California Apparel News

Business for the juniors and department store–focused LA Majors Market, which ran Oct. 6-8 at the California Market Center, was brisk, according to the market’s vendors.

Tony Litman, co-chief executive officer of Stony Apparel Corp., said his Majors Market schedule was crammed with meetings, estimating he had about 100 booked during the three-day show.

David Vered, president of YMI, estimated that his juniors and young contemporary–focused denim company landed 30 percent more sales at the Majors Market compared with last year. At the most recent market, YMI showed its new collection of chambray clothing along with its popular bottom-lifting collection called Wanna Betta Butt?

While YMI’s temporary showroom in the lobby of the CMC was packed with appointments, Vered thought traffic flagged during the market. “It doesn’t seem like a bigger market,” he said. Since the Yom Kippur holiday took place a couple of days before the opening of the market, Vered said that the scheduling of the market may have created some conflicts.

Delegations of buyers from major retailers such as Nordstrom, Target, The Wet Seal Inc, Rue 21, Ross Stores Inc., Burlington Coat Factory, Deb Shops, Pacific Sunwear, Citi Trends, Gabriel Brothers, Dillard’s and Belk reportedly walked the show.

See You Monday, a downtown Los Angeles–based label made its Majors Market debut with a full collection that ranged from dresses, tops and bottoms to swimwear. Annabelle Lee, the owner of See You Monday, said exhibiting at the show turned into serious business for her.

At other shows, Lee said, she typically meets with buying delegations, but at the Majors Market, she met with decision makers—executives who were there to talk business. They wanted to see if a line could produce on-trend looks at a certain price, and they wanted proof.

“You can’t just have a line. You have to have a sourcing power to back a line,” Lee said. “If you don’t have a full package to offer, they go next door.” See You Monday wholesaled mostly Immediates for holiday and early spring 2015 deliveries.

The department-store sector has proven itself to be marked by agile retailers, said Michael Exstein, a Credit Suisse analyst who covers department stores. “Despite a difficult retail environment, inventories came under better control,” he wrote in a research note that was released in August. “Although few department stores achieved revenue growth, they generally kept inventory growth below sales growth.”