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As most of you know by now, Cody's Books -- famous for its unyielding love by the literati, being fire-bombed in the 1980s for displaying Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses in its window, and for selling glued paper with printed text -- is done. Is this yet another echo of print publishing's death rattle? Who's to say. Local independent bookstores in the Bay Area, we're told, are doing well overall. But if you plan on being a large bookstore with other chains, you had best plan on selling double-glazed donuts and cream cheese-filled soft pretzels, a la Border's Book, or you're doomed.
Anyway, Cody's final store on Shattuck Avenue has, at last, shut its doors. What's to become of it? We cares. Because it can't be any more inane than what will occupy its former San Francisco location on Stockton Street: a Ferrari store. And, no, it won't sell their famous, Italian-made sports cars. Instead they plan on hawking "the emotion of the Ferrari world," which we can only assume means size-small condoms and a bevy of Rogaine products. Not since Planet Hollywood will a store see so little foot traffic.
(OK, we totally want a Ferrari Segway, but still: the store won't last. Or will it?)
Image: Steve Rhodes
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This is very sad. If Moe's and Pegasus go, it's all over.
"size-small condoms and a bevy of Rogaine products"
HA.
Katy predicts: The Ferrari store will lose a not-very-great amount of money for two years, then Ferrari will decide to move the store to the Stanford Mall because nobody who buys or drives Ferraris in the Bay Area lives in San Francisco.
I think it takes about 14-16 months for one of these well funded debacles to go under. Most businesses do the big hoo-haa launch, then they sit around twiddling their nuggets waiting for people to show up.
And when they don't they start to ramp down after about 8-10 months. I think the line in Vegas is 2:1 for October 2009 as the shuttering of this whatever it is and a new sign for yet another cell phone store.
The emotion of the Ferrari world, for me, is disgust.
Still, somebody should set up a camera outside the store to take pictures of the clientele. It'd be a fascinating gallery of douchenozzlery.
Sounds like this store, like the one in Vegas, will sell Ferrari clothes and swag. I just don't get how there's enough of a market for this.
Buying expensive Ferrari gear if you don't own the car (i.e. aren't "in the club") just seems pathetic and probably will only happen rarely.
Yet it doesn't seem like there are enough Ferrari owners to keep a whole store going, much less Ferrari owners who feel the need to show off their club "membership" (perhaps to hide their need for small condoms and Rogaine).
This is one of those businesses that belongs online, not in a high-rent store.
I loved that Cody's location. I'm sad to see it gone. It was the only place downtown I could the bathroom in peace.
Are there any other great bathrooms in the vicinity?
The Ferrari Segway was the final straw. I am now a communist.
jcbalaam: try Bloomingdale's. They have great bathrooms that are each enclosed room (for women, anyway). Also, Saks Mens Store is good, Nieman's, etc., etc.
> Are there any other great bathrooms in the vicinity?
People's Park?
Ooops, sorry, I read TFA after I posted. Thought it was the Cody's on Shattuck.
A Ferrari store on Stockton is way way way way less a WTF!? than a Ferrari store on Shattuck.
I don't think most of the people who will shop at the Ferrari store would be actual Ferrari owners. In any case, I see this as more of a Santana Row-type store rather than Stanford.
As a pedestrian and bicycle advocate, I would so take an 1980s Ferrari in a hot minute. I wouldn't use it as a daily driver, but nothing is sexier than a red Ferrari.
As for Cody's? It sounds like they just had several bad situations happen at the same time -- tripling rent on 4th Street, retail problems on Telegraph and a (perhaps ill-advised) sale to a Japanese investor who couldn't weather the number of changes at once. All those store closings and movings had to eat up a ton of money.
After the baffling rise in the popularity of NASCAR, it wouldn't surprise me if the Ferrarri store turns out to be a major hit with the skoal-chewing, ballcap wearing crowd.
Folks shopping for Ferrari-branded gear are not necessary (necessarily) wannabe Ferrari owners. A lot of it is all about being a Ferrari Formula 1 fan.
Puma must be very worried about the massive sales drop they will see in their BMW/Williams gear at their Market Street store.
Also: who knows what will replace the Cody's on Shattuck, but since it was there for a grand total of about 34 seconds, I guess it'll end up being called "the vacant Cody's Book's store" instead of "the empty Eddie Bauer," which it had been for ages.
Keep in mind, outside the US F1 racing is one of the most popular sports. Union Sq has tons of foreign tourists looking to spend cash who are prob F1 fans. In addition the Bay Area has many Ferrari owners and a Ferrari dealership in Marin, I think this store will do fine as all the European Ferrari Stores are doing well. Over the next 5 years Ferrari has plans to roll out about 40 of these stores. Two other locations have just opened in the US in the past year and another in Honolulu in a few weeks.
What could really hurt this store is not the merchandising, but the new Stockton St subway slated to start construction fall of 2009. The environmental impact report for the subway construction has that section of Stockton closed to vehicular traffic for about two years and much construction anticipated for the new subway stop between Ellis and O'Farrell. I see construction barricades hiding Ferrari's storefront for a long time.
BTW: The new Ferrari Store will have two restrooms. I've seen the floor plans.
who wrote this article?
It takes a good deal of arrogant ignorance to lump Nascar and Formula one together, but you managed to do it.
Cody's was open for about ten seconds in the Planet Hollywood space, hardly a meaningful relationship with Stockton Street, and that location was made possible due to the delusional and obviously irresponsible sugar daddies from Japan. Union Square in San Francisco can be a token trophy location in the states for a multinational retail chain to look like they're on top of their world domination plans, but only time will tell if they'll receive enough foot traffic to pay the bills.
If Sacramento can support a Hard Rock cafe (yeah, Tesla's from there, bitch, so just shut it), I'm sure SF can manage to keep a measly Ferrari store afloat.
OR ARE YOU THE CITY THAT DOES NOT KNOW HOW
Aren't those Ferrari seat belt fasteners on a lot of the messenger bag man purses I see? There is some kind or house or something.
you're thinking of Chrome bags.
if you meant to type 'some kind of horse', you are very close -- i believe it's a sphinx (Ferrari has a horse logo).