June 30, 2005
The Woodlands Mall Welcomes SOLSTICE Sunglass Boutique
THE WOODLANDS, Texas. June 30, 2005 – The Woodlands Mall announces that SOLSTICE Sunglass Boutique, the upscale luxury sunwear specialty chain, opened in the shopping center on Friday, June 24. This is Solstice’s second location in the Houston area.
Located on the second level between the North Main Entrance and Sears, SOLSTICE features an innovative and upscale European store design, a unique hands-on retailing approach and chic store ambience.
There are four things that set SOLSTICE apart from other sunwear retailers:
1. SOLSTICE offers the largest selection of designer sunwear than any one fashion retailer or sunglass specialty chain, with over 1,000 pairs to choose. Brands include Burberry, Dior and Giorgio Armani to Gucci, Ralph Lauren and YSL.
2. SOLSTICE receives the newest sunglass styles a month before other sunwear retailers.
3. SOLSTICE prides itself on offering boutique-only sunglass brands such as Alexander McQueen, Bottega Veneta, Boucheron, Stella McCartney and Valentino that aren’t widely available elsewhere.
4. Unlike many other sunglass retailers, SOLSTICE promotes a hands-on open sell retail format. It does not keep its sunglasses behind a counter or under lock and key; instead, customers are encouraged to take control of their sunglass destiny and touch and try-on as many pairs as they like.
As the #1 sunglass resource to the stars, SOLSTICE’s special events team has personally outfit over 5,000 celebrities at events such as the People’s Choice Awards, Grammys, Sundance Film Festival and MTV Video Music Awards. As a result, Solstice stylists are always in the know about what styles the celebrities are wearing – especially as many of them (Usher, Paris Hilton, Halle Berry and Hilary and Haylie Duff, for example) also shop regularly at SOLSTICE.
SOLSTICE specializes in upscale, high-end designer fashion sunglass brands, yet also offers more moderately priced bridge collections and active sport sunwear lines. Prices start at $75 and can range up to $500 or more, depending upon the brand and style.
“After opening the Houston Galleria store in 2003, we’re really excited about The Woodlands Mall, our second of three planned locations in the
Houston area. When we open our third store in Baybrook Mall in early August, we will have an exceptionally strong presence in the Houston market with stores in the northern, central and western parts of the city,” said Ed Jankowski, COO of SOLSTICE. He added, “For those who’ve never experienced SOLSTICE, we actually see it as much more than a sunglass boutique, we see it as a fashion accessory boutique for the face. No other retailer offers the breadth of fashion sunwear brands that SOLSTICE offers under one roof, and our unique open-sell approach makes the store very inviting for customers who are intimidated by other shopping environments.”
For more information or a complete directory of stores, shoppers can visit www.thewoodlandsmall.com or call Customer Service at 281.363.3409.
About SOLSTICE
SOLSTICE is a luxury sunglass specialty chain owned and operated by Solstice Marketing Concepts (SMC), LLC, a privately held company headquartered in New York City. SMC currently operates 44 SOLSTICE sunglass boutiques.
About The Woodlands Mall
The Woodlands Mall is owned by General Growth Properties, Inc., the second largest U.S.-based publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). General Growth currently has ownership interest and management responsibility for a portfolio of 209 regional shopping malls in 44 states, as well as ownership in planned community developments and commercial office buildings. The company portfolio totals approximately 200 million square feet of retail space and includes over 18,000 retailers nationwide. General Growth Properties, Inc. is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol GGP. For more information, please visit the company Web site at http://www.generalgrowth.com.
