Peter Alexander Opens in California

Peter Alexander built a fleet of self-named stores offering his fashion sleepwear and a cheeky sense of humor in his native Australia. He recently expanded to California, his first step toward opening a group of stores in key cities in North America.

The sleepwear magnate debuted his first California store on April 18 at the Westfield Valley Fair mall in San Jose, Calif. His second location opened May 2 at The Americana at Brand retail center in Glendale, Calif. By fall 2008, the sleepwear designer will have opened a flagship store at 109 S. Robertson Blvd., a location currently occupied by retailer Waterworks.

For more than 20 years, Alexander has been designing fashion pajamas for men and women, as well as women’s lingerie and gifts. Price points range from $50 to $70 for pajamas. Also offered are $2 chocolates and a $20,000 crystal bed. At the Robertson flagship, Peter Alexander will offer daywear for women, said Christopher Tate, vice president of Peter Alexander USA.

“The core is sleepwear, but at the end of the day, it’s a great gift store,” Tate said.

Keeping the mix diverse might be a good idea. According to New York–based marketing-research firm The NPD Group Inc., sales have slightly decreased for sleepwear. In a 12-month period ending February 2008, sales for the entire U.S. sleepwear market totaled $6.5 billion, a decrease of 2.1 percent compared with sleepwear sales of the same period the previous year.

Peter Alexander’s parent company, The Just Group, earned $880 million Australian in 2007, according to Wai Tang, director of operations. It also operates seven other fashion and accessories brands, including Dotti and Smiggle. —Andrew Asch