BITS & PIECES | BevMo!  is opening a new store at 2220 Oak Grove Road in Walnut Creek. The location is the former home of a Long’s Drug Store.

The booze retailer’s Web site says the official grand opening is April 4. A large banner over the front entrance tells people they are hiring. The grand opening will feature wine tasting and bottle signings by winemakers. I guess it’s like having an author sign your copy of a book, who knew?

BITS & PIECES | Just this morning, I was looking through my dresser while getting for work and asked myself “Do I own enough bras?” I don’t think I’ve ever thought about that and felt clueless on how to answer my own question.

My story gets weirder. I then get to work and what do I find in my inbox? An e-mail from Consumer Reports’ ShopSmart Magazine about a recent poll about bras.  The poll found that the average woman owns nine bras and spends less than $100 per year on them.   That’s probably less than what we spend each year on coffee!

It seems as though bra shopping just isn’t that interesting for fun for women.

“I was shocked to find that a third of women don’t even bother to try on bras before buying them and more than two-thirds of women stick with the same brand, even when they aren’t too thrilled with the ones they already own,” said Lisa Lee Freeman, editor of ShopSmart.

A few more stats on bra ownership:

• 73 percent of women typically spend less than $30 on a this wardrobe staple
• 64 percent of women typically purchase their bras at department stores
• 79 percent of consumers age 55+ purchase their bras at department stores
• 55 percent of women age 18 to 34 purchase their bras at specialty lingerie chain stores
• 61 percent of consumers typically purchase the same brand of bra
• 53 percent of women have never been professionally fitted for a bra
• 80 percent of women say they would never go out in public without a bra
• 58 percent of women say they never or rarely match bras and panties

BITS & PIECES | Oakland-based Clorox Co., known for its bleach products, has created a line of eco-friendly cleaning supplies called Green Works.

The line includes products that are biodegradable, non-allergenic, not tested on animals and packaged in recyclable materials. Some of the active ingredients in the new products are substances like coconut and lemon oil.

It’s like a throwback to the days before everything was made of chemicals. How did those 19th century types keep clean?

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BITS & PIECES | The pickings are slim, but you find a great deal at one of the various East Bay Bombay Co. stores that will soon shut their doors for good. The furniture and housewares retailer decided to close all of its U.S. stores after filing for bankruptcy in September.

I stopped by the Walnut Creek store, scheduled to close on Monday. Most of the items still left are 60 or 70 percent off. Most of what’s left include display furniture models, side tables, bed frames and bedding from the Bombay kids and baby lines. Like I said, the selection is pretty depleted, but you may land a good deal on a nice bookshelf or accent table.

Click here to find a store near you.

BITS & PIECES | My dear readers, I was on vacation last week in lovely Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. The week before that, I was spent a week in hot and humid Nashville, Tenn., for online journalism training. So keep an eye out for a better Shop Talk!

Now, I’m back in the East Bay and am excited about a few things:

• Cheap and chic retailer Steve & Barry’s opened its first Northern California store earlier this month at NewPark Mall in Newark. This store’s claim to fame is Bitten, a line of clothes designed by Sarah Jessica Parker.

• We are less than two weeks away from the debut of Very Vera by Vera Wang at Kohl’s. I have shopped at Kohl’s fewer than a handful of times in my life, but I might become a regular! The line is somewhat higher priced than the usual Kohl’s fare, so we’ll see if it’s a hit.

• While in Nashville, I worked on a n audio slideshow about the Hillsboro Shopping District. Who doesn’t love independent retailers? Check it out!

Gap stores are starting to resemble sibling chain Banana Republic. Jersey dresses above are priced around $40.

BITS & PIECES | Berkeley-based Elephant Pharm plans to open its fourth store in Walnut Creek this weekend. Doors were scheduled to open today, but the company has been waiting for final approval from the fire department. There may be a delay due to a memorial service the fire department is holding today for two of its fighters who were killed.

Anyhow, drop by the store if you get a chance this weekend. I got a sneek peak of it on Wednesday and I have to admit, I was impressed. It’s sunny, well-organized and gives you a healthy feeling just walking around inside. Elephant Pharm is sometimes referred to as the Whole Foods of drug stores. I sort of reminds me of REI as well with it’s earthy decor. It’s CEO thinks it could become a national chain.

• GAP Inc. has named a new chief executive, Glenn Murphy, the former top executive of Canada’s largest drugstore chain. It seems like an odd choice to me. Like many other observers, I would have thought they would go after someone with significant apparel experience. Mark Montagna, an analyst with C.L. King, said he’s neutral about the announcement because there’s no way to tell right now if Murphy will be good for GAP or not.

I went to a Gap store in Walnut Creek recently and was surprised to see more sophisticated items like dark slacks, cable knit sweaters and chic jersey dresses. It almost looked a lot like a Banana Republic taken down a few notches. I think Gap stores have sort of a middle child syndrome. BR and Old Navy know exactly where they stand, on the high and low ends of the company’s spectrum, but the Gap stores continue to waver in between.

• Congrats to SHOP TALK! The East Bay Press Club awarded me 2nd place for Mainstream Blogger during it’s annual award dinner earlier this month. You are now free to use the phrase, “Shop Talk, an award-winning blog…” Thanks for reading!

BITS & PIECES | Walnut Creek will be home to another hip chain, Urban Outfitters, coming this fall. The store will occupy a space formerly home to Traditions Home Furnishings. The building will be divided between Urban Outfitters and Lululemon, a boutique shop that sells yoga gear. Lululemon also plans to open a Berkeley location in June.

Urban Outfitters Inc. also owns the Anthropologie and Free People chains. The store definitely carries strong name and brand recognition, but its one of those places you go and marvel at the selection and only buy something when you want to spurlge or are those lucky “money is no object” types. Nonethless, Urban Outfitters will for sure fit in nicely with the other high-end, high-visability retailers that fill the streets of downtown Walnut Creek.

• Express gets new owner: The AP reported that Limited Brands has sold 67 percent of Express stores to affiliates of private equity firm Golden Gate Capital for $548 million. Express was apparently struggling. It could be that their clothes lost all personality and frequent clearance events weakened their brand image. I remember my college days (earlier this millenium) when almost every girl on my campus owned a pair of Express jeans and we felt trendy to point at our cute tops and say “I got this at Express.” Somehow, the store’s cachet faded a few years ago and everyone stopped thinking of it as a “go-to” apparel retailer.

Limited Brands also owns Victoria’s Secret, Bath and Body Works and Limited Stores, another division it is considering selling. Starting in 2001, the company purged other chains including Limited Too, Lerner New York, Lane Bryant and Abercrombie & Fitch. Wow, the company has gone from powerhouse to slim pickings.

• The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon will launch a digital music store this year that will sell music that is not copyright protected. That small detail will make it easier for buyers to play the songs on a variety of MP3 players.

BITS & PIECES | Here’s a sampling of some retail news from the week:

• I wrote a story this week about five Yardbird’s stores reopening under Home Depot management. The stores look modern and fancy (the bathroom showroom gave me the urge to renovate!), but don’t expect the same friendly and understated charm of the former Yardbirds. I miss the yellow bird logo, too. Home Depot, on the other hand, sees the move as it’s entree into mid-size stores.

• JCPenny plans to open 175 new stores in the next few years including it’s first location in Manhatten. Executives say additional stores will help it compete with Kohl’s. My take: Watch out Mervyns! To read more, click here.

• Items from Gap’s designer line made the May cover of Vogue. Wow! Khakis and polos can take a backseat as Gap finally gets in touch with fashion. Let’s see if shoppers like the designs as much as the media.

• Retailers are tapping into the trend of wearing green (not the color, the movement). Check out my piece from earlier this week.