The Asian Invasion Continues

South Coast Plaza Looks a Lot More Chinese These Days--And It's Not By Accident

Industry experts credit Werner Escher, South Coast Plaza's executive director of domestic and international markets and the man responsible for much of South Coast's international success, for creating the mall's Chinese wave. Now in his mid-80s, he has worked for South Coast Plaza for nearly five decades, back to when the Segerstroms were transforming their lima bean fields into buildings. It was Escher who convinced the clan to let him court Japanese starting in the 1970s, at a time when that country's economy was booming and Americans still dismissed its residents as goldfish farmers.

Japanese at South Coast became a trend piece for local journalists for years. But as the Japanese economy sputtered in the 1990s, Escher pivoted toward China. He first visited in 2004; by the next year, long before any large influx of Chinese were coming to the United States, Escher helped bring a production of the National Ballet of China's Raise the Red Lantern to the then-Orange County Performing Arts Center (now the Segerstrom Center for the Arts).

"We have adapted," Escher says. "We certainly have Mandarin-speaking concierge and sales associates. We have the largest selection of brands, particularly luxury, and so many of our stores have stories to tell. There's a history to the shoes, the clothes."

(OCWeekly.com)