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South Coast Plaza
USINFO | 2013-10-29 13:12
| South Coast Plaza | |
 One of the shopping center's west entrances |
|
| Location |
Costa Mesa, California United States |
| Address | 3333 Bristol Street |
| Opening date | March 15, 1967 |
| Developer | C.J. Segerstrom & Sons |
| Owner | Segerstrom family |
| Architect | Victor Gruen Associates |
| No. of stores and services | 250+ |
| No. of anchor tenants | 5 |
| Total retail floor area | 2,800,000 square feet (260,000 m2) |
| No. of floors | 3 |
| Website | Official Website |
South Coast Plaza is an upscale-luxury shopping center in Costa Mesa, California, USA, in Orange County. The largest mall on the west coast, its sales of over 1.5 billion are highest in the United States. Its 250 retailers represent the highest concentration of design fashion retail in the U.S, with the second highest sales-volume in California at $800 per square foot—second only to Westfield Valley Fair in San Jose-Santa Clara, at $809 per square foot. The national average is $411 per square foot.
In 2004, South Coast Plaza received the Federal Trademark as "The Ultimate Shopping Resort".
Many ultra-luxury brands, which have very few boutiques nationwide, have chosen South Coast Plaza as one of their few (and for some brands, their only) store locations. Zara made its debut in the California market opening their first California store in South Coast Plaza in 2004. In 2005, French luxury design house Chloé opted to open their second United States boutique at South Coast Plaza. As of Fall 2008, this is still the only southern California location, with Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills notably absent. Watch Manufacturer Rolex opened their flagship U.S. location at South Coast Plaza. Purveyor of modern furniture Room & Board also opened a 40,000 square foot showroom in 2002.
Many larger luxury brand stores gather here as well, with some, such as Harry Winston, Tiffany's, Cartier, Calypso Christiane Celle, Montblanc, Rolex, Louis Vuitton, Versace, Prada, Dior, Valentino, Chanel, Bottega Veneta, Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci, Hermès, Christian Louboutin, Barneys New York Co-Op, and Nordstrom reporting their location at South Coast as having the highest sales in the United States.
The shopping center also features restaurants such as Lawry'sCarvery, Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdales, and Vie De France as opposed to a food court. Additionally, features such as valet parking, concierge services, access lounge and even courtesy umbrellas or hot beverage service continue to highlight the upscale nature of the mall.
Pop culture
The center's collection of boutiques and department stores has made it one of the most alluded-to center's in the world. Characters in The OC, Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, Clueless, and Beverly Hills, 90210 all mention this particular shopping center as a center of teenage life. One sign of South Coast Plaza's prominence is its inclusion as a store location in designer advertisements, alongside world shopping destinations like London, Tokyo, and New York City.
