Kitson to Debut Its Biggest Store at Americana

High-profile specialty retailer Kitson will open its first store outside of Los Angeles’ stylish Robertson Boulevard in late 2008 when it debuts at The Americana at Brand retail center, the new $400 million project in Glendale, Calif.

Kitson’s Glendale location will be called Kitson at The Americana and will occupy key real estate at the 15.5-acre retail center, according to Todd M. Russell, the executive vice president of retail leasing and marketing for Caruso Affiliated, the developer that opened The Americana.

Located at The Americana’s center area, a park-like section called the Green, Kitson’s Americana neighbors will be a three-story Barnes & Noble, a Calvin Klein boutique, a Barneys New York Co-Op and the new Tiffany & Co. concept boutique, which also will open in fall 2008.

The Americana’s Kitson also will be its biggest in the retailer’s fleet of four boutiques located on Robertson. The Americana store will be a two-level, 15,000-square-foot emporium. The upper level will house a 5,000-square-foot men’s store. The lower level will be a 10,000-square-foot store for women’s and kid’s apparel, said Fraser Ross, owner of Kitson.

Kitson at The Americana will sell everything offered in its four Robertson boutiques from $4 Kitson mints to $1,800 Great China Wall hoodies, as well as footwear and fragrances, Ross said. “We’re going to make it Kitson shopping, but we’re going to adapt to the marketplace there. We don’t know what will work up there yet,” he said.

The Kitson chief also guaranteed that the new store will produce celebrity events similar to the event held at Kitson’s original stores. Kitson’s Robertson boutiques have developed a reputation for hosting events that attract paparazzi and crowds. Celebrities Justin Timberlake and Paris Hilton have dropped by Kitson to celebrate the debuts of their respective fashion lines.

Russell said that he had long been interested in Kitson as a mall tenant.

“It’s an anchor on Robertson,” Russell said. “The Kitson brand is recognized through the world because of all the tourists who walk through Robertson.”

When he was a leasing executive for South Coast Plaza, Russell pitched Ross on opening a Kitson at the Costa Mesa, Calif.–based luxury center more than four years ago. He reported Ross politely declined the offer.

“We weren’t ready for expansion then,” Ross said.

Kitson licensed its name to a company that opened a Kitson store in Dubai in 2007. Kitson also is planning to open stores in Japan, although no opening dates have been set for those stores. —Andrew Asch