California Apparel News

Fashion-industry leaders in Los Angeles far prefer to use Instagram as their social media of choice than any other digital outlet, with most gravitating toward making their social-media decisions in-house rather than using outside consultants.

Those were some of the findings in the recent “2018 LA Fashion Report,” conducted by CIT Group Inc. and done with the California Fashion Association.

Half of respondents said social media was the most enlightened concept for the future of the apparel industry, followed by integrated systems between manufacturing and retailing, which was mentioned by 34 percent of those surveyed.

Eight percent thought 3-D fitting was important, followed by 3-D printing by 4 percent of fashion-industry leaders.

“This research highlights the role that technology is playing in transforming the fashion industry,” said Darrin Beer, western regional manager for CIT’s Commercial Services unit. “The findings confirm the role of social media in shaping consumer tastes and emphasize the importance of remaining alert and nimble in responding to market changes.”

Compared to two years ago, LA industry executives are much more likely to believe that a multi-channel distribution strategy incorporating stores with online sales is their biggest opportunity.

And newer fashion brands at the beginning are preferring to sell online to customers rather than selling to bricks-and-mortar stores. Later they branch out to pop-up stores or other retail outlets or are sold to private investors or private-equity companies.

Los Angeles is the No. 1 center in the United States for manufacturing clothing, with 30,600 employed in that sector. Fashion companies prefer to put down their roots in Southern California because of the fashion talent located here and the ease of logistics.

Forty-six percent of those surveyed said they keep their businesses in Los Angeles because of nearby ports in Long Beach and Los Angeles. Another 25 percent said they liked the area because of access to fashion designers and local suppliers.

“The fashion industry remains one of the most important economic engines in LA and Orange counties,” said Ilse Metchek, president of the California Fashion Association.

With the industry under intense pricing pressures, executives are always searching for cheaper and better places to source their goods. Some 40 percent of industry leaders said they manufacture their goods overseas and another 15 percent manufacture domestically. The rest of the respondents said they do a mix of both.

To make goods in the United States, companies must have first-rate technology to compete with overseas factories.

And the new era of fashion bloggers, influencers and celebrity partnerships is more important than ever. Access to celebrities was 13 percent in the recent survey compared with 2 percent in 2015.