Da-Rue Shutters Ames
After joining forces four years ago, two small chains of apparel stores operating primarily in Southern California have ended their merger.
The last of 10 Ames Apparel stores closed its doors in early December, ending an era for two families whose small retail empires were started by a previous generation.
“We closed all the stores. We are completely out of retail,” said Mark McElrath, vice president of manufacturing at Da-Rue of California, an apparel maker that purchased the Ames Apparel stores in early 2005 to add to its own small group of stores, which were called Neil’s. “The goal right now is to stay focused on our core and keep our costs as tight as we can and weather the storm.”
A Neil’s clothing store in Palm Desert, Calif., which was owned by Mark’s sister, Meg Firestone, was sold last year to Karen Billings and is still operating.
Da-Rue, based in Gardena, Calif., manufactures women’s sportswear and dresses in Los Angeles for the mature customer who shops at stores such as Draper’s & Damon’s. It is a long-established company that has been around for decades, as has its Neil’s stores, which were introduced in 1968 by McElrath’s father, Neil.
At one time, Neil’s had several locations in Long Beach, Palm Desert and Montecito, Calif., and San Antonio and Nacogdoches, Texas.
Da-Rue acquired Ames Ladies Wear out of bankruptcy for $622,500. Ames had fallen on hard times following the last U.S. recession. It opened a glitzy store in the new Hollywood & Highland shopping center, which had the misfortune of opening its doors a few months following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The shopping center had planned to cater to international tourists who would be visiting the neighboring Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. But air travel nosedived, and many tourists were too afraid to venture beyond their own borders. With few shoppers, Ames broke its 10-year Hollywood & Highland lease and later filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2003.
When Da-Rue acquired the bankrupt entity, Ames had nine stores that catered to the contemporary woman over the age of 30 who liked fancy cocktail dresses as well as smart suits and sportswear. The new venture was called Ames Apparel and often operated under a joint nameplate with Neil’s stores.
But at the beginning of 2008, retail sales started to go south, prompting the first of many closings. McElrath blamed the real estate bust, the tightening of credit and a soft economy for sluggish sales.
The Ames Apparel store in Montecito, Calif., closed in March, followed by the Ames at The Borgata of Scottsdale shopping center in Arizona in April, the Ames in Calabasas, Calif., in June, and other California outlets in Pasadena, Brea, Long Beach and Torrance. The last store closed Dec. 8 on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica, Calif.
With Da-Rue concentrating on manufacturing, the company’s staff has shrunk from around 30 to 32 people last year to 17 to 18 employees, McElrath said.
Meanwhile, David Oliver, the former president of Ames, whose great uncle, Henry Ames, started the retail chain in 1948, left the merged company after helping to close the Neil’s stores in Nacogdoches and San Antonio. In early 2007, he opened a small boutique called Trance in the Los Angeles suburb of Manhattan Beach. In September, he opened a second boutique, called Besitos, in Calabasas. —Deborah Belgum
