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Barcelino branches out

The upscale mens clothier moves beyond its roots

By KATHRYN DUBE

Barcelino Consolidated Corp., a premier retailer of men's clothing well known in the San Francisco Bay area for 20 years, is spreading its fame.

The retailer, which caters to men with a taste for very expensive clothing, expanded to the booming Pacific Northwest in October with the opening of a store at Bellevue Square Mall, Bellevue, Wash. This marked Barcelino's first move beyond its California home base.

Securing a 10-year lease with Barcelino, which took more than two years of negotiation, was a coup of sorts for Bellevue Square, a 1.3 million-square-foot mall in the affluent "Eastside" area, just eight miles from Seattle.

"Barcelino definitely brings our mall profile up a ratchet or two," said Kemper Freeman Jr., president of locally-based Bellevue Square Managers, which owns the mall. "Barcelino in one year will do as much business as the previous tenant, a jeweler, did in 35 years of business. These people are very good at what they do."

Based in Corte Madera, Calif., Barcelino carries hand-tailored men's clothing designed and manufactured in Europe.

"We specialize in Western European fashions. We also offer sportswear made in Spain, Germany, France and Austria, and sweaters from Holland," said Bahram Nazarian, Barcelino's executive vice president.

The pricey clothing is bought by top-tier executives, professional men and sports celebrities, Mr. Nazarian explained.

"Our higher quality merchandise has sold very well," he said. "There has been no price resistance."

Suits, which range in price from $1,000 to $3,500, are manufactured in Italy from fabrics exclusively loomed for Barcelino and selected by Sharam Sharei, the store's founder and president. And there is no shortage of buyers.

Store executives report a surge in demand for suits retailing up to $4,000. Other items selling well include cashmere blazers that cost $1,200 to $1,400, leather goods from $700 to $800 and sweaters in the $200 to $500 range. On two occasions, single-sale purchases at the Bellevue Square store have totaled more than $20,000 and $30,000 respectively, Mr. Nazarian said.

The Bellevue Square location is right on target for the $2.5 million to $3 million in sales Barcelino aims for during the first year of a new store's operation, he said.

Stock is split equally between suits and sportswear, according to Robert Browning, Barcelino's Bellevue Square store manager. He added that it's not uncommon to see women scouting out clothing in the afternoon, then returning with their husbands to make purchases that evening.

Barcelino first came to the attention of Bellevue Square in 1995, according to Mr. Freeman.

"We ran across Barcelino in California and were impressed with their quality," he recalled. "They said they had several hundred customers in the Bellevue, Seattle and Puget Sound area."

Negotiations spanned more than two years, though, "Because they wanted our very best spot," Mr. Freeman added.

"It took a while for them to demonstrate what they could do; the market's been good, but you can talk all you want," he said. "Until they open, it's just a lot of conversation."

Still, all the evidence seemed to indicate that Barcelino could thrive here. The 54-year-old Bellevue Square has benefited in recent years from a very strong business climate in the Pacific Northwest that has been spawned by high-tech and communications corporations. Microsoft Corp., Sierra On Line, Nintendo, Boeing, AT&T Wireless and other companies have turned the Seattle region into one of the fastest growing in the country.

"The economy is exceptionally strong due to high-tech, but better retailers have yet to come here in large numbers," Mr. Freeman said. "One by one, we're trying to bring in the better merchants."

It took 14 years to get Ann Taylor to venture into the Northwest, he recalled, and major stores such as Coach, Brooks Brothers and Bally were also initially reluctant to come. Until these retailers set up shop in Bellevue, high-end shoppers had to travel 850 miles to San Francisco or farther to shop.

When overtures were made to Barcelino about expanding into Bellevue Square, Mr. Freeman said he was astounded to find the retailer already had several hundred customers who would come down from the Pacific Northwest.

Now he has witnessed that booming trade firsthand.

"I've never seen a time when the men's clothing business had so much strength," Mr. Freeman said.

The retailer has been helped by the decision by other men's stores to focus on casual clothing, leaving Barcelino to cater to CEOs and others who dress for success, Mr. Freeman added.

Mr. Sharei is said to be passionate about Barcelino's mission, and has described himself in print as a "fabric fanatic," a "visual poet" and a "sultan of style."

Barcelino shuns fad, trendiness and designer labels on the grounds they would inflate prices too much. Though shoppers might not be acquainted with the European manufacturers it carries, Barcelino trusts that clientele will recognize lasting quality in suits manufactured by Bellvest, Ravazzolo, Canali and Novecento; slacks by Zanella; sweaters by Coogi; and shoes by Mezlan, among others. One-half of the suits are double-breasted, a style common among European businessmen.

Barcelino spent $600,000 constructing the 3,400-square-foot Bellevue Square store, Mr. Browning said.

"A stone building on a corner of center court, it makes you feel like you are in a little shop in Milan, with Italian music playing, imported granite, hand-trimmed wood, a domed ceiling with chandeliers and two galleries," he said.

The Bellevue Square location is the ninth and largest store Barcelino has opened to date. Its older stores are about 2,500 square feet, but Mr. Browning said future locations might be at least 4,000 square feet, so that more leatherwear, outerwear and sportswear can be displayed.

The chain also has units in San Francisco, Corte Madera, San Mateo, Palo Alto and San Jose. Barcelino has one women's store, in Union Square, San Francisco, called Barcelino per Donna (for Ladies). A quarter of the space in the Corte Madera store is dedicated to clothing for professional women.

All but two of the stores are located in malls. Barcelino prefers mall settings, but if located in the heart of a major city, it prefers a prime setting, like Union Square. Barcelino does not have preferences for co-tenants; its only major condition is a prime setting, in the heart of a mall, with as much window visibility as possible, Mr. Browning said.

The time had come for Barcelino to expand beyond the horizons of San Francisco Bay because the retailer had saturated the market there, according to Mr. Nazarian.

But each expansion will nevertheless be carefully considered, he added.

"You can expand into any location, but with our high-end, high-profile business, there is a need to expose customers to it. So it's better to hold back and get the right location," Mr. Nazarian said.

Each expansion of the Barcelino chain is very capital-intensive, according to Mr. Nazarian. The retailer generally spends $500,000 just to open, and the investment in stock can total more than $700,000. Barcelino expects to spend $1.5 million to $2 million with each expansion into a 3,000-square-foot to 3,500-square-foot store, he said.

The next Barcelino openings may be in downtown Seattle; Portland, Ore.; Denver; and more Eastern cities such as Washington, Baltimore and even New York. Barcelino has a goal to open in five new U.S. locations and notch $25 million to $30 million in annual sales by 2000.

The retailer also is exploring whether to open more women's shops.

Meanwhile, Mr. Freeman reports the past year was the best sales year to date for the Bellevue Square Mall. He and his daughters, the third generation involved in the business, are trying to work on another expansion that might lure a Saks Fifth Avenue, he said.