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Fig changes: J.Crew is in, Sharper Image is on the way out, and bookstore is on the move.(Fresno Bee (CA) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Apr. 10--J.Crew is in, The Sharper Image is out and a handful of stores are shuffling locations within Fig Garden Village shopping center. For New York-based preppy clothing retailer J.Crew, the store is its first in Fresno and will open this fall, said Audrey Yokota Lew, director of marketing for Donahue Schriber, the Costa Mesa-based company that owns the center. The store sells classic styles such as polo shirts, cashmere sweaters and the little black dress. "They're an iconic American brand known for their sophisticated Ivy League clothing," Yokota Lew said. "We've had so many requests to have them." J.Crew will move into the space once occupied by Warner Co. jewelers, which opted for bigger digs at the intersection of Palm and Herndon avenues, and Fig Garden Bookstore, which recently moved two doors down in the center. Not Just Paper, The Vault jewelry store and Orloff Jewelers are all preparing to move to bigger or better locations within the center, too, and The Sharper Image will close as part of the company's bankruptcy reorganization plan. The changes are all part of the normal ebb and flow of a shopping center, retail experts say. "That's just part of the retail industry. You're always going to have people coming and going," said Mike Mele of Grubb&Ellis/Pearson Commercial in Fresno. Mele recruits tenants for shopping centers, but is not involved with Fig Garden. The shopping center has changed since it was bought by Donahue Schriber in 2005. It expanded, adding new national tenants and more restaurants. Last year, it extended its hours later in the evening. Fig Garden Bookstore has been in the center for 22 years, including 10 at its last location. It has already settled into its new home two doors down at the site of the former Hungry Hair, which became The Spa and Salon at Fig Garden Village and moved near Whole Foods several years ago. The new space is slightly larger and more open and airy, said manager Kathi Lamonski. The bookstore expanded its kids books and gifts section. And the bench holding the statue of the two children reading was moved in front of the new store. On the other side of the shopping center, The Sharper Image is discounting its merchandise. The company is going through Chapter 11 bankruptcy and plans to close 96 stores nationwide, including the Fresno store. The remaining 88 stores will stay open. Workers overseeing The Sharper Image liquidation said the store will close when everything is sold, probably in six to eight weeks. Gift cards will not be honored at the Fresno store. They can be used online or at other stores if the shopper spends twice the value of the card, officials said. The Sharper Image's exit will leave three empty spaces next to Whole Foods. Last year, Wicks 'n' Sticks closed stores across the country, and The Bombay Co. closed more than 400 stores after going through Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The spaces are still empty. They will be easy to rent, and executives are talking with potential retailers, Yokota Lew said. "The thing that makes us feel better about the situation is that these are corporate decisions made due to bankruptcies of companies, and not any reflection on our retail real estate," she said. Managers now have the freedom to combine some of those spaces, she said. Mele of Grubb&Ellis/Pearson said that even the best shopping centers must bring in replacement retailers. "It's centrally located to service the strong community there," he said of Fig Garden. "With the national tenants that they have in place and the co-tenants that are there, I think it's a great opportunity for ... new retailers that are wanting to get into that type of place." Internal moves by existing retailers will also free up space. Not Just Paper will move from the northern part of the center to the southern, overlooking Shaw Avenue. It will be next to Starbucks, which moved last year and now faces Shaw Avenue near the Coach leather-goods store. The move will give Not Just Paper more foot traffic and allow it to expand some product lines, including high-end stationery Papyrus, Yokota Lew said. The Vault jewelry store will move across the center this summer, said sales associate Kegan Finderup. It will be next to Viva La Vault, which is run by the same owners. The Vault has sold fine jewelry for 20 years. Viva La Vault sells costume jewelry. The stores will retain separate entrances and will not be connected inside, she said. The Vault's new location will be larger. It is in the space once used by B.B. Pepper for its sale clothes. Those items have been consolidated back into the B.B. Pepper store near Patrick James. "We're a pretty small store," Finderup said of The Vault's current space. "We're just hoping to grow larger to accommodate our customers, get new [product] lines." Orloff Jewelers, now tucked behind Jamba Juice, also is planning to move. The store will stay within the center but has not yet made its new location final, said Josh Jensen of Orloff Jewelers. The reporter can be reached at [email protected] or (559) 441-6431. To see more of The Fresno Bee, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.fresnobee.com Copyright (c) 2008, The Fresno Bee, Calif. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. 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