Seeking big spenders, Maserati zooms to Pasadena site.

AFTER two years of sharing dealership space with fellow Italian luxury nameplate Ferrari, Maserati is getting a home of its own.

Ferrari Maserati of Beverly Hills, which for the last two years has been the top-grossing Ferrari and Maserati dealership in North America, is opening a Maserati-only dealership this week in Pasadena--the first of its kind in the United States.

Giacomo Mattioli, president of the Beverly Hills dealership, expects to sell five Maseratis a month at the 6,500-square-foot location, which is located in the newly restored Union Gas Station building at 300 S. Fair Oaks Ave. That would put it on par with sales at the Beverly Hills dealership.

"They want to establish and increase awareness of the company, as well as its product capacity," said Mattioli. "It's probably double of Ferrari and certainly will require a large. dealer network presence."

Maserati quit the U.S. market in 1991 due to quality issues, then returned in 2002.

Last year, Maserati sold 960 vehicles in the United States. That number is expected to double this year due to the September introduction of the Quattroporte sedan. Mattioli said.

Maserati of Pasadena will serve customers in Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley. Its manager, David Greenbaum, was previously with Bentley Beverly Hills.

"Pasadena, due to its demographics, was a very interesting market for this kind of car," said Mattioli, noting that he was looking for households with incomes of more than $300,000 and net worth of more than $2 million. "We found a lot of people buying cars from the competition, and it made a lot of sense for us to penetrate that market."

Switching Gyms

CIM Group Inc. has attracted a new fitness chain to the Hollywood Galaxy--two, in fact.

The long-struggling complex at 7021 Hollywood Blvd. had been slated as the site for Bodies in Motion, which brought in its equipment last fall and even sold memberships.

But Seth Crystal, a Bodies in Motion spokesman, said that after planning to use only the ground floor of the Galaxy, the company realized it also needed to take over the second floor.

"The second floor of the space wasn't properly surveyed and was not structurally sound enough to support the weight of the gym equipment," Crystal said. "It would have cost a few million dollars to retrofit the floor and it did not make sense for this project."

Jeff Kreshek, vice president of leasing for CIM, denies that's the reason Bodies in Motion departed, but declined to elaborate. "That's not quite what happened," he said. "The leveling of the old theater floor is part of any exercise."

Instead of Bodies in Motion, the Galaxy will have L.A. Fitness, which has confirmed signing a lease deal for 43,000 square feet of space on the second floor. L.A. Fitness, which has 110 clubs nationwide, expects to open at the Galaxy in the fourth quarter of 2005, as it works through the structural issues of the space.

"It's located within a heck of a lot of density," said Bill Horner, senior vice president of real estate for L.A. Fitness. He noted that the club chose the Galaxy as a location because of the large amount of parking available.

Meanwhile, Bodies in Motion is continuing to scout out space in Hollywood, which would be the sixth location for the chain. It is also refunding memberships signed for the Galaxy space. Besides L.A. Fitness, Longs Drug Stores has inked a deal at the Galaxy.

Umberto's National Target

Beverly Hills hair salon Umberto has launched a line of 16 styling products in Target Stores nationwide. The line, which debuted this month, includes shampoo, conditioner, styling aids and brushes. Most products retail for $4.99-$9.99.

The three-salon chain met with Target executives about a year ago to pitch the brush and a hair coloring kit, said Umberto manager Babette Beja. Instead, Target suggested Umberto create a more expansive offering.

This is Target's first luxury hair-care partnership, said Paula Thornton-Greear, a spokeswoman for Minneapolis-based Target. "It's like we're bringing little bit of Hollywood to Target stores," she said.

Beverly Hills Sales Up

Seven out of 10 stores in Beverly Hills stores reported same or better sales for the second quarter of 2004 compared with the like period a year earlier, according to the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce, which conducted the survey of 122 retail businesses in the first week of July.

Nearly a third of Beverly Hills businesses said they were seeing a decline in second-quarter sales compared with the first quarter. More than half of all businesses reported improving on first-quarter sales.

On average, stores saw a 3.5 percent sales increase for the second quarter compared to the first. Of the shops that saw an improvement, the average increase in sales was 14 percent, while those seeing a decline had, on average, a decrease of 9 percent. Ten percent of survey respondents, including many who reported declining or limited growth, said that the city's infrastructure project impacted sales.

Staff reporter Rebecca Flass can he reached at [phone], ext. 230, or at [e-mail].