The LA Boutique Wars

What’s going on with clothing boutiques in LA? Two conflicting stories have come out in recent days that have us sitting here in NYC scratching our heads. Both articles cite growing economic instability in the city (and the country in general), making life difficult for boutique owners. Both reference the same few boutiques that have shuttered in recent months, such as Iconology, Lily Savitch, and Filly. But that’s where the similarities end.

On November 30, Women’s Wear Daily reported that life’s getting harder for certain boutique owners in LA, because so many new boutiques have cropped up that the competition between them is too fierce:

“There used to be three boutiques on my street, and now there are 30,” said Deborah Wolsh, owner of seven-year-old Ethel on Third Street. “There has to be some kind of fallout.”

In the last several months, Eveline Morel, owner of two-year-old EM & Co. on Third Street, said four stores — Romp, Pixie Market, Magenta and Threads — have planted themselves on her block. She cautioned that owners without defined perspectives may get lost in the shuffle.

Despite the challenges, the most determined merchants persevere. “It just seems like every time a store goes out that a new one goes in, somebody who has a better mousetrap,” Merrick said.

On the flip side, the LA Times published an article on December 2 that painted a far gloomier picture, suggesting that the retail climate in LA has gone sour for all boutique owners, that customers’ tighter purse strings are sending them instead to mass market shops:

“It was like a vacuum cleaner had sucked up all our customers,” said Iconology co-owner Michelle Dalton Tyree…Nor are the new stores the only ones struggling. Some of L.A.’s most established boutiques are facing similar conditions. Tracey Ross, whose eponymous store has always been popular among stylish actors and socialites, said that in her 17 years in business, she’s never experienced such a dark retail period and has had to cut back on her sales staff hours to compensate.

Most agree a confluence of factors has coalesced into the perfect shop-sinking storm, not the least of which is the uncertain economy. When consumers start tightening their purse strings, high-end retail suffers first.

So what’s the verdict? We’re hesitant to blame the sluggish national economy for the woes of the LA boutique owners, at least not entirely. LA is a town more resilient to economic hardship than others in this country, with its concentration of extreme wealth in the form of celebrities and their hangers-on. NYC has a similar economic landscape, and its boutique scene seems to be thriving. So what’s up with LA?

WWD: Shakeout for Specialty Boutiques in Los Angeles (subscription required)

Los Angeles Times: The Boutique Blues