California Apparel News

The first California Mart Fall junior market, which completed its four-day run on April 18, turned in strong attendance and generated healthy business, according to center officials, who are planning a bigger show for next year.

The fact that it overlapped Los Angeles Fashion Week by two days only enhanced the synergy between the junior and contemporary markets.

On the downside, according to Trish Moreno, the executive director of marketing for the Cal Mart, attendance by manufacturers who would set up temporary show spaces was “soft.”

“It was a really good start and in the right direction,” she said. “Our goal is to build it to the level of the October [Spring junior] market.”

Moreno said the advantage of an April market is that it’s a key month for buyers to visit Los Angeles to see the latest looks for Back-to-School and to visit boutiques in the neighborhood.

“We get great trend direction when we come out here,” said Dee Dee Combs, a juniors buyer for Proffitt’s, a division of Saks Inc., who was scouting out romantic, feminine woven tops at the market.

For other buyers, the local junior market saved a trip back east.

“We didn’t go to New York because we knew we were coming here,” said Julie Saville, a buyer with Anaheim, Calif.-based Clothestime, who said she was spending 10 percent more on purchases compared to last year.

Though junior buying offices in the Cal Mart say they’ve taken April selling into their own hands for the past few years, they welcomed the extra publicity from the center.

“What’s good for my clients is to see a buzz and the tremendous activity in the building,” said Sandy Potter, principal at Directives West, a junior buying office that met with Belk stores, Gottschalk’s, Proffitt’s and Styles For Less. “That’s why it’s important to have the [Cal Mart] involved—it creates a positive experience for the clients.”

Potter said it was no surprise that bohemian and athletic trends topped the shopping list of buyers. Peasant blouses with billowy sleeves in knits and gauze, prairie skirts with fringe belts, and active bottoms and hoodies were selling briskly.

“Girls want to be flirts and tomboys at the same time,” she said.

The strong fashion cycle is fueling Potter’s business, which was up 7 percent to 12 percent over last year. The hunger for the big-selling looks is leading to difficulties in securing early deliveries, noted Potter.

“Stores are chasing business,” she said. “Stores placing their orders now are getting the goods. Those who wait and see are getting left behind.”

Moshe Tsabag, owner of Los Angeles-based Hot Kiss, agreed, saying the buying frenzy stems from optimism for a strong Back-to-School season.

“Buyers are arguing with us and bargaining for an extra day or two in delivery,” he said.

Tsabag, who booked 65 appointments for the market and generated $1 million in sales in three days, said the denim category was on fire. Key looks ranged from low-rise denim jeans and jumpsuits to denim dresses with feminine lace and embroidered touches.The Barbara Fields Buying Office kicked off the week with a packed four-hour trend seminar. Barbara Fields said she contacted her retail clients, including Citi Trends, Reference, Rue 21, Strawberry, Boot Barn and Wakefield’s, to encourage them to visit Los Angeles. She also notified key New York manufacturers to sell out of her offices at the junior market. Many of those manufacturers say it was a worthwhile endeavor.

“This gave me a chance to capture reorders, which drive the business,” said Mary Feramisco, a sales representative for New York-based juniors manufacturer Necessary Objects.

Showrooms Report Mixed Results

The market, held on the Cal Mart’s eighth, 11th and 12th floors, mostly benefited the center’s 180-plus permanent junior showrooms.

Karen Frazier, co-owner of Luna Chix, said her permanent showroom was busy with buyers looking for novelty tops.

“There’s been a great mood for buying,” she said.However, Christiana Swain, sales rep for The Girls Unlimited, which markets One Market St. junior knitwear, reported a “slower market.” “Buyers are looking for simple basic stuff. They’re conserving their dollars,” she said.

Not everyone got the word about the show, but that didn’t stop manufacturers from endorsing it.

quot;I didn’t know about it, but I think it’s a good idea,” said Dick Cantrell, owner of Santa Monica, Calif.-based Hard Tail, a denim and activewear manufacturer that recently opened a new 5,000-square-foot showroom at the New Mart. “There’s a lot of blending and crossover between junior and contemporary lines.”

Cantrell said the show helps explain why showroom business was “busy as heck.” Buyers looking for yoga pants with rollover waistbands, potassium-print tops and jackets helped him double his orders over last year.

Los Angeles-based teen retailer Windsor Fashions, which is located in the Cal Mart, also mentioned that it was unaware of the event.

“The only impact we realized was the difficult parking situation,” said Ike Zekaria, co-owner and general merchandise manager of the 35-store chain.

Zekaria said the show concept was sound, but he’d prefer to see the event held earlier in the year.

“In a perfect world, the market should come to Los Angeles in the winter because winters are so unpredictable in New York,” he said. n