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Irvine Business ~ From neighborhood stores to global companies. By Ian Hamilton, the Orange County Register

Archive for the 'Retail' Tag

Old Navy re-opening at Irvine Spectrum, 1 in 40 chance of winning shopping spree

November 6th, 2009, 3:37 pm by Ian Hamilton

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UPDATE: Right after publishing this I got an update from the Irvine Spectrum. Apparently someone has already called to see if they can camp early. In addition to the giveaway there will be a DJ, face painter, balloon artist, games and refreshments as well as a 50 percent off sale on outerwear and anyone who opens or uses an Old Navy credit card gets 30 percent off any purchase. Figure that into your calculations below.

Old Navy at the Irvine Spectrum is celebrating its grand re-opening tomorrow, Saturday, at 9 a.m. with giveaways and prizes.

The first 200 customers in line get the chance to win one of three $500 shopping spree giveaways or two $200 giveaways. I did some math on my calculator that I realize afterward I could have done on my fingers to figure out that’s a 1 in 40 chance. Now, I know what your thinking, bring three friends and you’ve got  a 1 in 10 chance of winning a shopping spree. Now I failed algebra II not once but twice but I think that means there’s a 6 percent likelihood you’ll get a $500 shopping spree and a 4 percent likelihood you’ll win a $200. Well, split four ways that’s $125 per person or $50 per person. Then you have to calculate how many pairs of clothes that is to see if it’s worth it along with the cost of gas to get there.

But…there’s also the chance to win a pair of jeans or a t-shirt too, but the Irvine Spectrum didn’t say in the press release how many t-shirts they’d give away, so there’s no way to calculate your chances there. You also have to wonder, is it a cool t-shirt/pair of jeans?

Also, how early do you have to get there on a Saturday to be one of the first 200 in line? The store opens at 9 a.m.

I’m probably going to sleep in, but I’m sure to some early bird shoppers that 1 in 40 chance sounds pretty appealing.

Old Navy is located near Carousel Court and Dave & Buster’s at the Spectrum. For more information, call 949-727-1968.

Posted in: Retail • • • • | 3 Comments »

‘Disneyworld of golf’ store to open before holidays

September 16th, 2009, 5:44 pm by Ian Hamilton

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OC golfers and tennis players will have a new place to spend their time and money come November or December.

Golfsmith Xtreme, expected to open before Christmas in Irvine, is described by a company official as the “Disneyworld of Golf.”

What makes it the Disneyworld of Golf?

The store will occupy a 40,000-square-foot space and feature a “big indoor driving range with 9 hitting bays, a huge putting green” and three simulators, said Matt Corey, senior vice president of marketing for Golfsmith. It will also have a full service tennis department.

There’s already a Golfsmith store in Santa Ana but this new one will be larger. The Golfsmith Xtreme moniker (rather than simply Golfsmith) denotes the size of this place - 40,000 square feet. Most Golfsmith stores are about half that size, and only about six of these Golfsmith Xtremes have been opened.

“We feel like this is going to be so different than anything they’ve seen in Southern California. I don’t think anybody has brought this type of experience to Orange County,” Corey said.

The store will be at 16175 Lake Forest Drive in Irvine, that’s just South of Interstate 5 right at the border of Lake Forest. It will be right next door to a Best Buy.

What say you, Orange County golfers and tennis players? Does this place interest you? Is it the Disneyworld of golf? Let us know in the comments.

Posted in: Business • Openings • • • | 8 Comments »

Will Irvine Blockbluster stores be closing?

September 16th, 2009, 1:11 pm by Ian Hamilton

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Informal calls to Irvine Blockbuster stores reveal they don’t know yet whether they’ll be closing or not.

Yesterday news broke that between 810 and 960 Blockbuster stores will be closing by the end of 2010 as the Dallas-based company tries to trim their business. Check out the full story over on the OC Retail Blog here.

An employee at one of the stores said their store usually hits their numbers so they might be alright.

There are three Blockbusters located within Irvine. Two of them are along Alton Parkway less than two miles from each other. The third is next to UC Irvine, but that Blockbuster is just two miles away from another located on the other side of the university in Newport Beach.

Blockbuster faces stiff competition from the likes of Netflix, Hulu.com and Redbox, all of which offer alternative ways of getting television and movies that don’t involve visiting a dedicated store.

Posted in: Closings • • | 3 Comments »

Mini Toys R Us opens in Irvine Spectrum Center

September 15th, 2009, 8:35 am by Ian Hamilton

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Those looking to get their Christmas shopping done early this year can start in the Irvine Spectrum Center at a new Toys R Us which opened this month.

The 2,449-square-foot space is described as a mini Toys R Us and is open just for the 2009 holidays. It’s called Toys R Us Holiday Express.

I’ve never heard of Toys R Us opening this kind of tiny holiday store, but it certainly makes sense. During the holidays the toys will probably sell themselves, and the business license filed with the city lists only eight employees, so it probably doesn’t cost too much to operate.

Posted in: Retail • • • • | 3 Comments »