California Apparel News

The bad news just kept coming.

On Oct. 3, the House of Representatives passed a revised version of the Senate’s proposed $700 billion bailout plan. President Bush signed the unprecedented bill into law—and the markets took a steep tumble. Oct. 6 saw the financial markets dive again to hit a record low. Still, with all of the doom and gloom framing the Spring 2009 Majors Market, which ran Oct. 5–7 at the California Market Center, exhibitors and buyers maintained stiff upper lips.

“We know business is difficult and price has become very important—that’s a reality,” said Andrew Strasmore of Fire, a Los Angeles–based maker of juniors denim, knits and wovens. “But even in this economic climate, we didn’t sense panic. All we can do is have the right product and live with what is going on.”

Fire’s dresses proved to be strong sellers at Market.

Everyone, from exhibitors to buyers, approached Majors Market with an eye for minimizing risk and maximizing dollars.

At SoSik’s showroom, sales reps noticed a drop in traffic but enticed buyers with speedy deliveries, plenty of Immediate goods and on-trend styles. “It is very tough out there. One positive for us is that our goods are checking, which is helping drive reorders and informing our future styles. ’Buy now, wear now’ has been the game for us this market,” said Nikos Batanides, SoSik’s sales manager. Printed T-shirts and T-shirts in fashion silhouettes with delivery dates under eight weeks earned orders.

The year-old brand also culled its collection from 500 pieces to fewer than 300 pieces. “Right now, we need to focus on what is working. Buyers are a lot more focused, and we have to be, too,” Batanides said. Keeping the strongest performers in the collection also helps Batanides guide buyers toward safer buys—something he says they are asking for more and more.

At Eyeshadow, co-owners Steve Maiman and Tony Litman said the tough economic climate informed their Spring 2009 offerings. “Instead of trying to be everything to everyone, we are trying to be really good at a few things for almost everybody,” Maiman said. For them, that meant offering more dressy pieces than normal, which had the effect of increasing wholesale prices slightly, but sated buyers’ desire for “fashion at a price.” Combos were also key buys at Eyeshadow, Litman said. Two-fers, three-fers and items that included scarves and pins proved to be key buys.

Department-store sales showed signs of slowing before the economy was hit by the credit crisis. Department stores as a group were projected to cut spending in 2008, according to a June 18 research paper published by financial-services firm Credit Suisse. Michael Exstein, an analyst for Credit Suisse, estimated that department stores or mall anchors would make a 16 percent decrease in capital spending in 2008 compared with 2007. In a Sept. 23 Credit Suisse research paper, comparable-store sales for mall anchors such as Macy’s, Dillard’s and Nordstrom were forecasted to decline 3.4 percent on average in 2008.

Recent market troubles also made retailers feel anxious about the future. Fred Levine, co-owner of Agoura Hills, Calif.–based boutique chain M.Fredric, judged retail traffic to be decent when he walked the market on Oct. 7. However, he did not know if retailers shopping the market would commit to making orders for Spring lines.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen in January, February and March,” Levine said. “I’m not willing to stake orders on [an uncertain market]. I’ve never taken that position in 28 years of business. But now I have to take it. It’s the most unusual market I’ve seen.” Levine said his contemporary chain has been relying on Immediate deliveries rather than making traditional orders to buy inventory several months in advance.

Buyers from Macy’s, JCPenney, Kohl’s, Gottschalks, Charming Shoppes and Styles for Less reportedly shopped the market. One of the market’s high-profile events, the fashion show and trend forecast produced by Barbara Fields Buying Office, was cancelled because the owner, Barbara Fields, was being honored at the Oct. 4 “Woman of the Year” gala for Fashion Industries Guild of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (see related story here). However, Fields did brief her clients on juniors trends for the Spring 2009 season.

A hippie, bohemian look would be popular, she said. Juniors are forecasted to wear all styles of vests, especially those with fringe or made out of suede, denim or fur. She recommended juniors retailers devote at least 25 percent of their denim sales space to skinny jeans. Novelty plaids, especially those with a punk-rock edge, were expected to make a splash.

Los Angeles–based buying office Directives West, now partnered with New York–based buying office Doneger Group, hosted two well-attended trend fashion shows, one for contemporary, juniors and girls’ trends (see related story here) and one for the moderate market (see related story here).