Berton Joins Roochi Traders
Roochi Traders Inc.—a decades-old importer, wholesaler and distributor of private-label sportswear and activewear located in Commerce, Calif.—has hired Bruce Berton as its new executive vice president and chief operating officer.
Berton, who for 12 years has worked as the director of international business consulting for Los Angeles accounting firm Stonefield Josephson Inc., starts his new job Dec. 15. He will be in charge of overseeing administration of the family-run business, which was started in 1982 by Vishwa Sachdeva. The company is now run by his sons, Mickey Sachdeva, the company’s chief executive, and Vik Sachdeva, the president.
“For 12 years I have been helping other firms,” Berton said. “With over 50 years in the business, my last move is to take Roochi to the next level and grow them in private label, licensing and manufacturing products for others.”
Berton is one of the deans of the Los Angeles apparel industry. He started out in the garment business in 1946, working as a kid for Berton of California, his father’s high-end suit-manufacturing business, located in the heart of the garment district at 1013 S. Los Angeles St. In 1954, Berton became a unionized assistant cutter.
Over the years, he has held several different executive positions in the apparel and retail world. He was a divisional merchandise manager at Bullock’s department store in Los Angeles, an executive vice president at men’s suit maker Botany Industries and the softlines president for S. Klein Department Stores Inc. in New York.
Later, Berton was the owner and president of Barnao, a Los Angeles childrenswear manufacturer that then merged with California Guys and Gals to make childrenswear under the Rodeo Drive label for JCPenney Inc.
After selling the childrenswear company in 1984, Berton opened B & B International, a clothing contractor with 21 factories in Mexico that made apparel for numerous labels, including Carole Little.
In 1992, he sold his contracting business to become the head of imports and private labels at Clothestime Inc., a retail chain in Anaheim, Calif., that had more than 600 stores before it declared bankruptcy in 1995.
Berton joined Stonefield Josephson in 1997, and over the years, he advised hundreds of clients, including Roochi Traders. —Deborah Belgum
