Two of the biggest block sales of the season are coming up soon. The Harvard block sale in the Fresno High neighborhood is this weekend, followed by the Terrace Avenue sale on May 26 during Memorial Day weekend. The Terrace Avenue folks tell me their sale is the biggest, though I suspect some Harvard Ave. residents might have something to say about that.
Furniture, clothing, tools and other junk-turned-treasure are for sale at both popular block sales, with yard sales generally spanning between Van Ness Boulevard and Harrison avenues.
No matter which one you go to, there’s always something to be found — even if it’s just a bite to eat and some people watching — at the block sales.
Passions Boutique has opened its third location, this one at Bullard and West avenues in the same shopping center as The Manhattan Steakhouse & Bar. The store sells women’s clothing, jewelry and purses, and caters to women of all ages. The store gets many mother/daughter/grandmother combos coming in together to shop because of its variety, manager Ruby Tello noted. Passions also carries plus size clothing, including plus-size LA Idol jeans with blinged up pockets.
Passions opened its first boutique nine years ago downtown, at 2027 Tulare St., near Fulton Mall. It has another, 2-year-old store at 1085 E. Herndon Ave., near First Street. Tello said customers repeatedly requested a new store in northwest Fresno.
Sprouts Farmers Market opens its first store in Fresno at 7 a.m. Wednesday with all kinds of hoopla. The store is in the former Sports Authority store on Blackstone Avenue, in the same shopping center as Bed Bath & Beyond. Here’s what you need to know about Sprouts.
It has an emphasis on healthy eating, which means it carries lots of produce, many organic items, along with gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free and [insert dietary restriction here]-free items. There’s 8,000+ items in the vitamin and health section. Many people compare it to a Whole Foods or a Trader Joe’s. (Ironically, the candy section is front and center as you walk into the store.)
Sprouts also bills itself as an affordable grocer. I ran into NerdMom, a local blogger who has four kids and buys a lot of gluten-free food. She tells me that the store’s prices on things like gluten-free waffles and other “Whole Foods type” stuff are lower than many other retailers. Some other products, not so much. The store sells lots of Sprouts-branded packaged foods, and the company runs its own produce distribution system — buying from farmers instead of a distributor — which means it can keep prices low on many items.
Bargain hunters, you’ll like this trick. The specials in the store’s ads start on Wednesdays. But each Wednesday’s deals overlap, so you can get the deals in last week’s circular, along with the sales in next week’s circular, on Wednesdays.
The CEO of teen clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch doesn’t want large women wearing his clothes. That’s why the store doesn’t carry anything larger than a size 10, or any extra-large sizes — at least that’s what Robin Lewis, co-author of “The New Rules of Retail” said in a recent interview with Business Insider about CEO Mike Jeffries.
From the interview: “He doesn’t want larger people shopping in his store, he wants thin and beautiful people,” Lewis told Business Insider. “He doesn’t want his core customers to see people who aren’t as hot as them wearing his clothing. People who wear his clothing should feel like they’re one of the ‘cool kids.’”
What, have the mean girls from high school morphed into a man now running an international clothing company? That’s seems like an excellent way to alienate customers (as if it isn’t off putting enough walking into the Fashion Fair Abercrombie’s dark entrance flanked by half naked boys that my 30-something self shouldn’t even be looking at).
The retailer offers XL and XXL sizes of men’s clothing mind you, but Lewis says that’s because he likely wants to appeal to beefy athletes. Apparently the CEO has never heard of a female athlete. Nor an ugly thin person.
So what do you think, shoppers? Will this make you stop shopping there? Any nuggets of truth to this way of doing business?
The Vintage Market at 601 will hold an open house/grand opening with discounts and refreshments from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday.
The 6-month old shop in the Fig Garden neighborhood is part antique and home decor store, part art gallery. Seven vendors, including four local artists, sell their wares at the shop. They range from little ceramic bird knickknacks for under $10 to an ornately carved wooden trunk for $795. The artists sell original art, such as the giant portraits by Paul Parichan of Sanger.
The large store is arranged in rooms, from the “man room” with its masculine furnishings to a small bathroom-themed room featuring a collection of vintage linens. Even if you’re not in a position to buy, the shop is visual feast with plenty to look at. Keep scrolling for some pictures of what you’ll find at the shop.
Owner Jacquelyn Shore and another partner offer in-home design services, often working with pieces a customer already has, for $125 an hour. (If you remember the Impatience’s Collectique store in Clovis, that was Shore’s previous business.) You can read more about the store here.
There will be food and drinks — “some of which are adult,” Shore says — at the open house. The business is located at 601 W. Shaw Avenue, across the street and a little east of Fig Garden Village. Details: (559) 226-1899.
KwirkWorld, Fresno’s favorite seller of shot glasses and bacon-flavored candy necklaces, is selling clothing.
You can still buy “Chugopoly,” but much of the River Park store is now devoted to tops and dresses. Owner Kirk Psenner said the wacky stuff sells great during the holidays. But during the rest of the year? Not so much. To keep money coming in, a big portion of the floor space has been turned over to clothing that the owner says is affordable and cute. Think ModCloth-style clothing and vintage-inspired pieces. He chose clothing that’s less teeny bopperish and more geared toward women in their 20s through 40s.
Tops run in the $20 to $30+ range and dresses from $30 to $40ish. T-shirts and baseball caps are available for the fellas. Keep scrolling to see photos of the clothing.
But fear not, fans of stick-on hipster mustaches, the novelty items will take over the store again for the holidays. And there’s about to be a lot more KwirkWorld to shop at. A new smaller KwirkWorld store just opened at Sierra Vista Mall next to the movie theater. And another store is scheduled to open in the Campus Pointe shopping center at Fresno State once it’s built next year. The owner will also open a Franco’s 5 & 10, an old-school candy and toy store.
It’s spring, which means yard sales, block sales and other places to search for treasure are filling up the Saturdays of those of us who enjoy bargain hunting.
There seems to be a plethora of places to shop this weekend in central Fresno, so I thought I’d compile some here. I know there are many more out there, so feel free to add any you know about in the comments section.
The Cambridge Avenue block sale is Saturday, promising lots of furniture, clothing and other stuff. It’s one of the first of many Saturday block sales in the Fresno High area (with yard sales happening generally between Van Ness and Harrison avenues).
In conjunction with that block sale, the First Congregational Church (the “big red church”) is holding its annual yard sale and bake sale from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. The church is at 2131 N Van Ness Blvd. in Fresno.
Signs for the Old Fig Community Yard Sale have dotted Fig Garden for weeks. The event appears to be a collection of yard sales across the neighborhood, not in one particular location. It runs from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Lululemon Athletica, the yoga-inspired athletic clothing company, is opening a store in Old Town Clovis. If you’re one of the retailer’s loyal followers, this is a very big deal. The store doesn’t have any locations in the San Joaquin Valley, but some locals are still in love with its $98 yoga pants.
In a few weeks you’ll be able to buy them in a little spot in the DeWitt Building at 453 Pollasky Ave., in the breezeway between California Hot Dogs and Robin’s Nest Antiques. Opening day is scheduled for 10 a.m. April 12. The Vancouver-based store and its local workers aren’t talking to the media just yet, but the Clovis location is on the website and the sign is above the door. You can keep tabs on the store at its Facebook page.
To give you an idea of just how excited some people are about this store, I’ll defer to the previous occupant of the space, 3 Oaks Studio owner Vicki Shoemaker, who said: “All I know is everybody is really excited. I hear screams — screams of joy — coming out of there and women are going ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe they’re going to open.’” (Shoemaker’s business has moved to a bigger location at 481 Pollasky, by the way.)
Or as one blogger put it: “Lululemon: crack cocaine for the middle aged woman?”
HomeGoods opened last weekend and was slammed Sunday. Even Monday afternoon when I stopped by (don’t you love that checking out HomeGoods is part of my job?) the place was pretty busy with people checking out the décor, bedding and furniture.
Ulta Beauty is open, even though its publicized opening date isn’t until Friday. Someone was already getting a hair cut in the salon in the back of the store. And Petco is open too.
The rest of the stores will open in coming weeks, including Maurices, a women’s clothing store owned by the same company as DressBarn. It’s the first Maurices in the Fresno/Clovis market, though there’s several of them in Tulare County. Also soon to open are the Walmart Supercenter, the Habit Burger Grill, DressBarn, Famous Footwear, Anna’s Linens, Sleep Train, the Vitamin Shoppe, Great Clips, Old Navy, Yum Yum Yogurt, T-Mobile and a Subway.
A funny thing happened when I went to Goodwill last weekend. There was a lot of good stuff, new stuff — more so than normal. I got this brand new fuschia skirt with a lace overlay at the North Blackstone Avenue Goodwill for about three bucks. Normally it costs $19.99.
Wondering what was going on, I called my friendly neighborhood Goodwill PR rep, who confirmed my suspicions. This is great time to go thrift shopping, says Goodwill’s Sally Wooden. Families are clearing out their closets and garages to make way for all the new stuff they got for Christmas. And others made end-of-year donations to get tax deductions.
That means an influx of high-quality stuff in thrift shops — Goodwill and others — for you, the shopper. Because some of the donations take a while to trickle in from drop-off points and warehouses, the infusion of new stuff lasts through February.
Kids’ stuff — whether bikes or clothes — goes quickly, Wooden says, so act fast if that’s what you’re looking for.
Some things are brand new. Goodwill has an arrangement with some retailers, including Target, to take its overstock goods. So all those clothes people are returning to Target because they don’t fit? Some of it ends up at Goodwill, perhaps because the stores want to make room for spring fashions.
You’ve still got to be willing to hunt — and there’s still going to be plenty of lesser quality goods — but it’s a good time to shop if you like thrift shopping.
As the Bee’s retail reporter, I cover Black Friday, the traditional kickoff to the holiday shopping season, every year. At about 12:30 a.m. Friday, I found myself at Fashion Fair mall, stuck in a mob of people outside Victoria’s Secret.
The crowd had completely filled up the mall corridor and come to a standstill. Hundreds of people were trying to get inside the store, which was letting only a few people in at a time. It was hot, people were breathing on me and a feeling of claustrophobia was starting to climb up my throat. I heard screaming. The forearm of the woman behind me was pressing into my back even though I’d already loudly told her to stop pushing me. I reached behind me and squeezed her arm because it seemed like the only thing to do at the time that might get her to stop.
I’d find out later that people were getting pushed and smashed up against the glass of Victoria’s Secret. All this for what? A $25 hoodie? Don’t these people know you can get a hoodie at Target for $12 any day of the year? Suddenly I came to a crystal clear conclusion: I hate this. I want to be as far away from here as possible.
But as miserable as that experience was, it’s hard to demonize Black Friday as a whole. There’s another side to the night that’s just plain fun. Earlier in the evening, people were friendly and quick to laugh as I hopped from store to store. Whenever I asked someone who spent hours waiting to get sinside a store how they passed the time, they all said the same thing: Making new friends. People who were once strangers were swapping stories, jokes and shopping strategies. The woman who ate her Thanksgiving dinner on the sidewalk outside Target befriended a cute little 10-year-old boy and the two of them laughed their way through the hours. Mothers and daughters in town for the holiday spent hours catching up.
Are you ready, Black Friday shoppers? Or should I say “Black Thursday?”
The post-Thanksgiving shopping madness starts earlier than ever this year as Toys “R” Us, Walmart and Sears break out the doorbuster deals at 8 p.m. and Target opens at 9 p.m. Thursday.
You can read all about what to expect in the Fresno area here. Note that stores like Walmart, Target and Sears are appealing to night owls and early birds alike with waves of different doorbuster deals throughout the night.
The earlier-than-ever opening times are inspiring a backlash from Target and Walmart workers, who say they’re ruining Thanksgiving.
But if you’re one of the many caffeinated Americans who make Black Friday shopping a family tradition, the opening times listed below can help you plan your strategy. Most retailers Black Friday ads will be Thursday’s Fresno Bee or are already online.
Also, many Starbucks locations near major shopping areas will be open all night Thursday, including Starbucks at River Park and the new one at Shaw and West avenues.
DSW, or Designer Shoe Warehouse, will open its Fresno store to shoppers tomorrow (Thursday, Sept. 13) from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. The store, at the Villaggio Shopping Center (official address is 7923 Blackstone Ave.), is 18,000 square feet and has 24,000 pairs of shoes. It is DSW’s first store in Fresno. It will open another Central Valley store in Modesto in October.
What makes DSW special? DSW’s West Regional Manager Jim Mires says: “The convenience of our stores. The ways things are laid out, from heels to men’s. It’s a great environment to shop in.”
DSW is known for its selection and discount prices (I noticed a range of $50-$140) on designer shoes. During a tour of the store earlier today, I spotted a wide variety of style — boots, booties, flats, pumps, platforms, wedges — from designers such as Michael Kors, Guess, Jessica Simpson, Via Spiga, Steve Madden, Crown Vintage, Pink & Pepper, Converse, Vans, New Balance, Brooks and Nike.
People are crazy for the Air Jordan XI Concord shoes, a replica of the original 1996 Air Jordan. Seakerheads lined up over night from coast to coast to snatch a pair of the $180 kicks.
Things got a bit tense at Fashion Fair Mall this morning, but not as bad as at some stores in other parts of the country where shoe lovers broke down barriers and brawled. Here’s an ABC News story about the frenzy.
A check of eBay shows hundreds oif pairs of the shoes for sale, some already asking for up to $500.
You know I love shoes. But this sure beats my shoe crazy.
With Hanukkah upon us and Christmas less than a week away, we thought it was a great time to share local gift ideas.
Local businesses are seeing an increase in demand for locally made gifts. That “Buy Local” attitude is, of course, something we’re happy to see and help with.
So, take a look at some of our ideas — new and revisited from last year’s guide — and feel free to share your own suggestions. Happy shopping!
Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony are launching clothing lines for Kohl’s, the latest in a trend by affordable retailers to offer name brands with more style. And since Kohl’s has been expanding all over the Valley, I thought I’d share this video preview.
OK, I’m a sucker for a good handbag. So I love the idea of this event – maybe even enough to be up at 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning.
DAV Thrift Stores is having a designer purse sale tomorrow from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Stock includes designs such as Coach, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Dooney and Bourke. Nice.
The best part, buying one of these purses or handbags helps out veterans.
Fresno is now home to one of the biggest Forever 21 stores there is. It’s GIANT, people. At 150,000 square feet, over three stories, it’s even bigger than the store in New York City’s Time Square. That tidbit from Bee reporter Bethany Clough’s story in today’s paper really made an impression — and makes me eager to go check the store out.
The super-sized store is all part of new concept for Forever 21. From the story:
The new store features the company’s most recent design prototype. It’s the latest move in the retailer’s strategy to turn itself into a department store. It hopes to attract new customers with its larger stores, and long-term plans call for making every shopper a Forever 21 customer, Meyer said.
As the chain evolves, its new items will be showcased in Fresno, he said.
“We used to be only trendy,” he said. “Now we have basics as well as trendy merchandise. We have active wear, casual wear, urban [clothing].”
Here are a few photos from Bee photographer Mark Crosse:
I’ve been thinking about the link between fashion and politics since reading about people boycotting Target because of campaign contributions by the company to candidates in Minnesota who oppose same-sex marriage.
The incident made me realize that I don’t really know a lot about the companies I buy from. I’ve never thought about whether the $50 I pay for a dress has some greater effect on political funding. Then I stumbled upon this chart at OpenSecrets.org, Center for Responsive Politics, and was really wowed by the political leanings of clothing companies.
I’m not sure yet what this information means to me. I’ve always shopped based on my likes, value and need. I’m not sure I want to mesh my politics into my everyday shopping. But then I wonder if voting with my pocketbook and caring more about campaign contributions, especially now that companies and unions can give more, would have more effect than I think? It’s definitely something to think about.
Last week I had four people tell me they were disappointed in the new Macy’s at River Park. I thought it was strange. Most of us have been to Macy’s and we know what to expect. How could it be disappointing?
So, on Friday, I had the day off and decided to check out the new store. I now get it. The store kind of feels like another department store masquerading as Macy’s. It has new signs and that infamous star, but something feels off.
It might be — as a few of my friends pointed out — that the merchandise is placed in the exact same places (men’s and home good upstairs, ladies downstairs) as it was in the old Gottschalks. But, I noticed a couple other things too:
It’s all the local news and stuff from the blogosphere that you need to Fres-Know. It’s been a while, so we’re giving you a big one. Don’t dare say it.
KMPHATE? The top item on the GLAAD blog is about how KMPH aired a paid, anti-gay infomercial on Sunday. We have to ask: WWKD — what would Kopi do? [GLAAD Blog]
HIGH JINX: If an airplane has trouble, but only bloggers care … is it news? Mike Scott thinks so and is all over it. [CBS 47]
CAR DASHING: Two girls paid top dollar to meet Kim Kardashian at The Edge on Friday night. After hours of waiting, that didn’t happen, so they dashed outside, intercepted Kim as she left, got invited into her limo, then sent the pics to a vacation blog. [On Location Vacations]
GET OFF MY LAWN! Do you hate people? Wish they’d leave you alone? (I’m thinking of one blogger in particular) Or do you just wish those pesky solicitors would stop knocking at your door? Either way, check out this hilarious sign. [On Edge 559]
First things first: I’m totally behind the new Buy Local campaign by the Fresno County Economic Development Corporation. Good idea, good cause … but this commercial?
Nothing in this says “Fresno” to me. Nothing about it inspires a sense of local pride. Nothing makes me think we, as a community, are in this together and should be working together.
It’s unfortunate, because I hope the campaign succeeds. I really do. But I also think that if you want me to buy local, then show me something local.
Perhaps I’m skipping far too ahead. But this morning, as I’m digesting the news that Gottschalks will close after being sold to a liquidator, I’ve found myself wondering one thing: What’s gonna happen to that fancy newish G-Thing building at River Park?
You can’t just stick a Kohl’s in that thing. That’s a big space, a prominent one too. And it sure would look funny sitting there all empty. So whattya think? Once this economy turns around and businesses are expanding instead of retracting, what could go there?
Two of the biggest block sales of the season are coming up soon. The Harvard block sale in the Fresno High neighborhood is this weekend, followed by the Terrace Avenue sale on May 26 during Memorial Day weekend. The Terrace Avenue folks tell me their sale is the biggest, though I suspect some Harvard Ave. residents might have something to say about that.
KwirkWorld
