California Apparel News

The regional show A Taste of OffPrice debuted at the California Market Center’s Exhibit Hall during an Oct. 4–6 run, and organizers deemed it successful enough to produce another one, tentatively in October 2011, said David Lapidos, executive vice president of show producer OffPrice Specialist Show, based in Brookfield, Wisc. The organization also produces the gargantuan biannual OffPrice Show in Las Vegas.

The show was successful because a demand for off-price fashions—typically 20 percent to 70 percent below retail price—has been strong during the tough economy, Lapidos said. A Taste of OffPrice hosted 90 vendors and was shopped by more than 1,000 buyers. Some of the retailers included Bealls, Ross, CitiTrends, Burlington Coat Factory and AJ Wright, as well as many Mexican off-pricers.

A bomb scare on the second day and rain on the third- and the lower-level location at the back of the CMC did not faze buyers. “People don’t care if we’re in the back. They’re merchants, and they are looking for deals,” said Lapidos, who had compliments for the CMC executives and staff.

Many vendors said Taste of OffPrice showed good potential to grow. “Everybody’s here; that’s what matters in this industry,” said Andy Shamsi, owner of New York–based Cosmo Trading Inc. “As more buyers find out about this show, more will come,” he said.

For Tinley Park, Ill.–based off-price vendors R.G. Riley & Sons Inc., the regional show on the West Coast was a good opportunity to connect with West Coast retailers. “We have a smaller presence in California; it was good to see California customers here,” said John Riley III, a salesperson for R.G. Riley. “Sales were good; it was nothing record-breaking.”

Retailers interviewed for this story liked the show’s convenience. “It’s easy to shop,” said Lilly Stamets, the manager of the gift shop at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center. She was buying colorful pajamas to sell in the hospital gift shop but said she expected more accessories.

The jewelry and accessories vendors who did exhibit reported good business at the show. Your Needs Co., based in Ventura, Calif., offered wallets and jewelry made in Thailand and the Philippines at the show. Much of the displayed items were close-outs, and some were new, said Your Needs Co. representative Chris Esherick.

His company typically exhibits at OffPrice’s large Las Vegas shows. He said his company probably would stick to selling Las Vegas and not return to the Los Angeles show. The Las Vegas show allows for more-elaborate booths, which, he said, attracts more buyers.

The show took place during a time when off-price retailers are feeling great pressure, said Doron Kadosh, owner of American Fusion, a Los Angeles–based label that buys off-price T-shirts and adds value to the shirts by decorating them with new graphics and other details.

Department stores and specialty stores have been getting into the off-price business and have been producing sales more frequently since the economic downturn. Now off-pricers have to lower their prices to give consumers a reason to shop at an off-price store over a department store sale.

Off-pricers also must worry about a manufacturing sector that is producing less, so there are less overruns and extras to sell to off-pricers. Kadosh said that the pressure only will make businesspeople work harder. “There are enough cancellations and late deliveries to stock the whole industry,” he said.