NATIONAL GOLF RETAILER OPENS OUTLET IN WOODLAND HILLS.

Byline: ENRIQUE RIVERO Now Open

Golf equipment retailer Golfsmith International Inc. is taking a swing at the Los Angeles market.

The 32-year-old Austin, Texas-based company - long known for its extensive catalog of golf equipment and accessories - on Thursday officially opened a store in Woodland Hills.

Golfsmith Golf Center is the company's 27th retail outlet in a chain begun in 1995, and the first in Los Angeles, said Paula Baker, vice president of retail for Golfsmith International.

The company looked at such demographics as the surrounding population, the number of golf courses, and the density of retail before settling on the Woodland Hills site at 21494 Victory Blvd., at Canoga Avenue, Baker said.

``It's all about finding the right location with the right demographics, and Woodland Hills is the first one that has become available (in Los Angeles) that fits our criteria,'' she said.

The site was formerly occupied by Commerce-based Designer Labels for Less' flagship store, which moved out in January.

Golfsmith is a name well-known among golfers for its catalog and is particularly beloved by do-it-yourselfers who order parts to build their own clubs, said Brent Schoenbaum, a senior analyst with the trade retail services group at accounting firm Deloitte & Touche LLP in Los Angeles.

And given the area's sunny climate and abundance of golfers with plenty of cash, the new Golfsmith should find no shortage of customers.

``I would suspect that in Southern California, given our late emergence from the recession, you've got people out doing more with their money now (who) are more inclined to purchase sporting goods and other luxury items,'' he said.

Founded in 1967 by Carl and Barbara Paul in the basement of their New Jersey home, the company started out specializing in custom clubmaking and produced its first catalog in 1969.

The company moved to Austin in 1973.

Though it has always had a retail operation in Austin, Golfsmith opened its first stand-alone retail outlet in Houston in April 1995, according to Baker.

It has since opened stores in major metropolitan centers such as Denver, Atlanta, Dallas, Long Island, New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, Seattle, Phoenix and San Diego.

A Golfsmith Golf Center is slated to open in the next few months in Ontario, adjacent to the Ontario Mills shopping center, Baker said.

The approximately 20,000-square-foot store in Woodland Hills features a full-size putting green, waterfall and hitting nets - and, of course, a full range of golf-related merchandise.

``It has all the entertainment qualities and features that customers are looking for these days,'' she said.

It's just the kind of one-stop shopping environment that more sporting goods retailers are adopting, and that customers indeed want, according to Schoenbaum.

``Clearly it sounds like they're headed in the right direction in a growing trend in retail,'' he said.

Store hours are Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The telephone number is [phone].

In other news related to San Fernando Valley-area businesses:

On May 1, the Candy Factory moved from its Riverside Drive location in North Hollywood to 12508 Magnolia Blvd. in Valley Village. It's the same building the candy maker occupied from 1978 to 1993. Store hours are Tuesday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sundays are reserved for private parties. The telephone number is [phone].

Kinko's Inc., the Ventura-based copy center chain that's become about as common across the American landscape as Starbucks and Taco Bells, celebrated the opening in Chicago on Thursday of its 1000th store. The opening prompted Chicago Mayor Richard Daley to proclaim the day Kinko's Day.

In a development that may or may not be a sheer coincidence, Designer Labels for Less, which in January had vacated the Golfsmith site, is back in the neighborhood - kitty-corner from its old home, to be exact. The discount chain will open a new, 6,000 square-foot store at 6520 Canoga Ave. in Canoga Park, at the Warner Marketplace by Aug. 14, according to a company official.