Rodeo Drive gets star treatment

Rodeo Drive was not quite down and out, but owners of chic stores along the glitzy Beverly Hills thoroughfare were worried that it was losing its lustre.

So they have given the Drive a makeover, the first significant upgrade in more than a decade for one of the world’s most high-profile shopping districts.

With the work almost completed, Rodeo Drive appears to be attracting more wealthy customers and quality stores just as nationwide luxury sales and tourism are rebounding along with the economy.

The trend was reflected in a 40% jump in early holiday sales.

“When you come here, you’re purchasing an experience,” said Ali Soltani, vice president of the David Orgell jewellery store.

“So long as we maintain our mystique and provide that special experience, that twinkle in the stars, Rodeo Drive will always be pre-eminent.”

The €14.2m facelift began last summer at a time when sales were declining and several high class stores had given way to shops that perpetually pushed sale items.

Classic palms replaced ficus trees along the street, which stretches for nearly three blocks.

Pavements were widened and crosswalks added to attract people who like to stroll while they shop. Nearby streets that form the so-called Beverly Hills business triangle will get similar treatment.

In September, the Rodeo Drive Committee, a business group, inaugurated the Walk of Style to boost the street’s image as a fashion destination.

Italian designer Giorgio Armani was the first honouree. A shiny, 14-foot sculpture of a torso by artist Robert Graham serves as a symbol of the new attraction.

Shoppers have had mixed reactions.

“It’s so elegant and nice here,” said Annie Mann, a visitor from Atlanta. “I feel comfortable going into any store.”

But Mimi Taiwo, a resident of Connecticut, was not impressed.

“In Paris, you have nice sidewalk cafes, beautiful flowers and more street life,” she said. “This to me is very plastic.”

Recent sales figures suggest business is picking up, and strong results were expected through the holiday season, said Todd Steadman, director of economic development for the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce.

Meanwhile, average rents on Rodeo Drive jumped from €180 to €210 a square foot in the last year, making it the sixth most expensive shopping district in the country.

Responding to the recovery, Louis Vuitton and Cartier are expanding their stores, diamond dealer De Beers plans to open a store next year, and construction is under way on a Prada store designed by architect Rem Koolhaas.

Fred Hayman, who named a perfume after his legendary store on Rodeo, believes the street is regaining the image it enjoyed in its heyday of the early 1960s, when he opened his shop.

“We had a bar with bartenders, a yellow Rolls Royce to pick up customers and deliver things … I put in a pool table, and Sinatra would come by and play pool,” said Hayman, now 78 and retired.

In this age of well-guarded celebrities, megastars are unlikely to openly walk the street. But Hayman, who strolls the street every day with his two dogs, does hope to see more pavement cafes, brilliant window displays and street life.

“It’s a dream, but it should become a reality,” he said.