After announcing an impressive list of grub-hubs to its tenant roster, the massive sprawl of retail known as the Long Beach Exchange—dubbed “LBX” among its patrons and owners—has announced that luxury athletic wear purveyor Lululemon and sweets empire SusieCakes will be opening spaces at the center.
The 26-acre development near Douglas Park has officially opened its 266,000 square-feet of retail space to the public and has already brought a plethora of tenants with it, including In-N-Out, a trio of fitness spaces (which explains Lululemon), and tons of big box stores like Nordstrom Rack and Ulta.
“Our goal is to thoughtfully curate a unique and balanced mix of retailers, restaurants and entertainment at Long Beach Exchange,” Steve Thorp, executive vice president of Burnham-Ward, stated. “The addition of SusieCakes and Lululemon to LBX reflects the excitement for this destination among both tenants and the community.”
SusieCakes, overseen by L.A.-by-way-of-Chicago baker Susan Sarich, has become a small business phenomenon. Having just celebrated its 12th anniversary two days ago with its flagship shop in Brentwood, SusieCakes now operates over 20 bakeries in California and Texas.
Lululemon is a business phenomenon of another sort—meaning they have managed to build an empire out of selling $118 Wunder Unders, the brand’s moniker for workout tights, along with an array of other pricey workout clothes. The company is one of the first brands to take on the “enclothed cognition” idea; mainly that what we wear affects the way we behave. And to an extent, it has science to back this up: a 2012 research study that coined the term answered with a firm “yes” that, indeed, what we wear affects how we behave. With Lululemon, the idea is that splurging on activewear will increase active behavior—though that direct correlation has yet to be proven with Lululemon specifically.
The LBX complex started off with a bang after it announced that speciality coffee powerhouse Portola Coffee’s first location outside Orange County (and overshadowing the fact that L.A. staple coffeehouse Groundwork has already opened up shop in the complex).
Following that, the retail complex announced it would host seven more tenants in addition to its roster that already includes Whole Foods’ 365 grocery store, Orchard Supply Hardware, Mod Pizza, Dunkin’ Donuts, TJ Maxx, PetSmart, and three fitness studios.
Long Beach Exchange is located 4069 Lakewood Blvd.