Active Opportunities
Q & A with Jack Kyser
Los Angeles is “fertile territory” for active sportswear, according to Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. (LAEDC). Kyser’s work with LAEDC gives him an overview of all of Los Angeles’ industries, but he sees active sportswear as a growth opportunity for local manufacturers, particularly with the continued acceptance of casualwear as everyday apparel. Also, the Baby Boomer generation, which is beginning to enter retirement, is more into fitness [which means] increased sales of active sportswear,” Kyser says.
Apparel manufacturing in Los Angeles generates more than $8.6 billion annually, according to Kyser, who referred to data from the 1997 Census of Business. The region’s traditional manufacturing strengths in swimwear and junior apparel are complemented by a growing core of surf and skate apparel companies—as well as companies that manufacture surf- and skate-influenced streetwear.
Kyser sat down with California Apparel News recently to talk about Los Angeles’ apparel industry and the opportunities for niche businesses.
Los Angeles tends to foster smaller manufacturers that choose to produce locally to monitor their production. How does that affect the types of business produced here?If you want to make sure the quality is always there, then you will manufacture here because you can watch it like a hawk. And if you’re dealing with stores that want the quick turnaround, then it makes sense to do it here. If you’re selling to a Target or a Wal-Mart in huge numbers, then you would have to produce offshore. Do you see Los Angeles becoming a design center for apparel manufactured in Mexico or elsewhere offshore? More will go to Mexico, but still, you will have that quality issue. If you’re in a high-end market, you will stay here because you know you can find the people that can do the type of work, you can watch it and catch it before things go too far off track. I think there will always be that [high-end] niche here and [also for] the quick turnaround. It will be a very strange industry. You’ll have the people doing the design and marketing for all types of apparel, and a lot of the production can be done offshore.
It makes sense to design it here [in Los Angeles] and then have it made offshore because you can test it out here. You can catch the mutations of the [trends]. Somebody will come up with one type of garment and then somebody will come up with an adaptation of it.
But you’ll have the specialty houses that have a specific niche [here]. Another thing that Los Angeles’ apparel industry specializes in is small start-up companies. Do you see that continuing? Yes, because the resources are here. You have this huge cluster already; it’s fairly easy to start up a company. Do you see that continuing even as the economy slows? I think it will. What you find when the economy slows [is] people pull back from buying cars, buying houses and appliances. They’re going to be looking to buy apparel. And from what I sense, there’s a thirst out there for something new and unusual. If people can come up with something new and exciting, there’ll always be a market for it. You have to look at the apparel industry as this constant churn of companies coming and going. There’s always somebody coming [into the industry] so there will always be the opportunity to start up. This is the best place to do it.And there will always be the opportunity to sell out...to a larger company. The trick will be to manage your business.
