Prada's Rodeo Drive Flagship to Enter Dubious Market.Just months after clothier Tommy Hilfiger Thomas Jacob Hilfiger (born March 24, 1951 in Elmira, New York) is a world-famous American fashion designer and creator of the eponymous "Tommy Hilfiger" and "Tommy" brands. Biography Hilfiger was born March 24, 1951 and raised in Elmira, New York. Corp. pulled the plug on its gargantuan gar·gan·tu·an adj. Of immense size, volume, or capacity; gigantic. See Synonyms at enormous. gargantuan Adjective huge or enormous [after Gargantua, a giant in Rabelais' custom-built Rodeo Drive Rodeo Drive (IPA: /roʊˈdeɪoʊ/) generally refers to a famous three-block long stretch of boutiques and shops in Beverly Hills, California, United States, although the street stretches further north and south. flagship store, Prada is preparing to begin construction of a similarly massive flagship on the famous Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, city (1990 pop. 31,971), Los Angeles co., S Calif., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles; inc. 1914. The largely residential city is home to many motion-picture and television personalities. shopping street. The ultra chic Italian company expects to begin building its three-story flagship at 339 N. Rodeo Drive this summer. It's slated to open in a year and will incorporate the adjacent Prada Men's store. Prada officials declined to disclose how much the company plans to spend on the project. Designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas Remment Koolhaas (born November 17 1944 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist and "Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design" at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, USA. , the store is expected to be impressive, even by Rodeo standards. But industry observers are wondering if investing millions in a fashionable emporium on one of the world's most famous shopping streets is a wise business decision, given the precarious retail climate and the abysmal performance of the behemoth behemoth (bē`hĭmŏth, bĭhē`–) [Heb.,=plural of beast], large, fanciful primeval monster, like Leviathan, evoking the hippopotamus mentioned in the Book of Job. Tommy Hilfiger flagship up the block that closed earlier this year. "Prada is a great brand, and Rodeo is a very prestigious area to open up a really showcase store," said Tony Cherbak, retail expert with Deloitte & Touche. "But, that being said, these are trying economic times and it will be a challenge for the company to be successful (there)." A Prada spokeswoman declined to comment on the economic feasibility of opening such a lavish new store on Rodeo. The 14,000-square-foot store has been designed to have a front wall made of aircraft-grade aluminum, which will drop into a subterranean pocket, opening the trendy store to the street. Establishing a major presence on the street, analysts said, is a good way to market the label. But it may be tough to make the store a profitable venture. "The success of this monument (on Rodeo Drive) depends on the economic times. And it depends on the line. Prada has been a hot line for the last few years, but it could fade, depending on who's designing it," said one New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of retail analyst. Furthermore, Prada' s net income in 2000 fell 43 percent from the previous year to $82.7 million (94 million euros). In addition, the company's major expansion has left it saddled with a heavy debt load, which was to have been alleviated by an initial public offering this spring. But now the company says it won't go public on the Milan stock market until this summer, due to weak market conditions. But none of that is stopping Prada from proceeding with its massive project on Rodeo, or its three other major flagships -- the former Guggenheim SoHo location in lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York. Lower Manhattan is generally defined as the area delineated on the north by Chambers Street, on the west by the Hudson River (North , a nine-story tower in San Francisco and a 21,000-square-foot store in Tokyo. Tommy Hilfiger boldly launched the same kinds of expansion around the world a few years ago, and then started backpedaling last year. Early this year, Hilfiger decided that the Third Street Promenade The Third Street Promenade is a pedestrian street in Santa Monica, California, United States. It is considered one of the premier shopping destinations in West Los Angeles and frequently draws crowds from all over Los Angeles County. in Santa Monica would be a better location for its products. "I'm not sure the demographics of Tommy Hilfiger was the Rodeo Drive customer," said Aubie Goldenberg, a retail expert with Ernst & Young. |
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