California Apparel News

Gift and home-accessory retailers visiting the California Gift Show Jan. 14–21 at the California Market Center (CMC) and Los Angeles Convention Center saw a lot of crossover appeal for soft goods thanks to the concurrently run Los Angeles Fashion Week at the CMC. Yet while apparel and fashion accessories were a big draw, retailers were cautious with their buying strategies after a rough holiday season.

Traffic was up in the double-digit percentages at the CMC, fueled by the overlapping apparel market, which was held Jan. 17–21. Similar improvements were found at the nearby Los Angeles Convention Center.

“We had high double-digit increases in retail attendance for this show compared to the January and July 2002 gift and home-decor shows,” said Cecil Strickland, executive director of retail relations for the CMC. “It was a phenomenal market, made that much more successful by fashion week.”

Strickland reported that buyers from 47 states and 17 countries attended the combined markets, which included a three-day preview period. Attendance outpaced the CMC’s projections for the event, said Strickland. Aside from the apparel element, the addition of presentations by designer Bob Mackie, the Groundlings comedy troup and representatives from Faith Popcorn’s trend-tracking firm appeared to lure the crowds to the CMC.

The opening Friday of the event appeared to be the busiest. Showrooms Dirt Cheap Imports logged a major order from an eight-store home-decor chain. Apparel showrooms such as Betty Bottom also experienced heavy crossover traffic from the gift show. Buyers were enthralled by the company’s deep offering of shawls and Indian-made clothing, said Betty Bottom president Rosanne Tritica.

Carol Lang, principal of CMA Associates, the largest showroom at the CMC, also enjoyed the benefits of the combined markets.

“We had some interesting crossover business with lots of apparel buyers,” said Lang. “They made some discoveries with accessory items.”

Lang said that CMA did a lot of promoting of the combined market, which, she said, contributed to the traffic.

While the crossover interest was prevalent, showroom managers also felt an air of caution that buyers brought with them.

“Some are buying deep, but they’re not willing to take big risks,” said Meg Gilmore, a sales manager with Ann McGilvray & Co., based on the 10th floor of the CMC. “They’re going for sure bets,”

Bigger showrooms like CMA and Anne McGilvray said that they were getting across-the-board orders with no single category standing out.

“Christmas was not as bad as we thought it would be,” said Lang of CMA. “There were no barn-burner categories, and buyers are cautious about this market, but I think we’ll eventually see some improvement this year.”

CMC officials hope to spur business with the February launch of Market Tuesdays, which will open the CMC gift and home showrooms to mini markets.

Mood upbeat at Convention Center

The mood also appeared cautious and yet upbeat at the Los Angeles Convention Center, where the main stage of the California Gift Show took place over three halls. Many of the trends found at the CMC were echoed here.

“There are more qualified buyers with money to spend,” said Deborah Deaton, director of Millersville, Md.-based T-shirt line Joe Blow. “We’re looking to double last year’s sales figures.”

Deaton said she did well with dog-print shirts and sleepwear by Artist Collection. With the exclusive North American license for the products, which sport fish-eye-lens shots of puppies, she has been selling and speaking with big accounts such as Dillard’s, Disney Store, Hot Topic and others at the show.

“It’s something new and has crossover appeal to different types of stores,” she said.

Still, she said 2002 was a tough year in which retailers called the shots.

“We had to drop our minimums to 100 from 500, so we’re working twice as hard for half the sales,” she said.

Traffic was also brisk at the Homage booth in the LA Contemporary section of the show, where Sarah Atkinson was selling children’s accessories, such as Zookies chalkboard- pattern hats, bibs and shirts and Made on Earth image-driven T-shirts and purses.

“There’s been a shift at these shows—I looked at my orders so far, and that used to represent my first day at the show,” said Atkinson. “The shows are requiring a lot more follow-up work than in the past.”

Novelty was paramount to buyers who were placing orders for vintage jewelry, such as the flower-crystal bracelets at Tiara Misu and the purses modeled after Chinese takeout boxes at Yans NY. The purses, crafted from satin weaves in 14 bold color patterns, were selling to high-end boutiques, according to designer Lina Luo. She said business is up 30 percent compared with last year.

Juliet Hennings, one of five Hot Topic buyers shopping at the Rix booth, said licensing was her focus, as she reviewed some of the company’s cartoon-inspired toys and gadgets. “It’s very big for us,” she said.

And Valerie Herzog, a buyer for the Brix wine shop in Napa Valley, found interest in Lunares silver dishes, Maxcera mosaics and Lageyre embroidered handbags. Herzog estimated her buying volume was 20 percent lower than last year’s. Yet, product quality was there.

“I was really pleased with the selection I found this year,” she said.