Call it the Rodeo Drive restoration. For the first time since the Great Recession, there is almost no vacancy on Rodeo Drive, the international luxury shopping street in Beverly Hills. ....some of the famed thoroughfare's iconic retailers are in the midst of intricate renovation projects. Some of the projects are expected to take up to a year to complete, a relatively long time in the construction business. The high-profile street also will introduce new brands this year. In July, French watchmaker Patek Philippe will open its first American boutique on Rodeo Drive. Veteran Rodeo shop owner Thomas Blumenthal divided the former Valentino space at 360 N. Rodeo [Luxe Rodeo Drive Hotel] to house the Patek Philippe and a Rolex store, which will open in June. Rodeo's real estate shuffle is a sign of a good economy, said Blumenthal, president and chief executive of Gearys, located at 365 N. Rodeo. "For a couple of years, people were cautious," Blumenthal said of 2008 and 2009. "But business is robust again. They're doing all of the things they wanted to do in the past three years." excerpt from http://www.apparelnews.net/news/retailing/050312-Beverly-Hills-Retail-Rebound-Rodeo-Filling-Up Friday, May 4, 2012
Retail Rebound
Call it the Rodeo Drive restoration. For the first time since the Great Recession, there is almost no vacancy on Rodeo Drive, the international luxury shopping street in Beverly Hills. ....some of the famed thoroughfare's iconic retailers are in the midst of intricate renovation projects. Some of the projects are expected to take up to a year to complete, a relatively long time in the construction business. The high-profile street also will introduce new brands this year. In July, French watchmaker Patek Philippe will open its first American boutique on Rodeo Drive. Veteran Rodeo shop owner Thomas Blumenthal divided the former Valentino space at 360 N. Rodeo [Luxe Rodeo Drive Hotel] to house the Patek Philippe and a Rolex store, which will open in June. Rodeo's real estate shuffle is a sign of a good economy, said Blumenthal, president and chief executive of Gearys, located at 365 N. Rodeo. "For a couple of years, people were cautious," Blumenthal said of 2008 and 2009. "But business is robust again. They're doing all of the things they wanted to do in the past three years." excerpt from http://www.apparelnews.net/news/retailing/050312-Beverly-Hills-Retail-Rebound-Rodeo-Filling-Up 
