoyt, founder and president of Lather, a beauty store located along the Awards Walk.

But the problems go beyond foreign tourists. Some shoppers and merchants say it is difficult to figure out the layout of the retail complex. Because of curves arid corridors, many stores are hidden from view and there aren't enough signs to mark the way.

Avant Premier, which sold European designer labels, and Santini Mavardi, which sold designer shoes, closed their doors in January, only two months after opening.

"Sales have been slower than expected, very much so," said Liz West, manager at Planet Funk, an Awards Walk clothing store catering to teenagers and young adults. "This has been publicized for the last year or so. I thought they would be doing well. We're kind of disappointed."

Retailers' woes

Other retailers along the walkway are similarly disappointed. "It's been kind of slow," said George Villalta, who works at Optique Vivendi, an eyeglass store. "It's not what we expected."

Marina Berchenko, a manager at the Ames store, agreed that sales were slower than anyone had anticipated. "There are a lot of problems in the mall," she said.

Few shoppers, she observed, realize that the Awards Walk exists or that there are a string of high-end stores such as Coach, Louis Vuitton and Swarovski.

A big problem is signage. Shoppers are attracted to Babylon Court because of the 33-foot high elephants that are perched on seven-story high pillars. Once in the court, which has several cafes and restaurants, customers rarely wander over to Awards Walk because there are few signs pointing the way. "Nobody knows we exist until they get lost and wander in," Berchenko said.

But even a good retail location off Babylon Court doesn't assure strong sales. Executives at Sephora, a retailer of cosmetics and beauty goods that has a prime location, reduced the store's sales goal by 30 percent in January when the original goal could not be met, said Anna Del Carmen, one of the store's managers.

Hollywood & Highland general manager Russell Joyner said he has been working on the signage and parking problems.

"It's an exercise in patience," Joyner said, noting that the complex is waiting for the Academy Awards to take place March 24 before new permanent signs are put up to direct consumers to areas in the mall that are not as visible as Babylon Court.

"(Awards Walk) is a work in progress," he said. "We hope to make the corridor a destination point. We'll be branding the corridor to establish its long-term value."

But retailers believe this should have been done before the mall opened. "There should have been more marketing so people knew this corridor is here," said West of Planet Funk.

The parking issue is more complicated because the city's Community Redevelopment Agency owns the parking lot and sets the parking fees. TrizecHahn officials are talking to the city about reducing the parking fees to give shoppers a break. "We're optimistic that sooner or later this will be resolved," Joyner said.