California Apparel News

To eke out an existence in the wholesale apparel trade these days means doing more work for less money. That’s frustrating for Los Angeles’ base of manufacturer sales representatives, but they said it beats the alternative—going out of business.

Reps are working harder than ever. They’re making more phone calls, taking more road trips, sending e-mail blasts and re-evaluating their product mixes with utmost scrutiny.

Tom Thomas of Tom Tom Sales, located in the California Market Center in Los Angeles, is a testament to that. He was in San Marino, Calif., recently, running three consecutive trunk shows for a client. Another CMC showroom owner, Sharon Koshet of Sharon Koshet Sales, was glued to her telephone daily, pitching lines to clients new and old. Several other reps were on an extended road trip.

As retailers continue to struggle to stay afloat, wholesalers are scrambling to do the same, feeling the pressure from both sides as brands press for more sales and retailers look for home-run products. They are also dealing with order cancellations, smaller orders and pricing pressure, among other things.

“There are no friends anymore. If you don’t know your competition, you’re done,” said rep Michael Bush of the M&M showroom in the CMC.

“It’s a tough time to be a rep,” said Laura Cohen, another CMC showroom owner. “If [the economy] continues at this rate, a lot of people are going to fall fast.”

Koshet said the extra work is nothing new. She does not discuss the economy with her clients, accenting only the positive business out there.

“Yes, there is doom and gloom, but there are also people doing well right now. The question everybody should ask is why are they doing well? That’s what I am focusing on.”

One of Koshet’s accounts, Fountain Fashions, located near Scottsdale, Ariz., has been holding its numbers despite the economy and an ongoing renovation of the shopping center where the store is located.

“We’ve been very busy, and I attribute that to having great lines and keeping goods fresh,” said owner Kay Kinder. “We bring in new product every day. Everybody here is positive. When customers come into the store, they don’t want to hear how bad everything is, so we stay positive.”

Whiles stores such as Kinder’s outperform the norm, stores such as At-Ease, located at the Fashion Island complex in Newport Beach, Calif., tell a different story. After 15 years, the women’s specialty store is closing its doors and holding a major going-out-of-business sale. The specialty chain will maintain its men’s stores in Orange County,Calif., and Arizona.

Reps, too, are shuttering their doors. One CMC rep, who declined to be named, said her departure was a case of rising operating costs plus a combination of poor shipping from her manufacturers and late payments from her stores.

“I didn’t get my bailout,” said the source. “I loved the fashion industry. I used every cent of my IRA—before Wall Street spent it for me—to stay open. I just plain ran out of money, and I had no draws to work from.”

Another challenge is a lack of confidence, Cohen said.

“Ninety-two percent of the population is still employed. The problem is that there is no confidence right now,” she said. “You go to a trade show and spend so much money without knowing if you’ll sell anything. The same thing for when you go on the road. The cost of business is going up.”

Surviving the wholesale trade eventually comes down to product, Bush said.

“Product is king right now. In general, mediocre product is not getting placed. There has to be a ’wow’ factor, or [a line has to] be priced so well that it can present great margin opportunities,” he said. “You have to look at your lines right now with extremely critical eyes.”

Bush pointed out that a style of $29 designer-influence stretch pants from the line Insight has been marked up well over keystone by some of his clients.

“That’s how we protect our customer,” he said. “That’s probably why we’re doing a little better than most right now.”

“Retailers are looking for items that sell themselves,” added Emmalena Bland of CMC-based Salt & Pepper Sales. “If it’s not special, forget it.”

“A few designers are lowering prices. That’s helping,” said Vivian Patao of the Tricot Showroom in downtown Los Angeles’ Lady Liberty building.

CMC rep Arlene Henry said there is more scrutiny than ever over product and prices from retailers.

“The buyers are willing to try new lines now if the price is right. They’re doing a lot of research.”

Henry said some of her lines—including Curio, a New York knits line, and Los Angeles–based Staples—have posted sales increases.

Thomas agreed about the product principle but noted that buyers have to see the product before anything can happen. That’s why he is promoting trunk shows and going on the road.

“I think business across the board is down 20 percent. If you spend 20 percent less, you’re at the same place. It’s called trimming the fat,” he said.

Surviving under the current market conditions could be summed up in one word, Patao said. “Innovation.”