Orange County’s largest shopping center is on a luxury expansion spree.
South Coast Plaza has added a string of high-end brands this year, including London jeweler Jessica McCormack, fashion house Tom Ford and a new Tiffany & Co. boutique featuring the first Blue Box Café outside New York City, from celebrity chef Daniel Boulud.
More luxury additions are on the way, including Italian fashion house Schiaparelli.
“We will be opening the first standalone Schiaparelli store in the United States, which we think is tremendous tribute to the assortment of brands who are here,” Tenley Zinke, the shopping center’s new executive director of marketing, said during a recent Blue Box media event.
The new stores come as South Coast Plaza, which recorded $2.7 billion in taxable sales for the 12 months ended June 30, prepares celebrations tied to its 60th anniversary next year (see shopping center list, page 25). A big kickoff is slated for next March.
Zinke, a New York City native, brings a global luxury retail background to South Coast Plaza, having held senior marketing and communications roles at Kering, LVMH, Tiffany & Co., Net-a-Porter and Ralph Lauren.
Luxury Brands Make Their Debut
London-based Jessica McCormack selected the high-end shopping center to house the diamond jewelry brand’s first store on the West Coast.
The store opened in August as Jessica McCormack’s second U.S. boutique. The 1,600-square-foot space, on the second floor near Macy’s, features a mint green façade and arched windows inspired by the brand’s U.K. boutiques.
Tom Ford owned by Estée Lauder Cos., debuted at South Coast Plaza in September. The new 4,413-square-foot boutique, detailed with Carrara Nuvolato marble, limestone plaster and polished chrome across the entrance, will carry all fashion and accessory collections.
Tom Ford is on the center’s first level, in Jewel Court next to Macy’s. In-store services include customized, made-to-measure men’s suits.
Over in the Bloomingdale’s wing, Tiffany & Co. reopened in a new 15,000-square-foot boutique after relocating from its previous store next to Nordstrom. One major upgrade was converting the previously attached Petrossian eatery into Chef Boulud’s Blue Box Café to match the jeweler’s Manhattan flagship.
As the only Tiffany’s Blue Box outside New York City, it is also the first California outpost for Boulud’s restaurant company, The Dinex Group.
“The Blue Box Café at South Coast Plaza will bring a taste of our New York favorites, made with many beautiful ingredients from Southern California,” Boulud told the Business Journal. “We will offer a menu with a French touch, inspired by the healthy and light California lifestyle — chic, casual and delicious.”
The menu will include a Breakfast at Tiffany’s experience, inspired by the 1961 film of the same name, and Tea at Tiffany’s.
Upcoming Openings
Schiaparelli is slated to open its first standalone U.S. boutique at South Coast Plaza by year-end.
Seven new stores are opening along with Schiaparelli this fall, with a new location for ZARA also.
Gwyneth Paltrow’s gluten-free concept, goop Kitchen, plans to open in early 2027. The health-focused delivery-and-pickup-only chain lists 12 California locations, The South Coast Plaza location will be one of two in Southern California that offers dine-in seating.