California Apparel News

Business at the Class trade show for contemporary and designer labels was a lesson in what a mixed economy looks like today. Buyer visits may have been down at the Aug. 27shy;–28 event, but several store owners boosted their orders over those of last August.

Class founder Jason Bates reported 580 retail buyers shopped his most recent show at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, Calif., down from the 750 who dropped by a year ago. The buyers saw 130 booths exhibiting at the most recent Class, compared with 115 booths last summer.

The decline in buyer attendance was the result of an economy still struggling, Bates said. Many retailers told him they could not travel to the show because their staffs are stretched. With stores laying off salespeople, boutique owners and buyers are left to mind the store.

Statistics from the California Employment Development Department confirm that retail employment has declined considerably in more than a year, said Jack Kyser, founding economist of the Kyser Center for Economic Research at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.

In July, Los Angeles County retailers employed 395,200 people, compared with 454,300 in December 2007, which saw a nine-year high in retail employment numbers.

Still, many high-profile retailers walked Class, held twice a year in February and August. It was mostly a specialty-shop crowd, including stores such as Atrium in New York; Blake in Portland, Ore.; Bill Hallman in Atlanta; Seattle-based Nordstrom; and Villains in San Francisco. Los Angeles–area specialty shops Fred Segal, LASC and Lisa Kline also shopped the show. Bates said he saw an increase in overseas retailers at the show, including Japanese boutiques Ships, United Arrow, Istan and Beams.

LASC partner and buyer Alfredo Izaquirre estimated he ordered 30 percent more than he had at the February show. He completed most of the season’s shopping in February for his 28-year-old boutique.

Specialty-store owner Bill Hallman estimated he ordered 20 percent more at the recent Class than he had in February. He liked the novelty of the young event. “I don’t see the same [brands] all of the time,” he said.

He placed orders with people such as surf line Lightning Bolt and stereo-equipment line Parrot Paris. The Parrot sound system will provide music for his fourth boutique, Bill Hallman Studio, which debuts Sept. 15 in Atlanta.

This was the first time Atrium owner Sam Ben-Avraham shopped Class. “It is nice to see a show with a point of view all its own. It’s the California look,” he said. He ordered merchandise from exhibitors such as Howe, Tailor Vintage, Gypsy 05, Democracy of Nevermind and Toddland. Ben-Avraham also is the founder of the Project Global Trade Show in Las Vegas. After Class closed, he travelled to Las Vegas to run Project.

Laid back

Many vendors reported enjoying the easygoing, playful milieu found at Class. Howe founder Jade Howe doubled as a DJ, spinning ’80s tunes on the trade show’s sound system. Green Truck catering sold organic burritos and hamburgers. Osea Spa offered facials.

The informal vibe boosted business for some. Frank Delgadillo, founder of Costa Mesa, Calif.–based label Comune, reported his sales increased 60 percent compared with those of the February show. “There’s no hard-selling here,” he observed. “Buyers take off their poker face here.”

Still, buyers were cautious. Damien Laurent, a new vendor to the show, said business was tough. “Buyers are not taking risks. They are going for the sure shots,” he said. Laurent is a consultant for Taxi CDC, a fashion label that redesigns and reconstructs vintage material. It opens a Los Angeles boutique on Sept. 10.

Even with flickers of economic improvement, Bates said the poor economy made it harder to produce his fledgling trade show.

His savior has been a five-year licensing deal announced in January with trade show Action Sports Retailer. That deal, whose terms were not revealed, helped underwrite Class’ production, Bates said. As part of the ASR deal, Bates is producing Class @ ASR at the Sept. 10–12 show in San Diego. Class will bring new swimwear and fashion trends to the activewear-focused ASR event.

The next Class show is scheduled for Feb. 26–27 in Santa Monica. Bates said he hopes that a better economy will send more vendors his way. “The fact that we are doing business during this economy is a testament that something good is happening,” he said.