Retail Report
Buckhead center will get `Rodeo Drive' face-lift
Atlanta Business Chronicle - by Marcy Lamm
An Atlanta developer who is beginning to develop specialty retail in north Atlanta plans to give his Buckhead shopping center a face-lift.
Lee Najjar, president of NhaCo., said he will remodel Andrews Square on East Andrews Drive in Buckhead (home of the Celebrity Rock Café) beginning next month.
"It will look more like Rodeo Drive," said Najjar, referring to the upscale Beverly Hills, Calif., shopping district. He plans to add an additional 40,000 to 50,000 square feet to the center, which he purchased two years ago, and build a parking deck behind it.
Najjar is nearing completion on a 60,000-square-foot specialty retail center near St. Ives Country Club on Medlock Bridge Road. The center will have four restaurants (including one run by the former general manager of 103 West), an interior design house, florist, wine and cigar shop, and art gallery. The center, which is scheduled to open within the next month, has a clay tile roof and marble floors.
"In 1992, '93 and '94, people were buying existing shopping centers because they were cheap," said Najjar. "Now, B and C quality [centers] are becoming expensive. It's easier now to build with a new design. It doesn't cost that much more than normal centers."
Najjar would only say he spent several million dollars on the shopping center near St. Ives, which has not yet been named. He said he also will begin construction in about four months on an 80,000-square-foot specialty center in North Fulton on Old Milton Parkway.
KING OF THE WORLD. Republic Industries Inc. said at its May 20 annual meeting that it plans to implement phase two of its plan for retail dominance, industry trade publication Automotive News reported in its latest issue.
In Atlanta, Republic owns Chuck Clancy Ford, Sutherlin Automotive Group, Gene Evans Ford and Hub Ford.
At the meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., H. Wayne Huizenga, company chairman and co-CEO, predicted sales will be $60 billion within five years. Republic's sales totaled $10.3 billion in 1997.
The first weapon in Republic's arsenal is to test market a "sub-brand" at its new car dealerships using the Auto
Nation USA logo below the dealership name, said Steven Berrard, Republic co-CEO, at the annual meeting.
The second step involves dealerships' salespeople cross-selling brands by referring customers to other Republic dealerships when necessary. The company said, the third step is an attempt to dominate the Internet.
Local dealers said, so far, none of these proposed changes in Republic's strategy have affected the Atlanta market.
Godzilla. Columbus-based Carmike Cinemas Inc. said it expects second-quarter earnings for the period ending June 30 to be significantly lower than analysts' estimates in part because of the disappointing opening of "Godzilla." Carmike said films did not perform well in April, but are expected to perform more favorably in June. The company will report its second-quarter results on or around July 21. Carmike is the largest motion picture exhibitor in the United States in terms of the number of theaters and screens operated. The company's shares (NYSE: CKE) have declined recently, closing May 29 at $26.19.
$1 billion on peachtree. Peachtree Street merchants, restaurants and hotels will once again be included this summer in Visa's Famous Streets event, which rewards cardholders for using their Visa cards between June 1 and August 31 on any of nine famous streets.
Visa dubbed the other following streets famous: Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, Calif.; all of midtown Manhattan in New York; Union Square in San Francisco; Michigan Avenue in Chicago; South Coast Plaza in Orange County, Calif. ; Worth Avenue in Palm Beach, Fla.; Rittenhouse Row in Philadelphia; and Royal Street in New Orleans. Retail sales on Peachtree Street totaled
$1.25 billion in 1997, according to Visa, which said 73 merchants will participate in this year's promotion.
HAUTE COUTURE. The Nicole Miller boutique at Lenox Square will soon sell her new couture line of gowns. The gowns' prices range from $1,500 to $4,000. Miller will design 15 dresses per season and cut 25 of each style to sell in several of her stores.
The Atlanta boutique will carry five of the 15 styles this spring, said co-owner Edra Weiner.
DISASTER RELIEF. National Piano Repossession Center has just reopened in a new location at 7000 Peachtree Industrial after its existing building on Peachtree Industrial Blvd. was destroyed by a tornado April 7. Manager Bill Scarborough said 63 instruments at the store were demolished in the storm.
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