Friday, January 27
TC2 to Discuss 3D, Customer Service at MAGIC
Cary, N.C.–based TC2, which researches fit for the apparel industry, will present two seminars focusing on 3D measurement technologies and customer service Feb. 21...
Levi, Koyono Jump on the Techwear Bandwagon
The iPod craze has forced a flurry of new apparel products designed to accommodate the device....
Italian Denim Label Hopes New U.S. Campaign Is a Charm
In 1984, Replay positioned itself to be one of the first Italian denim labels to make a splash in the American jeans market. But the company stopped short of its initial efforts to launch its...
Gap Aligns With IBM
San Francisco–based Gap Inc. has struck a 10-year, $1.1 billion contract with IBM to provide it with its IT infrastructure, consisting of mainframe computers, servers and network syst...
Tukatech Helps Upgrade Workforce in India
Los Angeles–based Tukatech Inc. has found a second home in India, which is fast becoming one of the top choices for production after China....
Crossover Buying Thrives at Glow
A crossover market between the fashion and giftware industries is growing, according to management at the California Market Center. They hope the trade show Glow captures the potenti...
Malden Lands $15m Military Bid
Textile mill Malden Mills Industries Inc. landed a $15 million bid from the U.S....
PLM a Hot Topic at Material World/Tech Solutions
Managing product development with the help of cutting-edge technology will be the hot topic during a series of seminars and workshops at the Material World/Technology Solut...
Oracle Snaps Up Another Company
Redwood City, Calif.–based software giant Oracle Corp. confirmed that it has purchased Austin, Tex.–based 360Commerce Inc., which develops retail management software....
Paxar Releases New Dye-Resistant Labels
White Plains, N.Y.–based Paxar Corp. has released three new labeling tapes designed for the over-dye, industrial-laundering and lingerie markets....
NRF Studies Retail Technology, Consumer Loyalty
Building loyalty between retailers and consumers was one of the main issues discussed at the recent National Retail Federation (NRF) Conference and Expo, held Jan. 15- 18 at the Jac...
Whitman Leaves Gap
San Francisco–based retailer Gap Inc. announced that Meg Whitman, president and chief executive officer of eBay Inc., will not return to Gap’s board of directors when her term ends in May. Whitman has b...
ASR and Agenda Mark Milestones
Surf continues to maintain the momentum it showed in September with the Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo, held Jan. 20–22 at the San Diego Convention Center, and Agenda, wh...
World Market
A contingent of California companies are among the many exhibitors testing the expanded Hong Kong Fashion Week....
Seamless Technology Catches Fire in Innerwear Market
Seamless apparel construction, which has become popular in the athletics market, is making further inroads into intimate apparel....
ApparelMagic Adds Client Participation
Murphy & Associates, Inc., developer of ApparelMagic, a business management software system, has launched a client participation program aimed at improving ApparelMagic for all o...
ENK's Blue Bows in NY
NEW YORK—New baby boy Blue made its very hip debut during a busy men’s fashion week in New York....
Preacute;lude Returns to CMC
Fledgling trade show focuses on print development, trend forecasting....
Looking for the Action
T-shirt makers choose between concurrent ISS and ASR shows....
New Show to Bring American Brands to China
Last summer, Frank Yuan, organizer of the ASAP Global Sourcing Show, held twice a year concurrently with the MAGIC Marketplace in Las Vegas, took 87 apparel buyers ...
Liz, Mac & Jac
New York–based manufacturer Liz Claiborne Inc. purchased Westcoast Contempo Fashions Limited and Mac and Jac Holdings Limited for approximately $23.6 million. The Vancouver- based company was founded in 1985 and produces the Mac & Jac, Kenzie an...
Velvet Leaf
The two sisters who design Velvet Leaf skipped their formal college education for an experience-based education—to start a clothing line. Nineteen-year-old Laura Car...
ASR Turns 25
Surfers, skaters and other members of the action sports industry took over the new House of Blues in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter when the Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo ho...
Jones Sells Polo
New York–based manufacturing giant Jones Apparel Group Inc. reached a stock purchase agreement to sell its Polo Jeans business to New York–based Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation. Jones will receive $355 million in...
On the Runway in Hong Kong
HONG KONG—There was no dearth of fashion shows at the recent
Hurley Shuffles Execs
Costa Mesa, Calif.–based surf brand Hurley International named Paul Gomez senior vice president of marketing and global branding, a position that includes overseeing the company’s international division. Gomez has been with the compan...
AIMS to Host EDI Workshop in L.A.
Noted Electronic Data Interchange expert Adam Rodriguez of eCsss will present an EDI Integration Workshop from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 28 at the Fashion Business Inc. Resource Ce...
H&M Announces Pasadena, L.A. Stores
Swedish retailer Hennes & Mauritz, LP will open more than four stores in Los Angeles and Orange counties by the end of 2006, according to a company representative. One store wil...
Hot Topic CEO to Direct Torrid, Too
The top executive post at Torrid, Hot Topic Inc.’s division offering fashionable clothes for plus-size women ages 15 to 29, will remain empty for the near future....
Nike's Not-So-New Man
Beaverton, Ore.–based athletic apparel giant Nike Inc. named longtime Co-president Mark Parker its news chief executive, replacing William D. Perez, who left the position after one year on the job. Per...
Bebe's Quarterly Earnings Up
Bebe Stores Inc. reported a 10 percent increase for its second quarter earnings during a recent conference call with retail analysts. Net sales for Bebe’s second quarter of fiscal 2006, which ...
Rock 'n' Roll Tees Head to L.A. Mart
The California Market Center is not alone in its efforts to drive retail traffic with fashion and gifts. The L.A. Mart hopes one of its newest showrooms will draw apparel retailers t...
Labuda to Address CFA
U.S. Customs’ Janet Labuda will be the guest speaker at the California Fashion Association’s membership meeting, set for Feb. 8 at The California Club in downtown Los Angeles....
Friday, January 20
Domestic Mills Court Premium-Denim Manufacturers
Brad Day wanted the fabric to be as all-American as the rest of his company. As the co-founder of Decent, he envisioned an ultra-premium denim brand that would sell for $240–$280. Armed with ideas and ...
Planet Brings Luxury Downtown
Los Angeles’ Fashion District is the place where many of California’s boutique owners buy goods for their luxury stores, but Jacques Artine Kevorkian thought the place was missing its own luxury boutique. Make ...
Op Hires New President
Irvine, Calif.–based Ocean Pacific Apparel Corp., a subsidiary of The Warnaco Group Inc., announced this week the appointment of Gary Hunt as president of Op Apparel USA. The positi...
MAGIC Puts Feminine Looks on Pedestal
Pedestal, a new showcase for women’s contemporary lines, will launch Feb. 21–24 at WWDMagic in Las Vegas. The showcase, which will act as the center of the show’s contemporary ...
Finding Solitude at JCPenney
Santa Barbara, Calif.–based Solitude has been striving for years to gain national exposure. Now, after eight years in the industry, the company is going to get its wish in a big way....
Three Dots Spotlights New Direction With Store
Garden Grove, Calif.–based contemporary tees label Three Dots will formally announce its plans to build the label into a lifestyle brand when the company opens a store on Los Angeles’ Melrose Avenue in...
Hot Topic Taps IHOP for New VP
Hot Topic Inc. announced Jan. 9 that it had hired a veteran human resources executive, Robin Elledge, to be senior vice president of the City of Industry, Calif.–based retailer’s human resource...
Barneys Dallas
New York–based specialty retailer Barneys New York, a division of Jones Apparel Group Inc., will open a Barneys New York flagship store in NorthPark Center in Dallas, Texas, this fall. At about 88,000 square feet, thi...
Retail Shift
Many retail workers are planning to job hunt this year, according to a recent survey by
Blum Leaves Cole
Paul Blum resigned his position as president of Kenneth Cole Productions Inc. to pursue other opportunities after 15 years with the New York–based company. Chairman and Chief Executive Kenneth Cole will tempor...
Gerry Reaches 90 Percent Occupancy
Showroom building juggles challenge of drawing...
G Line: Gear for Girls
Sarah Schilke, global category manager for G Line, a line of motorcycle gear made for women, said that in the more than 10 years she has worked in the motorcycle industry, the No. 1 complaint...
Snow Settles at Surf Expo as Fall Makes Early Debut
ORLANDO, Fla.—The skies were clear in Orlando, Fla., during the Jan. 13–15 run of Surf Expo at the Orange County Convention Center, but inside the convention hall, snow was definitely in the fo...
True Blue
New York’s denim trade show focuses on the cream of the crop ...
BDS to Acquire Channel Partners
Irvine, Calif.–based retail consultant BDS Marketing Inc. has reached an agreement to acquire rival Channel Partners, based in Gilbert, Ariz., for an undisclosed sum....
Hard Rock Hotel Offers New Party Venues for ASR
A Nobu restaurant and Rande Gerber–designed bar and lounge will be among the amenities at the new Hard Rock Hotel under development in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter, said a rep...
Birdie: Fashion Meets Function on the Golf Course
Kate Sutton’s San Francisco–based preppy golf line, Birdie, infuses bubbly energy into basic polo shirts and khaki bottoms that function as comfortable sport clothing. And Sutton has high hope...
January Sizzles at L.A. Fashion Market
Buyers stock up on Immediate-delivery merchandise, as well as goods for later deliveries...
Reebok's Innovations
Reebok, maker of athletic footwear and apparel, opened its new 350,000-square-foot headquarters and “Innovation Center” in Montreal. The facility will house Reebok Canada, a subsidiary of Reebok...
Quiksilver Moves Footwear Facility Inland
Huntington Beach, Calif.–based Quiksilver Inc. will be moving some of its warehouse facilities inland later this year to a spacious new state-of-the-art facility that has the added bonus of ch...
New Year's T-Shirt Resolutions
Carla O’Brien (at left) and Megan MacEachern started Fortune Tee three years ago as a children’s line with a penchant for cheeky novelty. The Hollywood-based label’s shirts bore slogans with clever fortune cookie–like...
Valley Wal-Mart
Retail giant Wal-Mart scrapped plans to open a 150,000-square-foot store in the San Fernando Valley city of Northridge after determining that the necessary environmental impact report would take too long to complete. The Ben...
S.F. Garment Workers to Collect Severance Pay
San Francisco–based manufacturer Nova Knits Inc. agreed last week to pay $500,000 in severance compensation to more than 100 garment workers who were laid off from the company with an hour’s no...
Friday, January 13
Fire Hire
Los Angeles–based juniors manufacturer Fire hired Lowell Tillmanto as East Coast sales manager and to run the company’s newly opened New York showroom. Tillmanto was previously with LA Movers, where he ...
Billabong Expands Accessories Offerings, Acquires Nixon Inc.
With 60 percent of its revenue being generated overseas, Australian surf giant Billabong continues to expand its global presence. Billabong International Ltd., parent company of Ir...
People's Ticker
The owners of Los Angeles–based People’s Liberation Inc., makers of the contemporary People’s Liberation and William Rast labels, have officially changed the company’s name from Century Pacific Financial Corp. to People’s...
Everlast and Underwear
New York–based active apparel brand Everlast Worldwide Inc. signed a licensing agreement with H Best Ltd., makers of 2(x)ist underwear, to launch a line of Everlast men’sand boys’ underwear and men’s loun...
Apparel Logs In at the Top Spot in Online Holiday Sales
For the first time in e-commerce history, apparel made it to the No. 1 spot online this Holiday season. Most experts were surprised at the rate of growth, which put apparel ahead of former leaders con...
Fashion by Smashbox
After two years in development, Smashbox clothing has finally arrived....
Retailers Gamble With Fashion in Chinatown
George Yu thought that hosting a fashion show on the streets of Los Angeles’ Chinatown could be a stroke of marketing genius. He also knew it was a gamble....
Metropark, Windsor Upgrade Technologies
Los Angeles–area retail chains Windsor Fashions and Metropark are overhauling their computerized retail systems with a new product from NSB Group geared toward small and mids...
Ports Preparing for Cargo Push as China Exports Grow
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., used to be known as the places you didn’t want to send your cargo if you needed it in a hurry. All that changed in 2005 when the ports extended their ho...
Sixty USA
Sixty USA Suite 904 Gerry Building (213) 236-0578 ...
Sports to Sportswear
The next big thing in fashion could be performance fabrics...
Peru Next in Line for Free-Trade Agreement
If all goes according to plan, Peru could be part of the free trade–agreement club by this summer....
EM Productions
Cooper Design Space, Suite 216 (213) 614-9292
This Charming Man
Charming Shoppes Inc. promoted James G. Bloise to executive vice president, overseeing supply chain management, information technology and shared business services for the Bensalem, Pa.–based retail ch...
Ferragamo Hits the Walk of Fame
Upscale footwear, accessories and apparel maker Salvatore Ferragamo will be this year’s honoree at the Rodeo Drive Walk of Style Awards, hosted by the city of Beverly Hills a...
Antique Showroom
California Market CenterSuite A1026 (866) 381-5960 ...
Michael V Accessories
The New Mart Suite 506 (213) 623-2932 ...
Indra Snapped Up by Competitor
San Diego–based Indra Technology Inc., which markets Escape sales-order management software for apparel manufacturers, has been purchased by rival firm CenterStone Technologies Inc. o...
AAFA, Avery to Offer RFID Discounts
The American Apparel & Footwear Association has joined forces with Pasadena, Calif.–based Avery Dennison’s Retail Information Services unit to provide discounted rates for RFID (ra...
Gift Shift to L.A. Mart
Several gift-industry showrooms are relocating in Los Angeles from the California Market Center to the L.A. Mart....
Park
WALK IN THE PARK: David Park took his nearly 10 years of design expertise and focused on creating a modern bottoms line named Park. The designer debuted the Spring 2006 line Jan. 8–1...
Freshjive Girls: Anything but Frilly
After several years, Los Angeles–based streetwear company Freshjive is reintroducing Freshjive Girls for Fall 2006. Keeping the core streetwear look of its men’s line, the girls’ collection is consistent with the company...
Streamlining Saks
Birmingham, Ala.–based retailer Saks Inc. named several new executives to help streamline the company. Stephen I. Sadove, current vice chairman and chief operating officer, has been named chief executive offic...
Friday, January 6
Apparel Companies Waiting as CAFTA Countries Update Laws
The Central American Free Trade Agreement was supposed to spell s-u-c-c-e-s-s for the region’s apparel industry. Instead, it is translating into frustration....
Pasadena Sisters Win Honors
The California-based designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy are among a handful of creators to win an Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation award for emerging designers....
Raison D'ecirc;tre: California's Take on Linen
Raison D’ecirc;tre interprets California’s favorite casual styles with a new fabric—linen....
Tianello's Holiday Spirit
On Dec. 22, Tianello Inc., a Los Angeles–based women’s apparel manufacturer, and its 200 employees donated 200 gift bags to homeless women at the New Image Emergency Center on Broadway in Los ...
Fire Gets New Showrooms and Corporate Office
Fire, a Los Angeles–based juniors denim, dress and sportswear manufacturer, is in the middle of a bicoastal growth spurt. The brand, which sells in Nordstrom, Char...
K-Swiss Communiqueacute;
Kids in Europe are communicating through the stripes on their K-Swiss shoes, according to the European distributor for Westlake Village, Calif.–based K-Swiss Inc. The company’s Stripe Shifter shoe style has five stripes on the...
Nu on 5 to Celebrate Opening
California Market Center will kick off the Jan. 13–17 run of Los Angeles Fashion Market with an invitation-only, grand-opening party for the Nu on 5 showroom in CMC suite A53...
December '05 Sales Solid, January '06 Sales Could Be Hot
Retailers turned in solid sales reports for the Holiday season, but indications point to a ripple effect in January, when consumers return to shop with gift cards in hand....
New Look Planned for Sourcing at MAGIC
Woodland Hills, Calif.–based trade show producer MAGIC International is revamping the Sourcing at MAGIC section in time for the Feb. 21–24 run of the MAGIC Marketplace in Las ...
Baby Boom at the CMC
Contemporary childrenswear helps fill California Market Center’s 6th floor ...
Holiday Sales Came Late for Retailers
Retail sales for the 2005 Holiday season proved to be solid, but the good news did not arrive until after a few weeks of nail biting for shop owners....
For Lingerie Retailer, 13 Is His Lucky Number
Lingerie retailers developed a higher profile in the past 20 years by opening boutiques in shopping centers across the United States. But Jaivin Karnani believed the market lost some of its s...
Paris Blues Names New President
For more than 20 years, Jose Quant, who founded denim manufacturer Paris Blues Inc., has been the company’s president....
Shoe In
Skechers USA Inc. promoted David Weinberg from chief financial officer to chief operating officer of the Manhattan Beach, Calif.–based footwear and apparel maker. Weinberg has been with the company for more th...
Affliction: Graphics With a Vintage Edge
The graphics of Santa Ana, Calif.–based Affliction are hip and edgy—but they take their cues from vintage illustration styles, including hand-drawn etchings and engravings....
Jeffrey Schwager Comes to CMC
New York showroom owner Jeffrey Schwager opened a Los Angeles branch of his eponymous showroom in the California Market Center in time for the Jan. 13–17 run of Los Angeles Fashion Market....
Sato Acquires Bar Codes From Check Point
Sato International Pte. Ltd. said it has reached an agreement to acquire the bar code–systems business of Redwood City, Calif.–based Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. for about $4...
A&F Sues Wet Seal Over Moose and Fish
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. filed a trademark-infringement lawsuit against California teen retailer The Wet Seal Inc. for using moose and fish designs on some of its clothing....
Haute Handbags From the Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO—San Francisco is home to a wealth of independent handbag designers, ranging from well-versed industry veterans to enthusiastic newcomers....
OptiTex Finds Growth in China
While Asian manufacturers continue to gain the lion’s share of production, non-Asian companies are supplying most of the technology being used....
Gerber to Offer Sourcing Services
Tolland, Conn.–based Gerber Technology has teamed with Iselin, N.J.–based ecVision to provide global sourcing and collaboration applications for the apparel and textile industries....
Stonefield Josephson Gets Century City Address
Accounting firm Stonefield Josephson Inc. will relocate its headquarters to the landmark Century Plaza Towers in the Century City area of Los Angeles later this month....
Robin's Jean
ROCKER DENIM: French-born Robin Chretien, former designer at Blue Cult and co-founder and former partner at Hudson Jeans, launched his own line, Robin’s Jean, for Spring 2006. Although some in the ...
L.A. Fashion Week Gearing Up for March
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios organizers have set March 19–23 as the dates for the Fall 2006 run of catwalk shows at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, Calif....
MJW Eyes Prominent Retailers in East L.A.
Santa Monica, Calif.–based real estate developer MJW Investments has set its sights high in its effort to draw quality national retailers to a new mixed-use development it’s planning in the Boy...
Feng Shui Tee
DAILY DOSE: The Feng Shui Tee brings the Chinese practice of living in harmony with the elements to the everyday wardrobe. Paschal Jarmoune, who developed the T-shirt concept, worked...
Jeantex Nixes Merger with Sanatex
Huntington Beach, Calif.–based denim manufacturer Jeantex Group announced the termination of its letter of intent to purchase Carson, Calif.–based low-cost private-label manufacturer S...
Lectra to Outfit Mango With PLM
Spanish apparel manufacturer and retailer Mango will be among the first companies to use Lectra’s new Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software system after signing on to install th...
FIDM Gets the Emmys
First it went to the movies, then it went to the stars, now the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising is preparing to enter the world of television....
PacSun Exec Moves to Haggar
Joseph Harris, who was vice president of sourcing and product development at Pacific Sunwear of California in Anaheim, Calif., for nearly two years, has left to take a similar positi...
Nordstrom's Art Exhibition
Seattle-based specialty store Nordstrom will feature a photography exhibition by Kamoinge, a group of African American photographers, in celebration of Black History Month. The photos focus on “life an...
Ed Hardy Debuts Christian Audigier
The tattoos on Ed Hardy T-shirts may be vintage, but the Los Angeles–based brand is developing retail businesses that are new. On Dec. 14, the company opened a debut boutique for its new line, Christian Audigier, named af...
