Nordstrom joins tie-in trend with Twilight movie

More than 100 Twilight fans descended on the Nordstrom store at Southcenter mall Thursday to celebrate next Friday's release of "New Moon," the latest movie in the vampire-romance series.

A young woman jogged up and down in purple suede boots and another fanned herself as a pair of handsome male cast members appeared for a scheduled event.

"Oh my gosh," screamed Rosemary Deyerle, 20, of Tacoma, grabbing hold of her 19-year-old cousin, Nichole Wood, also of Tacoma. "They're so cute!"

"New Moon" vamps Demetri (Charlie Bewley) and Felix (Daniel Cudmore) posed for photographs with 75 fans who won passes to the event after showing up early on Halloween and buying at least $75 worth of merchandise in the store's BP department. Nordstrom's Southcenter store is one of 12 locations nationwide hosting "New Moon" cast appearances in cooperation with movie studio Summit Entertainment.

The Seattle-based retailer acknowledges that never before has it made such a big deal about a new movie.

A "New Moon"-inspired collection at Nordstrom includes $30 T-shirts and $36 charm bracelets showing an affinity for vampire Edward Cullen or werewolf Jacob Black, as well as life-size cutouts of the teenage heartthrobs for $33.

Nordstrom also has handed out nearly 6,000 passes to advance screenings of "New Moon" to fans who purchased at least $50 in BP merchandise locally.

"It's another way for us to connect with our customers, and we know a lot of our customers are fans of the books," said Nordstrom spokesman John Bailey.

"New Moon" is the second in a series of movies based on the books by author Stephenie Meyer. The first film came out last November and the third is due to hit movie theaters in the summer.

Marketing professor Mary Ann Odegaard, who directs the Retail Management Program at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business, sees virtually no downside to the "New Moon" tie-in. Although it's hardly a given that Twilight fans will channel their enthusiasm into buying new clothes or jewelry, she said, Nordstrom can still make an emotional connection.

"This is an attempt to drive demographics in their direction and, frankly, I think it's smart," Odegaard said. "The 13- to 20-year-old customer is very influenced by celebrity stuff."

Retail analyst Patty Edwards, founder of the Bellevue investment-management firm Storehouse Partners, also applauded Nordstrom's New Moon promotion, noting that it's the type of thing she might have expected from Macy's or Kohl's.

So "why not Nordstrom?" she added. "It can change an image with future generations of consumers, especially if they thought Nordstrom was only for 40-year-olds."

At the very least, said Edwards, "the young girls bring Mom in, and Mom's gotta walk through the rest of the store" to reach BP.

Die-hard Twilight fan Kayla Hettinger, 11, of Auburn, pulled her Mom into Southcenter's Hot Topic store Wednesday to browse a broad array of "New Moon" merchandise — everything from $3 key chains to $19 action figures. Afterward, Hettinger and her best friend, Madison Green, also 11, planned to take their moms to Nordstrom.

"Anyone who has 'New Moon' stuff, basically we'll be there," said Hettinger, who for Halloween dressed up as Alice Cullen, Edward's sister in Twilight.

"I already have Twilight jewelry, but for Christmas, I'll ask for Twilight shirts, blankets, calendars" and other related merchandise, Hettinger said.

Payton Simone, 13, of Sammamish, said "a bunch" of friends had flocked to Nordstrom in the past month for movie passes. Wednesday, she picked up a "Team Jacob" T-shirt at the Southcenter store's BP department.

"I'm very much into it," she said. "I'm on the fourth book right now and I keep skipping ahead — I just want to see what happens."

— Amy Martinez

The Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie is touting its Twilight Series coffees, including Bella's Blend and New Moon Rising. The roastery also said it will replace Tully's Coffee next month at Smith Brothers Farms, the Kent-based dairy and home-delivery service. If tea is more your thing, the roastery said its friends at Luxe Tea in Bellevue have created Twilight teas, including Bite Me Strawberry Seduction and Cullen's English Breakfast. — MA

The Smith & Hawken store at University Village in Seattle will be taken over by Bacon's Christmas Tree Farm after the garden retailer closes this weekend. Bacon's will set up shop later this month and donate 10 percent of sale proceeds to Seattle Children's Autism Center, said UVillage General Manager Susie Plummer.

Also, a Life Is Good clothing shop opens today at UVillage in space previously occupied by Louie Permelia, which recently moved down near Tiffany. — AM

Don Willis Furniture, a family-owned business based in Lake City, has opened a fourth store in Kent. Don Willis, which also has stores in Ballard and Tacoma, moved where Allwood Furniture used to be. "People have just smiled at us when we tell them we're opening another store in the recession," said co-owner Debbie Willis. "But we found it to be a really, really good opportunity. The landlord made many amazing concessions." — AM

Tully's Coffee's net loss from continuing operations was $1.2 million in the second quarter, a 45 percent improvement from a year ago. Sales were $9.8 million, down 3 percent from a year ago. The Seattle coffee shop chain opened 12 stores in the quarter ended Sept. 27, giving it 180 U.S. shops altogether. It has four stores overseas. The company's board also elected new directors Ron Neubauer, of Neubauer Capital, and Jan Hendrickson, of Denny Hill Capital. — MA

Swink Style Bar, a hair-dry specialist, has opened on Stewart Street near Pacific Place in downtown Seattle. The salon offers half-hour "blow-outs" for $30, with styles ranging from "The Fifth Avenue," a flat-ironed, clean-line look, to the "Girly & Tousled," an artfully messy coif. — AM

Esquin Wine Merchants parent TMSA Holdings said it bought MadWine.com, of Bellevue, in April and completed a redesign of the online merchant in September, including more than doubling the number of wines it offers to 4,000. In two years, the company plans to have 10,000 wines for sale. TMSA owner Chuck LeFevre said MadWine will offer more Washington wines than any other online retailer. The company also expects to grow MadWine's customer base of 8,000, just as it expanded Esquin's customers from 2,200 in 1997 to more than 22,000 now. — MA

Anyone missing that pig-shaped steel truck that tooled around Seattle this summer serving pulled pork and vegan sandwiches should know that it's not gone. It's just hibernating. Called Maximus/Minimus, the "urban assault pig" will be back April 1, said owner Kurt Dammeier, who also owns Beecher's Handmade Cheese in Pike Place Market. But by spring, the truck might be shaped like a chicken or sheep. "Our vegan sandwich has been such a hit that some of us say we should reshape the truck into a grain of barley," Dammeier said. — MA

Seattle Pie Co., which opened in Magnolia in July, is expanding to a 1,000-square-foot space next door to the cafe at 3111 W. McGraw, partly so it has enough capacity to supply Metropolitan Market's six locations. Seattle Pie owners Patrick and Alyssa Lewis even created a pie just for Metropolitan Market — alpine huckleberries, Granny Smith apples and a crumb top for $17.99. — MA

Cycle University has opened a 10,000-square-foot store and training center for cyclists and triathletes in the former Huling Brothers' Jeep showroom on Fauntleroy Way Southwest. Founding owner Craig Undem started the business in 2003 and has another location in Sand Point. — AM

Retail Report appears Fridays. Amy Martinez covers goods, services and online retail. She can be reached at 206-464-2923 or amartinez@seattletimes.com. Melissa Allison covers the food and beverage industry. She can be reached at 206-464-3312 or mallison@seattletimes.com.