California Apparel News

Approaching its 20th anniversary, Santa Monica, Calif.–headquartered contemporary chain Planet Blue is scheduled to open its first Northern California store on May 23.

It will open a 1,900-square-foot shop in Town & Country Village in Palo Alto. The leafy enclave is a five-minute drive from Stanford University, and it also is the address for high-profile boutiques such as Gap Inc.’s Intermix and Athleta stores, along with independent contemporary chains Ruti and B. Real Women’s Apparel.

Planet Blue founder and Creative Director Ling-Su Chinn said the San Francisco Bay Area is an important place for the retailer to have a physical presence.

“The Bay Area has been one of our top-performing metros since the launch of the website (http://shopplanetblue.com), so we know our customer is there,” Chinn said in a statement.

The Palo Alto store will feature a denim bar, bikini and lingerie walls, and a jewelry case and will sell brands that have been popular in its four Los Angeles County locations. The Palo Alto merchandise mix will include brands such as Nightcap, Stone Cold Fox, Rory Becca, Current/Elliot and Blue Life, Planet Blue’s private-label line, which includes tops, dresses and skirts.

Planet Blue also opened three stores in Japan recently. Another Japanese store will open at the end of May. It widened its merchandise mix by collaborating on a collection, Alé by Alessandra, with Victoria’s Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio earlier this year. It also recently shipped on the first delivery of its private-label swim line, Blue Life Swim