When fast-fashion retailer Fashion Nova was searching for a new headquarters, the pull of Beverly Hills was strong.

The city is one of the world’s luxury capitals, and its palm tree-lined streets are home to billionaires, Hollywood stars and high-end brands including Gucci and Dior. Compared with Fashion Nova’s current base in Vernon, a gritty, heavily industrial spit of land southeast of downtown L.A., the glitz of Beverly Hills offered the upgrade that founder and Chief Executive Richard Saghian wanted.

“Mostly all our celebrity partners, influencers, our employees, vendors, they all live and work around Beverly Hills,” Saghian said. “Plus, it’s close to where I live and I think it’s great for the brand.”

This month, the 43-year-old billionaire closed a deal on a contemporary office building at the edge of the city’s real estate “golden triangle.” He paid $118 million in cash for the property at 407 N. Maple Drive.

Celebrities including Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion have helped boost Fashion Nova’s appeal as the company has produced low-cost, trendy clothes that offer women a way to tap into the latest fashion trends at a fraction of the cost of luxury brands.

Founded in 2006, Fashion Nova was ahead of the curve when it came to harnessing influencer marketing. As it cements its place in an upscale neighborhood of Beverly Hills, the brand continues to bet big on social media and star power.

The stakes are high in the relentless world of fast fashion as competition with other industry players heats up, most notably with Shein, a Singapore-based juggernaut that is growing its presence in the United States and releases new clothes at a breakneck pace. Shein also has operations in Los Angeles.

Neil Saunders, managing director at data analytics and consulting firm GlobalData Retail, said Fashion Nova will need to find ways to keep pace with Shein, which “has really just upped the tempo and it’s very cheap.”

“That’s definitely pulled a little bit of market share and spending away from some of the more traditional and more established players.”

The fast-fashion industry has become crowded with retailers such as H&M, ASOS, PrettyLittleThing and Forever 21 competing for sales that have stagnated as shoppers have pulled back on spending amid high inflation. Publicly traded companies such as H&M and ASOS have seen their sales drop this year.

“There’s no doubt the market has become a little bit more challenging,” Saunders said. “People have cut back slightly on the amount of things they buy because of pressures on their budgets.”

Fashion Nova, which is privately owned, has annual sales of approximately $2 billion and 40 million followers on social media, according to a news release about the new office space.

Over the years, the fast-fashion industry has also faced concerns about sustainability and cheap labor. Still, for many consumers, price and style are at the top of their minds, Saunders said. With consumers buying from various brands, there’s room for more than one retailer to dominate, he said.

Fashion Nova’s new office space is one way the brand is strengthening its relationship with celebrities and influencers in Los Angeles. The company is planning to open an invitation-only Nova Social Club — where creators, influencers, celebrities and VIP guests can collaborate — and a Nova Founders Lab to help emerging brands, designers, creatives and founders.

“If there’s a celebrity that wants to, for example, start a brand, we can partner together,” Saghian said.

The 175,000-square-foot building, purchased from real estate company Tishman Speyer, features an atrium sky bridge, a solarium, Zen-like gardens and an outdoor terrace. The retailer plans to add a fitness studio, a wellness spa, a cosmetic micro-treatment bar and other amenities.

Fashion Nova’s new headquarters for its more than 500 employees is scheduled to open later this year. Even as remote work becomes more popular, Saghian said interacting in the office is key to the brand’s success and growth.

Properties in the Beverly Hills area were selling for almost double the price a few years ago, Saghian said. The office building on Maple Drive wasn’t on the market, but Saghian said he made a compelling case with an all-cash offer.

The purchase is among the priciest office transactions this year for Beverly Hills, CoStar data show. Offices in that area typically sell for $344 per square foot; Saghian paid about $674 per square foot for the building. In 2005, Tishman Speyer paid more than $70.7 million for the building, so the purchase price represents a nearly 67% sales premium. The city’s office vacancy rate is 16.1%, above the national average of 13.8%.

Saunders said it’s a smart move for a brand like Fashion Nova to put its headquarters at the heart of where fashion and style are in California. Influencer marketing is just one piece of what entices people to buy clothes.

“Consumers will look at influencers and they’ll take cues from them, but the products have to be good, the designs have to be good, the price points have to be right,” Saunders said.

Fashion Nova has five brick-and-mortar stores in Southern California, including at the Shops at Montebello and the Northridge Mall. The brand has adapted to the rise of e-commerce, launching its online store in 2013 and releasing a shopping app.

The company isn’t done growing. The brand plans to expand in other cities including London, Hong Kong, Sydney and New York.

Saghian has snapped up other luxury real estate in Los Angeles. In 2022, he purchased “The One” megamansion for $141 million.

“I’ve always viewed real estate as a long-term, generational investment, and I just think it’s a great place to invest,” he said. “And why not purchase when the market’s down, you know?”

Times staff writer Roger Vincent contributed to this report.

Stephen Curry signed a one-year, $62.6-million extension Thursday, keeping him with the Golden State Warriors through the 2026-2027 season and elevating his career salaries to more than $500 million.

Curry, 36, would accompany LeBron James and Kevin Durant as the only NBA players to have been paid a half a billion dollars in salary. According to Basketball-Reference.com, Curry has earned $347,844,681 in 15 seasons and is now set to be guaranteed an additional $178 million over the next three seasons for a total of approximately $526 million.

As for the fourth active player who will crack the $500-million barrier by playing the next four years under a contract he signed this summer? That will be ex-Clipper Paul George.

Underscoring the continuous escalating NBA salaries, only two retired players have exceeded even $300 million in salaries: Kevin Garnett ($343,872,398) and Kobe Bryant ($328,238,062).

Salaries is the key word because James, Durant and Curry will have exceeded $1 billion when endorsements are included in their overall earnings. Michael Jordan, who was paid “only” $94,022,500 in salary, has made more money than any other athlete at $2.7 billion — thanks for the most part to Nike.

Neither James nor Durant has reached $500 million in salaries yet, but both are under contracts that guarantee they will cross the threshold unless they retire first.

James, 39, has made $482,593,928 in 21 seasons, and in July, he agreed to a two-year, $104-million extension with the Lakers. Durant, 35, has made $399,155,146 in 17 seasons and is guaranteed $51.2 million in 2024-2025 and $54.7 million in 2025-2026 with the Phoenix Suns.

The numbers are enough to make the eyes of an average working stiff glaze over. In Curry’s case, the time seemed ripe for him to add a third year to his current deal, the maximum allowed under the NBA’s over-38 rule, which prevents teams from offering contracts of four years or more to players who will turn 38 during that deal.

(The purpose of the over-38 rule is to prevent teams from circumventing the salary cap by offering a contract that extends beyond when the player is expected to retire.)

Fresh in everyone’s mind is Curry’s clutch play in the U.S. winning gold at the Paris Olympics. Last season, he averaged 26.4 points and 5.1 assists per game while leading the NBA in clutch scoring. He was an All-Star for the 10th time, has won two MVP awards and helped Golden State win four NBA championships.

Curry has been vocal about his desire to retire having played only with Golden State.

“I’ve always said I want to be a Warrior for life,” he told Andscape in July. “At this stage in my career, I feel like that’s possible.”

Six players besides James, Durant and Curry have exceeded $300 million in career salary earnings — and four have played for the Clippers.

Chris Paul, 39, is third behind James and Durant at $390,507,923, but it doesn’t appear he will approach $500 million after he signed a one-year, $10.46-million deal with the San Antonio Spurs for the 2024-2025 season.

The same is true for Russell Westbrook, 35, who has made $342,603,650 but signed a two-year, $6,772,731 contract with the Denver Nuggets. James Harden is next at $340,677,097, although he’ll surpass Westbrook and exceed $400 million after signing a two-year, $70-million deal with the Clippers.

George, 34, is the youngest in the $300-million club at $307,684,213. In July, he signed a four-year, $211,584,940 contract with the Philadelphia 76ers that will lift his career salary earnings beyond half a billion.

SpaceX’s reusable Falcon 9 rockets have been grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration for the second time in two months after one of them caught fire, fell over and exploded upon its return to Earth this week.

The decision by the agency could further delay the historic Polaris Dawn mission, which will feature the first space walk by civilians. The crew, in a SpaceX Dragon capsule, will be sent to space by a Falcon 9, the company’s workhorse rocket.

The five-day mission was originally set to blast off Monday but has been delayed repeatedly for various reasons, including a leaking launch-pad helium line and unfavorable weather off the coast of Florida, where the capsule will splash down on return.

The Falcon 9 that failed blasted off early Wednesday morning from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and launched 21 satellites into orbit as part of SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, which provides space-based internet service.

The second-stage of the rocket burned up in the atmosphere as planned, while an engine that is part of the first-stage booster reignited to power a controlled landing on an uncrewed barge in the ocean. Video of Wednesday’s flight shows the returning stage touching down on the ship and falling over while partially engulfed in flames.

SpaceX said that the first stage had completed 22 launches and returns before the accident. The mishap also ended a streak of 267 successful returns for the Falcon 9 program, which has sharply lower launch costs due its reusable stage.

In announcing the grounding, the FAA noted Wednesday that while “no public injuries or public property damage have been reported” it was “requiring an investigation.”

Last month, the Falcon 9 was grounded for two weeks after the second-stage engine misfired mid-flight due to what was later determined to be a liquid oxygen leak in a line leading to a pressure sensor. The mishap occurred July 11 during an attempt to launch a payload of 20 Starlink satellites. The satellites did not reach their intended orbit and burned up in the atmosphere.

The Falcon 9 has been critical in establishing SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband network. It also handles commercial payloads and launches the company’s Dragon capsules, which carry cargo and astronauts to the International Space Station.

The Falcon 9 has launched a total 365 missions, according to SpaceX.

The Polaris Dawn mission is being funded by Jared Isaacman, a fintech billionaire who will serve as commander of a crew of four, including two SpaceX employees. On their third day in space, Isaacman and a second crew member are scheduled to carry out the first commercial space walk.

They will be testing a new generation of mobile space suits that SpaceX says will be necessary to colonize the moon and Mars.

The Falcon 9 also is scheduled next month to launch a Crew Dragon capsule to the International Space Station, where two NASA astronauts have been stranded since June due to problems with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. They are scheduled to return to earth on the Crew Dragon in February.