California Apparel News

Faced with an uncertain economy and an increasingly anxious consumer, many vendors and retailers revised their expectations for the Los Angeles Fashion Market Spring 2009, typically one of the calendar’s most prominent markets for contemporary fashions.

Kicking off on Oct. 17, the market was held at the California Market Center, The New Mart, Cooper Design Space, Gerry Building and Lady Liberty Building, as well as temporary shows Brighte Cos., Designers and Agents, D&A Green Market, Boutique Lingerie, Focus, Transit, Transmission and Mom2B.

Showroom owner Kathy Walker said she knew this market was not going to be business as usual. “I had a strong market, but I had a different mentality coming into the market,” said Walker, owner of Kathy Walker Sales at The New Mart. “Don’t expect to make millions of dollars. It’s not going to happen now.”

While many came into the market with low expectations, some vendors were pleased with the deals made.

However, an anxious consumer still weighed heavily on retailers’ minds, and many focused on keeping their inventories lean. Fraser Ross, owner of high-profile boutique chain Kitson, said his overall budget increased compared with the same market the previous year. But Ross was buying to fill his new Kitson stores in Glendale, Calif., and West Hollywood, Calif., which will open in mid-November. He cut the buying budgets of individual stores by 25 percent. He noted that even his trendy customers were buying less and trying to stretch their dollars.

CMC crowds mixed

CMC building management did not release buyer attendance numbers, but many showroom owners reported steady to poor traffic at market.

Liza Stewart, owner of the CMC’s Liza Stewart Inc. showroom, said traffic seemed fine compared with other markets. Her showroom scheduled 160 buyer appointments. But the troubled economy shook her salesroom staff. They looked for budgetary items they could cut, in one case, cutting $650 in office supplies and looking to focus their time on sales and marketing activities. “We have never worked harder than we have in the last five months,” Stewart said.

Michael Gae, co-owner of the CMC’s Rep et Trois showroom, said retailers such as Nordstrom, Macy’s and Dillard’s shopped his showroom. However, he estimated overall buyer traffic decreased 30 percent compared with the previous year.

The CMC also bowed a new mini-show, Transmission, which was produced within the Focus show in the 13th-floor penthouse. The four-vendor show featured menswear that would appeal to fashion consumers and activewear fans. Show co-producer Cody De Backer staffed the booth for vendor Grn Apple Tree. He judged traffic to be decent and said his company would help produce Transmission again, but it may not be located at the CMC.

“We weren’t expecting an uproar,” De Backer said. “We were trying to make a point that we’re here and we’re doing something new.”

The New Mart goes international

The New Mart’s general manager, Ethan Eller, reported numbers for registered buyers declined to 1,010 buyers for the most recent market, compared with 1,219 buyers in the October 2007 market.

However, retailers did make orders to stock their shelves, according to Eller. “Overall, I was pleased with this market week, as it certainly could have been worse,” he said.

Flat sales from American retailers had another vendor, Eva Franco, owner of Los Angeles–based contemporary label Eva Franco, looking to increase sales by wholesaling her line to overseas stores in Japan and Dubai.

International sales made the recent market a good one for New Mart showroom Connected International Sales. Owner Steeve Bohbot expanded his showroom from 2,000 square feet to 7,800 square feet in the beginning of October. “[Overseas business] is what is pulling us through,” Bohbot said, adding that 70 percent of his business is with international retailers. “I don’t know how people who don’t do international business survive,” he said.

Cooper Slow, Steady

With the Designers and Agents shows occupying two of the Cooper Design Space’s 11 floors, traffic to the Fashion Market was reported to be slow but steady. Of those buyers that did make it to the building’s showrooms, some were on an agenda to buy, and others came to scope out the scene.

Mona Sangkala, the Cooper’s director of leasing, said buyers shopped the building for Immediates. “It was, overall, a positive market, considering the environment,” she said.

At the Cricket showroom, owner Sonja Soriano reported an uptick in traffic over the August Fashion Market, which many have labeled as the worst in recent memory. “It definitely wasn’t the sort of Spring market we’re used to seeing, but it was an improvement over the last market,” Soriano said. Buyers, both domestic and international, shopped Cricket for contemporary fashions—but price points, not trends, were what earned the most buys. “Buyers are being very reluctant to pick up new lines, and they are cutting back on their numbers. No one is writing big orders anymore,” she said. Postella, a contemporary brand whose price points top out at $104, earned buys, as did Fremont, another contemporary brand that has performed well at retail. Zahra Saeed, a new contemporary collection, slashed its price points by half in order to reach a competitive price point. The move paid off, enticing some buyers to take a risk on the new brand.

D&A launches Green Market

The Oct. 17–19 run of Designers and Agents, held at The New Mart and the Cooper Design Space, saw plenty of newness—not the least of which was the first-ever D&A Green Market, a stand-alone show of contemporary apparel, accessories, jewelry, furniture, shoes and beauty products. Held on the 11th floor of the Cooper building, Green Market boasted 47 exhibitors, all of whom combine a fashion-forward aesthetic and eco-conscious production. It had an airy setup—no stodgy rows or aisles here—and an eclectic mix of exhibitors, including Edun, Apolis Activism, Deborah Lindquist, Loomstate, Mr. Larkin, PrairieUnderground, The Battalion and Alabama Chanin.

“Even in these tough economic times, there are more and more people who understand the value of these types of products and are still willing to pay a little more for them,” said Ed Mandelbaum, one of D&A’s founders.

In general, D&A exhibitors said they used the market to work closely with their retailers.

“Buyers know what they want, and I’m trying to treat their business like my business,” said Raan Parton, co-owner of the Apolis Activism men’s brand, which showed at Green Market. “We’re focusing on the categories they are looking for and the price points they need. We’re taking them into consideration a lot more than ever before.” For Apolis Activism, which has a tight collection of clean and ultra-wearable knits, wovens, pants and outerwear, one big step was to divide its Spring 2009 collection into more digestible deliveries. “Now we’re shipping three times instead of two. It helps because they don’t have to throw down tons of dollars all at once.”

Brighte spot

Brighte Cos., the temporary trade show organized by ENK International, which produces Fashion Coterie and Intermezzo, was held in the CMC’s fashion theater and featured a mix of contemporary apparel and accessories lines.

Many of Brighte’s exhibitors also show elsewhere during market. That was the case for Voom, which has a showroom on the CMC’s fifth floor. The contemporary label also hosted its fashion show during market at the CMC (see related story, page here).

Accessories company Hyde also has a showroom in The New Mart but has opted to show at Brighte for several seasons. This time, the company had a new location near the front door, which was helpful for business, said Anna Cacao, director of product development.

Cacao described market as “pretty good,” adding, “our location make it a lot better, in fact.”

Most of the retailers who dropped by the Hyde booth were new to the company, Cacao said, noting that the show drew some international attendees, as well.

“One of the biggest orders was from Canada,” she said.

Lingerie Buyers stick to essentials

In the intimate-apparel category, where fashion lingerie has a longer shelf life and everyday foundations are the bread and butter, lingerie manufacturers felt the economic slowdown immediately.

Lingerie is “less seasonal, more replenishment business,” said Samantha Chang, producer of the Boutique Lingerie show in the Gerry Building and owner of Showroom 1122 in New York. If retailers still have merchandise on the racks, “they’re practically not buying” or buying “very little,” Chang said. “Opening new doors is tough.”

The majority of stores that attended the Boutique Lingerie show, which ran Oct. 17– 20, were local, such as Vionnet in Los Angeles, Lulu’s in Manhattan Beach, Luxe Lingerie in Beverly Hills, Fred Segal Silk in Santa Monica and a handful of out-of-state buyers. Many buyers were sticking to the essentials. J.D. Bowman of Belabumbum said, “Most of what I’m selling is Immediates” of signature lace bralettes and panties.

Buyer Joanna Lewis of Ella’s Room in Jackson Hole, Wyo., said her store is in an area where her customers are “second or third homeowners” and not as affected by the economic pinch. Lewis’ strategy is “holding good faith and buying as we would normally,” while exercising a bit of caution when it comes to trend. “I’m buying a lot more safe,” Lewis said. “There are some beautiful bright, colorful, fun prints that I’m loving, but I’m not going to bring them in because I know that I can’t sell them as fast and I don’t want to, right now, hold onto inventory.”

Buyers seek Immediates at Gerry Building

Immediate orders and moderate price points drove sales for showrooms in the Gerry Building. Jennifer Yates, sales executive for Mavi Jeans, reported steady traffic and the addition of a few new accounts during Los Angeles Market.

“I think what’s helping me as far as denim goes is we’re a more moderate price,” Yates said. Mavi jeans typically retail for $100. Sportswear for men and dresses for women were strong categories, bolstered by offering discounts for Immediate goods. “I sold a lot more sportswear than denim,” Yates said. Buyers went for novelty, opting for plaid button-down shirts instead of Tshirts. Yates said she spends a lot of time on the road, so most stores Mavi saw this market were out-of-towners such as Mary Z’s in Hawaii and Lemon Meringue in Seattle.

Lady Liberty Building

Buyers from top-tier stores such as Scoop, Ron Herman, Henri Bendel, Nordstrom and Intuition shopped the Lady Liberty Building.

Eric M. Martin, co-owner with Kristen Aguilera of The Park Showroom, said buyer traffic was less than usual, though the quality of stores was exceptional. Among the top sellers at The Park were AC Collection, Converse by John Varvatos, Shirtby Shirt and Kain Label. “Normally, we schedule 150 appointments,” Martin said. That number dropped to less than half, with only 60 appointments scheduled for this market, he said. “Half the stores are not buying or out of business.” However, Martin said the “numbers are up,” as he worked with some stores to negotiate discounts when buying more.

824 joins the mix

The up-and-coming 824 Building on Los Angeles Street is heavy on the menswear showrooms and still not on every buyer’s list of stops. Compounding the problem, many menswear lines have closed on the Spring season. Undeterred, several brands opted to go where the buyers were. Brian Bentti—whose showroom, The Sundeck, carries brands such as Fred Perry, Jet Lag and Topo Ranch—brought Topo Ranch to Designers and Agents’ D&A Green Market. The environmentally conscious tops collection ranges from understated but quirky organic T-shirts to Western-style woven shirts and fleece jackets. Topo Ranch woven shirts start at $39 while fleece pieces hover around $62.

Mom2B returns to L.A.

After a season in Las Vegas, maternity apparel and accessories trade show Mom2B returned to Los Angeles for a Oct. 17–19 run in the CMC’s Exhibition Hall and a tent on the side patio. (The show originally was held at the Cooper Design Space’s 11th floor but was not held run concurrently with the Los Angeles Fashion Market.). The show kicked off with a runway show of maternity fashions.