California Apparel News

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 premium denim in the United States.

“It was too early,” said Thierry Andretta, president of Replay U.S., the label’s American division. He felt that Americans weren’t prepared to spend more than $100 on jeans 20 years ago. Most were used to paying less than $25 for a pair of Levi’s denim.

However, Replay executives believe that the time is ripe to try again. Replay is opening a store at the Los Angeles– based Beverly Center on Feb. 1. The 2,450-squarefoot boutique is part of the Italian denim label’s American retail roll-out that Andretta forecasts will eventually reach more than 30 doors.

The company opened a 3,000-square-foot store at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, Calif., in September. The company has also run a store in New York’s SoHo neighborhood since 1992 and maintained a boutique on West Hollywood’s Melrose Avenue from 1995 to 2000.

America may now be ready to embrace a brand like Replay, according to Andretta. Fashion savvy consumers across the United States do not blink at the prospect of spending more than $200 on a pair of jeans. They also have embraced European denim brands such as Replay’s rival Diesel, which traces its roots to jeans manufacturing in Italy’s Veneto region.

Specialty jeans boutiques have become a familiar sight on the best retail streets in the past few years. Lucky Brand Jeans maintains a heavy retail presence with 110 boutiques across the United States. And European brands such as Diesel, with more than 30 U.S. stores, and Miss Sixty also enjoy a high retail profile. The teen labels dominating mall sales, such as Abercrombie & Fitch, also specialize in premium denim.

Still, Jeff Shafer, founder of Santa Monica, Calif.–based denim label Agave, said it was likely that Replay would face a tough fight to establish itself in America.

“They know what they’re doing on the product side,” Shafer said. “But there are a lot of players on the market, and Replay doesn’t have the benefit of having a lot of customers in America at this time. I’m sure they’ll make it if they have deep pockets, exciting product and a store atmosphere that is inspiring. They’re going to have to market the heck out of it.”

Veteran denim retailer Gary Friedman agreed that the jeans market was crowded. However, he said he believes that Replay has an advantage over scores of new labels because it has an established brand name. “Brand name recognition sells jeans, and a brand name is important to specialty stores,” he said. Friedman has sold Replay for the past 13 years at his Studio City, Calif., boutique Dungarees. He said the label consistently achieves an 80 percent sell-through.

According to Andretta, Replay should win over American denim connoisseurs on the basis of label craftsmanship. Ninety-nine percent of Replay jeans are individually treated and washed by the company’s workers. The company is headquartered in Asolo, an hour’s drive northwest of Venice. It also maintains plants in Eastern Europe and Tunisia.

Replay is a private company that earned 315 million euros in 2005, or $381 million in sales, Andretta said. It owns 150 boutiques in Europe and Asia. The family of deceased founder Claudio Buziol owns 90 percent of the company.

The Italian denim label also has plans to start wholesaling in the United States. It will rent a 2,000-square-foot booth at the Project Global Trade Show in Las Vegas, scheduled for Feb. 21–23. The company’s goal is to open more than 54 accounts by spring 2006, Andretta said.

The label is comfortable with the notion that many Americans won’t know about Replay in 2006. The company won’t start an American marketing campaign until 2007. “You cannot afford a real marketing campaign until you have a real distribution network,” Andretta said.