First Look: Banana Republic unveils lifestyle concept at Westfield Century City
Banana Republic has reopened its revamped store at Westfield Century City in Los Angeles after an extensive redesign.
The 7,589-sq.-ft. space reflects the brand’s lifestyle concept, which made its debut in New York City’s SoHo area. With an interior design by Noa Santos of Nainoa and artwork curated by creative advisor Jacqueline Schnabel, the LA store blends fashion, art and global culture.
The revamped space also features a range of services designed to enhance the Banana Republic shopping experience. These include a spacious, open-seating fitting room lounge (with a dedicated styling area), a bar and an in-house tailor.
The store has a modern coastal vibe, with Venetian plaster walls, brass accents and white oak floors blending the brand’s heritage with natural elements. It consists of several rooms with each featuring a curated selection of products that span fashion, art, home and more.
The fashion mix showcases the brand’s August clothing collection for men and women. The revamped space also spotlights items from Banana’s Republic growing home collection, from Cote Bougie scented candles sourced from Morocco to artwork brought in from New York-based French artist Servane Mary.
The store will features a ranges services designed to enhance the Banana Republic shopping experience, including a spacious, open-seating fitting room lounge with dedicated styling area, as well as an in-house tailor.
Banana Republic’s new lifestyle store concept comes amid signs that the Gap Inc. brand, which has been looking for a new CEO since May, may be on the upswing. After several years of slumping sales, sales in its first-quarter (ended May 4) rose 2% to $440 million. Comparable sales were up 1%.
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“The brand's continued focus on fixing the fundamentals drove sequential improvement in performance compared to the fourth quarter,” Gap Inc. stated in its first-quarter earnings release.