California Apparel News

Quality and quantity were key words during the March 30–April 5 run of the Los Angeles Fall I apparel market at the California Mart and New Mart. Many sales reps said that although traffic was less than stellar, buyers who attended placed solid “quality” orders. Buyers in their turn said the varied yet defined Western, black and white, novelty and denim trends happening for Fall provided a “good amount of quality items to choose from,” as one buyer put it.

The solid sales came as a surprise to some sales reps that said they expected economic uncertainty to have had a bigger impact on Fall’s sales.

“I was really surprised by the good turnout,” said Jamie Prince, owner of the upscale namesake showroom on the Cal Mart’s second floor. “I didn’t expect this, with everyone complaining about what the economy is doing to apparel.”

Some exhibitors said they planned their show with the slowing economy in mind.John Howe, sales rep of Morgan Travis, an Alpaca and Alpaca-blend outerwear and accessories company based in Torrance, Calif., said “the economy gave us adequate warning. We knew it wasn’t going to be going 100 miles an hour.”

Howe, who was exhibiting the line in the Designers & Agents show on the third floor of the New Mart, described the show as “slow, but with a steady stream of people.”

Other reps said they expected the flagging economy to continue.

“I think if we attend again in June, the same pattern will continue due to the almost near recession, due to the [weak] stock market, due to [low] consumer confidence,” said Brad Boonshaft of New York-based Helen Wang. Boonshaft said he thought retailers were “holding on to their paper for future deliveries, which puts a tremendous burden on manufacturers, particularly those who produce offshore and have a limited time frame to make their projections.”

Boonshaft was exhibiting in Pacific Champions show in the California Mart’s Fashion Theater.

Karen Mamont, the Cal Mart’s executive director of marketing and public relations, said although “the numbers looked up a couple of days ago, they have now evened out compared to last year.”

Audrey Felli, sales rep for better Los Angeles-produced label David Meister, also on the Cal Mart’s second floor, said she was a “happy camper” because she had a “great show and saw lots of new stores.”

“I think it’s the luck of the draw, there’s no rhyme or reason to selling in L.A.,” she said.

“The truth is you hit if your line is good, and it’s a miss if its not.”

Creative Concepts showroom owner Peter Jacobson said, “Business came in waves, as usual.”

“It’s either feast of famine,” he said. “But overall I would say it’s on par with last year.”

But not every showroom agreed. Some reps said traffic appeared to be down significantly from last fall.

“Traffic is definitely off compared to last year, the show has been very slow,” said Yvette Estrada, sales rep for the Angelica-Val knit showroom on the second floor. “But I am happy with my paper,” she added.

Cristina Angarola, owner of her eponymous contemporary showroom on the Cal Mart’s fifth floor, agreed.

“Traffic seems really down, but we’ve had a good response to what we’ve shown,” she said.

Reps reported seeing buyers from large retailers and small boutiques. Daryl Johnson, sales rep for the Christiana showroom on the Cal Mart’s fifth floor, said he met with buyers from majors such as Dillards.

Johnson added that the retailers that “did come in wrote well.”

“This show is definitely quality versus quantity,” he said.

The Cal Mart moved its Look show of smaller, alternative and clubwear labels from its usual spot on the second floor mezzanine to the eighth floor, where the show shared the floor with permanent showrooms for such lines at Tag Rag and XOXO. Danny Cook, owner of Los Angeles-based Private Circle, said his business in the Look section was a “little slower than last market,” but he was “seeing the right people.”

“Everybody we’ve seen has left paper,” he said.

Most buyers were looking for immediate deliveries, according to Boonshaft, who added that retailers from Western states typically buy closer to season than other buyers.

Pacific Champions: Strong Start, Good Business

Exhibitors at Pacific Champions reported consistently that the show opened with heavy traffic and, even with a slowdown by the end of the show on April 2, business remained good.

“Friday was far and away the best day—81 percent of my confirmed appointments showed up,” said Helen Wang’s Boonshaft.

“We could have packed up and gone home,” he said. “Almost 100 percent of the people who said they would walkup did come.”

However, Boonshaft also reported that the overall traffic was off its mark, by 20 to 30 percent.

The show, which includes women’s apparel and accessories exhibitors, is produced by New York-based ENK, which also produces five shows in New York, including the Collective and Fashion Coterie.

Alan Cohen, sales representative for Alan Michael USA Leather Works, gave a similar account of the opening-day peak, adding Sunday as another high point of the show.

Cohen said that this was the first Los Angeles show for them in 10 years. He reported that Monday morning was satisfying, but that the attendance hit a lull near the lunch hour.

Some sales reps said appointments were disappointing, but business was still available due to the huge number of walkups.

“It’s been a walkup show, and people have always been reluctant to give a confirmed appointment,” said Boonshaft.

Helen Campbell, a buyer for Sugar Stores in Westlake Village, Calif., said that she avoided making appointments because she said she can never figure out how much time she will spend in one place, leaving her with no method for properly budgeting her time.

Al Beres, who designs sterling-silver belts for Continental Leather, reported that the majority of his traffic was from walkups, but that almost everyone who stopped by wrote paper.

“This is the biggest writing show,” said Beres. “Very few people are taking notes.”

Not every rep agreed with Beres, however. Cohen said he saw more note taking than orders but he added that he was able to renew a lot of old relationships.

Most buyers were looking for immediate deliveries, according to Boonshaft, who added that retailers from Western states typically buy closer to season than other buyers.

Beres reported that most of his orders were also for immediates because “in designer belts, everybody wants it now. When things are hot, you have to buy now.”

Designers & Agents: Strong Trends, Happy Buyers

Buyers hailed mostly from the Western states, but some came from as far as Beirut. Many said the Western, black and white, novelty and denim trends dominating Fall’s offerings made for good shopping.

Sharon Ball, owner of the Escapades boutique in Danville, Calif., said she found so many cute things at this market,” she didn’t know where she was going to find the room in the store to put them.

Leslie Bayard, owner of the Studio City, Calif.-based Leslie Boutique, said she was looking for transitional pieces because “it’s hot in Studio City until late October.”

“But I love the show, it’s lots of fun and I’m loving all the great colors and Western stuff,” she added.

The Western-inspired look was also a draw for buyer Sue Oneto, owner of Sue’s Shoppe in Jackson, Calif., who added that she was “buying close to the season” to not risk “overstocking, which is a gamble.”

Color attracted Carol Dean Ross, owner of the young designer Carol Dean Body & Soul boutique in Palm Desert, Calif., who said, “They like color in the desert” and that merchandise compared to last Fall “was a lot better, with a lot more variations on the themes.”

ISAM Caters to Local Market

The few swimwear manufacturers that did show at the Summer/Early Cruise 2002 ISAM show on the 13th floor of the Cal Mart said they were catering mostly to local swim shops looking to fill in summer orders, to buy off-price, or get a head start on trends for 2002.

ISAM director Barbara Brady confirmed the show was “good,” and added that the show served more to “test a little newness and see local accounts.”

“The show so far has been good. You can’t compare this to the ISAM show in October—this is pretty much just a preview for our Northern California, Washington and more local buyers,”said Ron Razzano, sales rep for the Apparel Ventures showroom.

Howard Geller, executive vice president of Los Angeles-based Monarch Knits who produces Rampage swim goods, agreed.

“We don’t rely on this show except as an added venue to see people such as Nordstrom,” he said. “We actually do better going door to door than at this show.”

Geller was also launching Rampage’s Early Cruise in his bootcamp-themed showroom to get his customers “in the mood” for the new trends, which he said is “heavily influenced by Rampage’s ready-to-wear.”

Some of the trends included:

bull; Color, especially teal, fuchsia, purple and black and white together

bull; Sparkle, either as part of tricot or caviar beading

bull; Unusual back treatments

bull; Photo-realistic scenes, especially tropical

bull; Colored camouflage and floral prints

“We’re giving all these trends an extremely contemporary feeling,” said Geller. “I feel they have a longer life span when we do that.”

D&A: Traffic Up, Buying Down

The Designers & Agents show at the New Mart disappointed some exhibitors, although the show’s coordinators reported an increase in traffic over previous years.

Catherine Miller of New York-based Aubrey Company reported that some buyers were hesitant to set appointments even though most of the buyers she met with were regular customers. Miller also noted that of the walkup buyers who left paper, the buying levels were lower.

“Traffic has been pretty slow,” Miller said. “I’ve seen some of my key buyers, but this time around they’re not buying as much as they normally would.”

John Howe of Morgan Travis said the traffic was slow but steady and that, overall, he was satisfied with the level of buying. Another designer, who did not want to be named, said she was dismayed over what seemed to be a decrease in traffic.

However, show coordinators Barbara Kramer and Ed Mandelbaum said their records indicate buyer attendance was higher than the previous show.

“Our traffic is up 25 percent—this is our best show ever,” Kramer said. “I think we’ll finish at about 675 in attendance for this show, and our highest attendance before was about 525 buyers. That’s a pretty reasonable jump.”

Mandelbaum agreed, adding, “I don’t know if there is an increase in dollars, but there is an increase in traffic.”

Kramer said she heard from observers that there was more note taking and fewer orders compared to previous years, but emphasized that the apparel market is slow overall.

For this market, buyers are being “cautioushellip;not free-spending like they were [last market], but they’re out there in a big way shopping,” according to Mandelbaum.

Jill Trainer, buyer for Green Apple in Sausalito, Calif., reported that she placed heavy orders for product she found at D&A, and said she was buying both to season and immediates.

New Mart Fares Well in General

Showrooms on several floors of the New Mart were busy with sales reps reporting satisfaction overall with business.

“Appointments are booked,” said Averi Belle, sales rep for Leila Ross Sales, “and people who couldn’t make appointments because they didn’t know where they would be stopped by and are writing orders with us. Most of the walkups are people who buy from us every market anyway, so they would book appointments if they could.”

Belle said that nearly 100 percent of the people who came through their doors actually left paper. Barbara Lotwis, sales rep for the Calla Lily and Passport Trading Company, in Sonal Beach, Calif., agreed, adding, “people are buying a lot of stuff. I take the orders with me and place them [with the designers] when I get back.”

Other showrooms expressed satisfaction with market, but were still slightly less enthusiastic about the consistency of the traffic.

“It’s been pretty consistent for the last couple of days,” said Nina Perez, sales rep for Annamoon and Stampa. “It’s a little slower than I expected. I had a few appointments and I definitely had some good walkthrough traffic.”

Mary Curry, manager for Angelheart, shared the same view. The showroom presented fashion shows for buyers during market week.

“It started slow but it has steadily gotten better for us,” she said. “We do fashion shows all day long. Buyers come in and we show them what they want to see on bodies.”