Friday, December 27
Frederick's Plan Approved
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court has approved Frederick’s of Hollywood’s reorganization plan. The Los Angeles-based lingerie maker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in mid-2000. Frederick’s executives—including...
Shareholders Drop Suit Against Gerber
South Windsor, Conn.–based Gerber Scientific, Inc., parent company of apparel technology provider Gerber Technology, said that a series of class-action lawsuits filed against the comp...
Leading Recovery
The U.S. leading index rose 0.7 percent in November, the largest gain since last December, according to the Conference Board, a New York–based research firm. The increase puts the index nearly 3.6 perc...
Men Scoop Up One-of-a-Kind Tees at Traffic
Deconstructed looks that hit their stride with Angeleno women in the past few years have crossed over to the male, fashion-forward population shopping at the men’s Traffic st...
Quiksilver, Kymsta in Dispute Over Roxy Name
Huntington Beach, Calif.–based surfwear giant Quiksilver Inc. has filed a complaint against Kymsta Corp., a Los Angeles–based manufacturer that produces junior sportswear unde...
Shippers form SHIELD
A group of shippers and software producers met recently to review the newly adopted Customs security requirements. The meeting was hosted by Shippers for International Electronic Logistics Data (SHIELD), a gr...
Bebe VP Resigns
Bebe Stores Inc. announced that Jamel Bennoui, vice president of manufacturing, has resigned from the company. The brief press release said Bennoui has decided to pursue other opportunities....
Harrington Joins Femme
Advanstar Communications Inc., producers of MAGIC International, Femme and the International Fashion Fabric Exhibition (IFFE), has named Marilyn Harrington general manager of the East Coast Fashion Gr...
Wal-Mart in Court
An Oregon jury found that Wal-Mart store managers violated state and federal labor laws by requiring employees to work off the clock to avoid paying overtime. The Bentonville, Ark.–based retail giant s...
Apparel Execs Look to Technology for Supply Chain Efficiency
The urgency of improving supply chain efficiencies and of competing in a more retail-controlled environment were among the chief concerns facing apparel industry executives, who discussed su...
Budget Deficit's Impact May Soon Hit Retailers
The end result of the holiday shopping season is front and center on the minds of retailers and apparel manufacturers, but another issue should at least be on the back burner: California’s budget defic...
2002 in Review
A note of caution hung over the apparel and textile industries in 2002 as the economy showed signs—but no real evidence—of recovery. Consumers continued to spend, more in the first half of the year than...
Fashion District Names New Director of Ops
Brenda Peters has been named director of operations for the Los Angeles Fashion District Business Improvement District (BID). Peters replaces Joe Germain, who relocated to L...
Friday, December 20
Surf Expo Plans Resort Show
Atlanta, Ga.–based trade show producer Surf Expo announced plans to produce a West Coast resortwear trade show set to debut Aug. 19–20 at the Queen Mary hotel and museum in Long Beach,...
2002 Recap: Trade Partners, Discount Stores Lead Recovery
The past year saw flagging consumer confidence, a weak economy and the threat—and then the consequence—of a strike at West Coast ports impede any true economic recovery for the apparel and textile indus...
Tech Show to Debut at Material World
Organizers of the Material World fabric exposition in Miami have set the dates of March 17–19, 2003, for Material World Technology Solutions, a new IT (information t...
Apparel Employment Roundup for 2002
The state’s apparel industry had very little to celebrate this year jobwise as a result of clothing manufacturers scaling back their operations and taking a cautious stance. Overall, there was a 3.4 percent de...
Cherokee Acquires Carol Little, Chorus Line Brands
Van Nuys, Calif.–based Cherokee Inc. has acquired the trademarks of CL Fashions, which includ...
U.S., Chile Reach Agreement on Free Trade
The United States and Chile reached an accord on Dec. 11 for a free-trade agreement that the Bush administration called “a positive signal to the hemisphere.” It moves the United States ...
Mitzmacher Joins Donegar
New York–based buying office and trend forecaster Donegar Group has hired Sherri Mitzmacher as market specialist of moderate career and coordinate sportswear. Mitzmacher comes to Donegar from Added Dimensions,...
Start-Up Companies Worry About Effects of AB633
Some of the smaller start-up apparel firms that make up the Los Angeles fashion trade say the effects of newly revised state assembly bill 633, which calls for manufacturers to sign work agreements wi...
Outlook Stable for Real Estate Next Year
California real estate held its own in 2002, despite the upand- down economy and struggling apparel trade....
Skechers Launches Apparel
Manhattan Beach, Calif.–based footwear company Skechers USA Inc. has signed a licensing agreement with Kids Headquarters for Skechers boys’ and girls’ activewear and sportswear. The New York–based manufacturer will produ...
AIMS to Host FBI Seminar
Management systems provider AIMS of Santa Ana, Calif., has tentatively scheduled a seminar on EDI (electronic data interchange) on Jan. 29 in conjunction with Fashion Busine...
Retail Sales: Department Stores and Discounters
The story of the year continues to be Kohl’s Corp., especially in California where the Menomonee Falls, Wisc.–based retailer won’t operate until Apr...
PVH Buys CK
New York–based shirt maker Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH) purchased Calvin Klein Inc. for $400 million in cash, $30 million in stock, plus royalties estimated to be worth more than $200 million, in a bid to build PVH into a large ...
Nike Meets Zuza
Beaverton, Ore.–based footwear giant Nike Inc. has teamed with Zuza, a new sister company of Street Legends LLC, which operates an urban specialty store in St. Louis. The two companies have opened Nike...
ChangReyes Breaks Out
For about three and a half years, they’ve crafted and tailored high-end clothing for private clientele—including Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Deborah Messing and Kevin Spacey—in their W...
Retail Sales: Specialty Stores
The year 2002 was among the better ones for Columbus, Ohio–based Limited Brands Inc. since it began its restructuring process in 1995, which includes clos...
CGA to Honor Roth
Costume designer Ann Roth will receive the Career Achievement for Film Award from the Costume Designers Guild at the guild’s annual awards gala on March 16 at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Bever...
Textile and Apparel Imports and Exports
Mexico, China and the Caribbean Basin continued to be the main sources for apparel and textile imports in 2002, accounting for $22.1 billion in trade through the first three quarters of the year. Impo...
Funky Obscurity a Boon for Retailers in Venice, Calif.
For many regulars, Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice, Calif., is a little SoHo in So Cal. The city may be known for its famed ocean boardwalk and Muscle Beach showcase of buff bodies, but Abbot Kinney, named f...
Friday, December 13
Retailers Can't Find Thanks in Weak November '02 Sales
The holiday weekend sales rush couldn’t salvage sales for most retailers for the month of November. Wall Street darlings Target Corp. and Kohl’s Co...
Galleria Gets a Facelift, New Name
The Galleria at South Bay in Redondo Beach, Calif., will begin a $7 million renovation in early 2003, including officially changing the name of the...
Countersuit Filed Over Seven7 Trademark
Los Angeles-based Seven Licensing Company filed a countersuit against L’Koral Inc., manufacturer of the Seven for All Mankind denim label, citing that the company d...
Art Center's Prada Studies
Pasadena, Calif.–based Art Center College of Design will use the Rem Koolhaas–designed Prada retail store in New York as the basis for a new course, titled Prada Environmental Design Studio, to be taught at the college...
Tracking U.S. Textiles
The U.S. departments of Commerce and Energy are investigating new technologies for marking textiles that would allow customs to verify imports made from U.S. textiles and yarn. The Department of Energy...
Guess Taps Chidoni
Los Angeles–based label Guess Inc. has named Anthony Chidoni to the company’s board of directors and chairman of the audit committee. Chidoni, the managing director of private client business in the Los...
Age Releases New Fabric Design System
Montreal-based AGE Technologies (
Lucky Listeners
Lucky Brand Dungarees is making the jump to music with the release of Lucky Sounds Volume One, a collection of music by up-and-coming musicians such as Telepopmusik, Medeski Martin & Wood, OK Go, ...
AAFA Members to Advise White House
The White House has selected two members of the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) to join the U.S. government’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN). Ed Emma, p...
ASAP to Sponsor Sourcing Seminar
The fundamentals and complexities of global apparel and textile sourcing will be the topic of a seminar during the ASAP Global Sourcing Show, set for Feb. 17–20 at the Las Ve...
ISI Launches Production Scoreboard
Glendale, Calif.–based International Systems Inc. (ISI;
Influential in 2002
This year was a year of transition. The economy showed signs of recovery but remained weak. Retailers and manufacturers, by and large, took a cautious stance. And consumers continued to spend—but much more judiciously...
Enclave to Launch at MAGIC
Woodland Hills, Calif.–based trade show giant MAGIC International has come up with a new concept in alternative marketing: Enclave, an exclusive showcase premiering independent design...
Lily Cheung
Los Angeles-based designer Lily Cheung waited a month after Los Angeles Fashion Week to presen...
AB633's New Rules May Draw Retailers Back to California
With the Oct. 9 implementation of Assembly Bill 633 (AB633), which regulates the apparel industry more tightly, veterans say the measure could bode well for the sourcing industry in California....
Friday, December 6
Horowitz Tapped as Save-a-Life President
Textile executive Leonard Horowitz has been named president of Los Angeles–based non-profit organization Save-a-Life, succeeding Patty Craven, who relocated to Florida over the summer....
Local Designer Creates Handbags With International Inspiration
Designer Katie Meehan utilizes her global experiences to create a uniquely handcrafted leather bag collection....
CMC Plans Open House, Begins Salvation Army Toy Drive
The California Market Center (CMC) will give tenants a sneak peak at the CMC’s 2003 marketing campaign at a Holiday Open House set for Dec. 10 from 3–5 p.m. in the atrium lobby. Desserts and coffee wil...
Bisou Bisou Inks Exclusive Deal With JCPenney
Bisou Bisou is going after a bigger share of the retail market. The Los Angeles–based company announced that it has entered an exclusive licensing agreement with JCPenney Company Inc., and be...
Message Mixed for Retailers Entering Holiday Crunch
Online sales fare better at start of the short season ...
Yoga Classes Set for CMC, Gerry Building
Yoga is coming to the fashion district....
East L.A. College Launches Tech Campus
East Los Angeles College (ELAC) has broken ground on a $22 million technology center aimed at accommodating growth in the tech sector. The project is part of a $200 million construction progr...
Mervyn's Urban Expansion
Mervyn’s California, the Hayward-based division of Target Corp., announced plans to launch an urban-inspired young men’s line called P. Miller Signature. The collection is an extension of the P. Miller Shorties line, i...
Dillard's Closures
Little Rock, Ark.–based department store Dillard’s Inc. announced plans to close three under-performing stores in Kentucky and Alabama. Two stores are based in Louisville, Ky., the 249,000-square-foot B...
Levi's Nabs Counterfeiters
San Francisco–based denim giant Levi Strauss & Company said it would file charges against four suspects who were arrested after a two-year investigation into a multi-state counterfeiting scheme, w...
Disney Taps PJ Salvage for Vintage-Inspired Sleepwear
Irvine, Calif.–based Loomworks Apparel, which produces sleepwear and loungewear under the PJ Salvage label, announced that it has signed a licensing agreement with Walt Disn...
PAD Starts CAD/CAM Classes
PAD Systems Technology is offering training classes for its CAD/CAM software on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at the company’s Los Angeles office, based in suite A-1155 of the Ca...
Free Market Debate
Both the America Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) and the National Retail Federation (NRF) have thrown their support behind a new government proposal to eliminate all consumer and industrial go...
Nautica Appoints Takhar
Bonnie Takhar has been named president of Los Angeles–based denim maker Earl Jean, Inc., effective immediately. Takhar will be based at the company’s Southern California headquarters a...
Asia/Caribbean Connection
Oakland, Calif.–based shipping company APL has launched the Mexico Central America Express (MCX), a shipping service that will travel between ports in California, Mexico and Central America. MCX will connect w...
Chelsea Burggren Named Head Designer for Split
Chelsea Burggren has been named head designer of Split Girls, a juniors action sports brand based in Santa Ana, Calif....
