@By:by Heather Rock Woods Bloomingdale's, which bills itself as the most famous store in the world, will open its first California outpost Nov. 8 at the Stanford Shopping Center. The company has hired 450 people to run the store, 250 more than employed by the old Emporium at the same site. The floor staff live on the Peninsula between San Francisco and San Jose, said Lorraine O'Connor, operating vice president and general manager of the new store. The executive team includes people recruited from New York.
Liza Minnelli is scheduled to sing at the Nov. 6 "Ultimate Premiere" in the shopping center parking lot. Tickets go for $250 to $1,000, and benefit the Stanford University Medical Center and the Packard Children's Hospital.
Bloomingdale's is known for its extravagant promotional events and exclusive designer merchandise in its hometown store in New York City.
But how will the New York-based fixture adapt to West Coast shoppers?
To learn about its future customers, the chain used California focus groups and sent questionnaires to 50,000 people.
"I think we have really listened to our customers. We'll substitute more casual merchandise than back East," for example, said Michael Gould, Bloomies chairman and CEO, when he swung by Palo Alto for press interviews in mid-August.
California customers also are different because they're willing to drive farther, maybe because of the weather and reliance on the automobile, said Gould, who lived in Los Angeles for 13 years.
Gould said Bloomingdales is emphasizing three things based on the comments of Californians: making the customer feel comfortable by having the same service level as Nordstrom and an open layout; featuring special merchandise available only at Bloomies, like the Calvin Klein Barbie that will arrive in stores in November; and spreading the word that Bloomies "is a place people can come for value on quality merchandise.
"Blomingdale's is an everyday store. We are not just a special occasion store," Gould said.
However, he did say Bloomies is "at the forefront of fashion and newness," and the California stores also will host events. "I think Bloomingdale's is about theater, it is a theater. The customer is a participatory audience. I think people shop for entertainment," Gould said.
The store's grand opening celebration at Stanford will be an extravagant affair. It will be held inside a huge tent outside the store, and 2,000 tickets will be sold for the event. Those attending will be treated to a cocktail buffet catered by Paula LeDuc. Minnelli will take the stage about 9 p.m.
In the weeks following the opening, a series of celebrities will make special appearances in various departments of the store. For example, on Nov. 12, 49er Ken Norton Jr. will greet visitors in the men's section. Nine days later, actress Florence Henderson will drop by the Petite Specialist section, and famous designer Nicole Miller will be in the women's section.
Bloomingdale's was founded in 1872 and operates 17 stores from New York to as far west as Minnesota. The retailer also will open California stores in Los Angeles, Sherman Oaks and Newport Beach this fall, and a second one in Los Angeles in March 1997.
Corporate parent Federated Department Stores has still not announced whether it will put a Bloomigdale's in the now vacant Emporium in San Francisco. Federated is phasing out the Emporium name after buying the chain. The Emporium store at Stanford closed in February, and Bloomingdale's has been remodeling it since.
Bloomingdale's chose the Stanford Shopping Center "because demographically this is the best shopping center for us," Gould said. "It draws customers from a large enough radius to have as a flagship store.
Gould said the store's niche is between Macy's and Neiman-Marcus, and every department store is a competitor, especially Nordstrom and Neiman-Marcus. "We are all dealing with discretionary income."
The two-floor store has 178,060 square feet of selling space, featuring clothes for everyone from infants to adults, petites to women's size 14-24, as well as casual sportswear.
The store won't have its trademark furniture displays because there isn't enough space, but there will be housewares, china, silver, crystal, bedding, luggage and small electronics.
"We're thrilled," said Julie Pitt, marketing director for the shopping center. "You can't even go to San Francisco to go to Bloomingdale's; you have to come to Palo Alto."
"We expect that a huge number of people will come from outside our primary market area," which extends about 10 miles, Pitt said.
Pitt said the center will have the traffic directors that work on busy weekends and holidays on hand to keep traffic flowing during the opening.
Three weeks later--the day after Thanksgiving--the center will kick off a valet parking program and its holiday shuttle program, which now will include stops on the Nordstrom side of the center.
"We feel Bloomingdale's will have a positive effect on the area--like downtown Palo Alto," Pitt said. "They'll get the bonus traffic from the new store here at Stanford."
"We also find our merchants are as excited as we are," she said. ". . . Most see it as an opportunity."
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