California Apparel News

Despite the state of the economy and the national alert for more terrorist attacks, buyers were showing up at the California Mart for Spring 2002 market, held Nov. 2–6, and reps reported brisk business particularly for missy labels.

The overall sentiment expressed by manufacturers was that business must move on.

“I’ve done really well,” said Susan Burnett, owner of Susan Burnett Sales, which shows everyday, active streetwear on the third floor of the Cal Mart. “We felt that there was a big turnout. I don’t know if that’s because they needed to come to L.A. or if they are going to regional markets.”

Burnett said she was seeing buyers from all over the country. And the buyers she met with came prepared to buy.

“For me, it’s been a great turnout and people have been buying, not just looking,” she said. “I had no appointments; I’ve had millions of walk-ins—people that I haven’t seen in years.”

The Cal Mart does not release attendance figures, but Trish Moreno, executive director of the building, reported that there were “really strong attendance numbers, and lots of new exhibitors in the Fashion Theater.”

Contemporary resources—both temporary exhibitors and those with permanent showrooms—also reported strong business at market, according to Moreno, who said contemporary buyer attendance was high.

Dana Pederson, a rep for Red Line on the fifth floor of the Cal Mart, reported seeing buyers from all over the nation, including buyers from Eastern cities who typically shop New York shows such as Fashion Coterie and Femme. This year, those two shows were rescheduled because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“We’ve seen customers [from] everywhere from Florida and [other Eastern states], as well as the Midwest and the South,” she said. “The majority was still from within [California]. There was a flow because a lot of people from the Midwest and South that would have gone to the Coterie didn’t want to go to New York, so they came here instead.”

Pederson said that her showroom was satisfied with the order placement from the heavier-than-expected buyer traffic, which was steady, but that the showroom had “no real expectations” about market, adding, “The customers who were coming in were buying.”

Other contemporary showrooms on the fifth floor were also experiencing satisfactory results with buyers, particularly those reps who campaigned ahead of time.

Joni Samuels, who presents Camillia, Gigi and Muse in her showroom, reported that she conducted a phone campaign prior to market to tell retailers about Muse winning the Dallas Specialty Store award.

“I knew [about the award] a week before market, so I called everybody and told them that retailers were loving it in the Southwest,” said Samuels. “They all showed up and loved what they bought. They were really driven to go back to lines that they knew were performers for them.”

Paul Cheng, a rep for Meng Designs, a plus-size silk and cotton showroom on the third floor, witnessed similar results, with business stemming largely from returning customers.

“I think people are still buying because they have to stay in business,” said Cheng. “They need something new, but they will buy more conservatively. They want to buy lines they are familiar with. We saw less new customers and more existing customers who do well with our lines.”

Kathleen O’Connor, a rep for ISDA & Co. on the fifth floor, said she was pleased with the buyer turnout but disappointed with the orders placed.

“It was busy,” said O’Connor. “The appointments came, but they didn’t leave paper, so I’m going to have to do some serious tracking and running down some people to get the paper.”

Manufacturers who were not busy were pragmatic about the overall slowdown in buying, focusing on the next market with hope.

“I think we will have a better market in January,” said Phil Witzer, owner of Phil Witzer & Associates, a showroom with designer dresses and sportswear, with market sales focused on sportswear. “I think that business in the stores was not as strong as it should be at this time of year. [Retailers] have a lot of inventory and they’re being very cautious because they don’t know exactly what is going on in the world. They’re holding back a little bit because they want to turn some of their inventory into dollars, so they can come back and buy some new clothes as they enter into Spring.”

Some manufacturers were going where they believed they would find the best results.

On the eighth floor, the showrooms of many juniors manufacturers, including Hot Kiss, XOXO and Self Esteem, were closed, with notes in their windows explaining their absence as being due to their attendance at New York’s market week.

A number of other manufacturers from the same floor, including XCVI Wearables, Amanda Grey and M.A.C., were relocated to the third floor to accommodate the impending gift and home accessories showrooms as the Cal Mart works toward a compression plan.

Roni Arteaga of XCVI Wearables relocated to the third floor just in time for market, with positive results for her offering of garment-dyed, everyday-wear missy garments.

“I literally moved in here at the last minute and market started the next day,” said Arteaga. “I had good traffic and I opened up a lot of new accounts. Up there [on the eighth floor], I didn’t have that traffic. [Here on the third floor] I had appointments, of course, but there were people walking by and being interested. I am a very happy camper.”

Arteaga said she prefers the climate of the third floor, where the other showrooms maintain a hopeful outlook.

There were, however, some hopeful showrooms on the eighth floor, including Red Star, a young contemporary denim line.

“You just have to be grateful for your blessings,” said Jean Claude Martin, Red Star’s owner. “It could have been this building that was hit [by terrorists]. For me, the response is very encouraging.”

Bridge and better resources showing on the second floor reported sluggish traffic, but most weren’t too alarmed about the slowdown.

Jamie Prince of Jamie Prince Sales, which handles lines including Tomatsu, Duna and Dismero, estimated traffic to be half of what she normally sees.

Yvette Estrada of Angelica Val., also on the second floor, was less generous in her calculation, estimating traffic to be only one-third its normal amount.

Daisy Crisastomo, who was selling the West Coast-based Maggie Barry line, a collection of day-to-evening sportswear, thinks the better price points will weather a downturn better.

“People who have money will continue to shop, so the higher-end companies will do well, but I see the more moderate segment struggling,” she said. “My buyers are buying but not as much.”

In reaction to slower business, Crisastomo is refraining from as much cross-country travel as she can and doing more roadwork on the West Coast.Attendance Soars at New Mart

Attendance was up at the New Mart, which saw approximately 1,150 registered buyers, a figure that represents an increase over last year’s market attendance by about 15 percent, according to New Mart director Ethan Eller.

“It seems to be a real strong, healthy market,” Eller said. “It’s our largest market since April 2000, and it looks like the dollar mark is right there behind it. All I’m seeing is a lot of tired—but happy—faces.”

The Spring market certainly attracted many buyers in search of immediate merchandise. However, some reps attributed the “better than usual” buyer traffic and steady business to the lack of West Coast buyers attending last month’s Fashion Coterie and Femme shows.

“It’s definitely been an advantage for us because the buyers who would normally shop on the East Coast are coming here for their Spring orders,” said Diana Guzman, a rep at Barbara James & Co. showroom on the New Mart’s sixth floor, who reported strong sales for novelty T-shirts by Coco Kliks and contemporary sweaters by Sister.

Despite a general lag in overall retail business, reps found buyers in an upbeat frame of mind during market week.

“Buyers seem more conservative, but the general mood is positive,” said owner Miriana Ojeda, who reported steady orders from department stores and better specialty retailers at her contemporary showroom on the eighth floor of the New Mart, which carries lines by Biya, Vivian Tam, Neesh and Ligne Rouge by Philippe Adec. Designers & Agents Expand Exhibitor Space, Increase Attendance

Meanwhile, Designers & Agents (D&A) continued to expand its contemporary and young designer offerings on the third floor of the New Mart. The 22,000-square-foot space was recently renovated to allow room for more exhibitors. According to Eller, the showroom now holds up to 50 percent more exhibitors.

Eller said the space will also be used in the future for Fashion Business Incubator meetings and panels, conferences and other trade-show events.

D&A co-producer Ed Mandelbaum said this market included about 80 booths, with about 175 collections. After the D&A space renovation was completed, many of the returning exhibitors requested larger spaces to spread out their collections, he said.

“This was definitely one of the most successful market shows for D&A,” Mandelbaum said, noting that the show’s attendance figures indicate a 30 percent increase over last year.

“We’re excited about the turnout,” he added. “Even Saturday [Nov. 3], which is traditionally our slowest day, was up 75 percent.”

Although word is a number of out-of-state buyers cancelled trips to market, in general, D&A still attracted strong key players, including Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, Henri Bendel, Neiman Marcus, and even Parisian boutique Colette, according to Mandelbaum.Uncertainty at Retail

Given the topsy-turvy economic climate, retailers expressed mixed views on how to stock their stores in the coming months.

“It’s hard to predict. I was down 11 percent in September and up 24 percent in October,” said Barbie Falconer, owner of Barbie K. in Manhattan Beach, Calif.

The fickle buying patterns are also translating into changing clothing demands, she noted.

“I’m doing an absolute phenomenal business in blouses—about a quarter of my business last month—but I can’t sell dresses,” Falconer said.

As a result, she planned to stick to sure-sellers, including denim line Vitamina and Glima T-shirts.

Basics were also top of mind for Victoria Hardey, owner of Toria in Los Alamitos, Calif. “Nothing too wild or too trendy” was her motto, Hardey said, while shopping the fifth floor of the Cal Mart. “And, I think prints are going to slowly die down in favor of solids. Unless a print is amazing, I’m not going to want it,” she added.

Contrary to the current mindset of many, other boutique owners were pushing ahead with more adventurous, more expensive clothing.

“We’re ordering less, scaling down inventory but buying more special pieces—maybe those that cost 10 to 20 percent more,” said Neely Shearer, owner of Xin on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. “We’re skipping the T-shirts, the tanks. We’re finding customers won’t spend money on ordinary items.”

Sam Lauachus, owner of A. Mason in Santa Monica, Calif., agreed.

“Basics are just sitting in my store,” Lauachus said. “I have a pretty creative, pretty artsy customer, and she’s looking for newness.”

New Focus

Fashion resources showing at the California Mart’s new Focus collection of contemporary lines and clubwear labels in the Fashion Theater said it was a case of a good idea but not-so-great timing for the concept. Focus brought a hipper look to the market with the addition of more urbanwear and clubwear by vendors including Private Circle/Freddi Rojas, Koperhaus and others.

These vendors welcomed the concept but were somewhat disappointed by off-and-on traffic.

“It was slow the first two days and then picked up a bit,” said Istvan Burgyan, West Coast sales representative for Los Angeles-based Private Circle. “Some buyers are afraid to buy before Christmas, but then there are some retailers that don’t care. We had one Canadian account place a $10,000 order.”

Private Circle, which markets contemporary wear for men and women, is taking on Los Angeles contemporary designer Rojas and will be incorporating his designs within the Private Circle line, said Ann Vo, a rep for City of Industry, Calif.-based IF Studio International. For Spring, Rojas was highlighting terry cloth and showing fishnet and chiffon items for Holiday. Private Circle was highlighting washed denim with creased finishes, stretch shirts with exposed darts for men, and pleated skirts and dresses with deep V cuts.

Navell Shorter, president of New York-based Koperhaus, a new line of lifestyle denimwear, said that concepts such as Focus will become more important going forward as retailers look for alternatives to old standbys.

“This market is in a transition,” he said. “Younger consumers are looking for new brands that are alternatives to the older ones. That’s why you’re seeing companies like Paper Denim taking off. We feel a line heavy in denim and very fashion-forward is needed.”

Koperhaus was showing blazers, trenchcoats and dusters with perforated leather trim in Euro and contoured fits, which are aimed at more curvy women. The line is priced from $25 to $125.

Denim and Americana themes were prominent among the Focus exhibitors. Lily Dickerson of Miami-based Lidi showed capri pants and tops made from printed upholstery fabrics and toile bearing Americana themes including cowboy and Indian prints. Sherry Cassin of New York-based Cassin introduced a new collection of vintage denim jackets from Lee, Wrangler and Levi’s adorned with fur trims and silk linings at price points from $350 to $1,895. Cassin was optimistic about long-term performance at the high end of retail.

“I’m sure we’ve been affected, but we’ve been doing special orders and reorders. We’ve opened several new accounts here. It seems the people we are talking to say their customers are taking a ’you only live once’ attitude about their purchases. And we’ve all been through this before with the Persian Gulf War and stock market fluctuations,” she said.

“We feel the outlook is good for the long term,” echoed Bruce Johnston, president of Mona & Co., a recently relaunched designer contemporary label based in Santa Monica, Calif. The company, which has a showroom on the Cal Mart’s eighth floor, was showing the line in the Fashion Theater as part of Focus. “Our issues are a little different since we’re reentering the market but sales are good here,” Johnston added.—R.M.