California Apparel News

West Hollywood, Calif., is on track to become the first city in America to enforce a ban on new fur sales.

The stylish city is a location where designer boutiques such as Balenciaga, Kitson, Maxfield and 3.1 Phillip Lim sell fashion to celebrities, tourists and affluent locals. But it also has been the vanguard of the animal-rights movement since the city’s incorporation in 1984. Councilmember John D’Amico campaigned on issues such as animal rights before he was elected to the City Council in March 2011.

West Hollywood’s fur ban was approved in November 2011, yet the City Council wanted to find out how the ban would affect the retailers it represents. The council called for an economic-impact survey. If retailers told pollsters that a ban on the sale of new fur clothing would seriously damage their business and the West Hollywood economy, city councilmembers promised they would consider changes in the law.

The survey’s findings, compiled by Keyser Marston Associates of Los Angeles, were submitted to the City Council Nov. 5. The survey forecast that a fur ban would have little impact on the city’s economy. The five-member council did not discuss the survey’s findings during the meeting.  The retail community has nothing to fear, said Mayor Jeff Prang. “We’re going to proceed on a rollout plan,” Prang said. “We’ll educate businesses before the law is enforced.”  The city will enforce the ban if it receives complaints that a retailer is selling new fur clothing. The retailer will be given ample time to comply with the law before a penalty is enforced. A procedure for enforcement and penalties has not yet been determined. Leather and vintage fur clothing are exempt from the ban.

The survey also conceded that its findings on retailers’ opinions were unscientific. The pollsters only received 27 valid responses, or 11 percent of the 125 retailers they contacted for the survey.  

Keith Kaplan, executive director of trade group Fur Information Council of America, headquartered in West Hollywood, has been lobbying against the fur ban since the council started writing it in 2011. He believes the council wasted its time with the survey. “It doesn’t reflect a scientific sample,” he said of the survey. “Effectively, what we’ve got is no study.”

Kaplan and his organization vow to repeal the ban. He hopes to make it an issue in West Hollywood’s March 2013 municipal election, when Mayor Prang and Councilmember John Duran will run for re-election. They both voted for the ban. Kaplan has not ruled out legal challenges to the ban, too.

Genevieve Morrill, president and chief executive officer of the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, has been a vocal opponent of the fur ban. The city’s business community is concerned that the government is overstepping its boundaries and dictating how its residents should live, Morrill said.

Prang rejected the notion that West Hollywood is not business-friendly. He noted that the city is one of a handful of California municipalities with an AAA bond rating from Fitch Ratings, one of the three big credit-rating agencies recognized by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The AAA rating is Fitch’s highest.

Prang also noted that while most California cities are scrambling for revenue, West Hollywood’s coffers have increased recently. Much of the revenue was based on transit-occupancy taxes from luxury hotels such as The London, the Mondrian, the Petit Ermitage and Le Parc Suite Hotel. For its 2012–2014 budget cycle, the city expects its sales and use tax will increase 2 percent. 

The survey predicted that West Hollywood will lose out on 0.3 percent, or $28,000, in sales-tax revenue if new fur products are prohibited from being sold within the borders of the 1.9-square-mile city, sandwiched between Los Angeles and Beverly Hills.

 West Hollywood’s 1,332 food and retail establishments generate $873.8 million in sales annually. The city receives sales-tax revenue based on 1 percent of the taxable sales that occur in the city.

The survey found that five retailers are planning to move because of the ban, although because the survey was anonymous, the City Council has no information about which retailers plan to move out of the city.  They occupy 0.5 percent of the city’s real estate. Based on discussions with real estate brokers, the survey found there is high demand for commercial real estate in West Hollywood, and with lease rates of $5 to $7 per square foot per month, the brokers are sure that vacant storefronts will find new tenants quickly.

The city identified 257 shops selling apparel in its borders that could potentially be impacted and was able to provide contacts for 125 of the establishments. Keyser Marston Associates contacted retailers through emails, postcards and phone calls. Only 27 valid responses were received.

Those retailers responding to the survey had a wide range of opinions on the ban. Four viewed the ban in a positive or very positive manner, seven had no opinion on the ban, and 16 held a negative or very negative view on the ban.