California Apparel News

The look of a recovering apparel market—post Sept. 11—started to materialize during the Jan. 11–15 Summer 2002 Market Week in Los Angeles as apparel vendors in the California Mart and the New Mart saw surprisingly upbeat traffic, strong order writing and renewed confidence on the retail and consumer fronts.

While few were going out on a limb to predict a full recovery from the tough hits they took in the fourth quarter of 2001, apparel resources did get signals of a stronger-than-expected outlook for 2002, but no one was ready to abandon their cautious positions. Indeed, some economists speaking at this week’s National Retail Federation Conference in New York were predicting that the recession would end in a few months, which would make it one of the shortest down cycles in 30 years.

There were some signs of a recovery in the showrooms of the Cal Mart and the New Mart with items, proven sellers and updated goods being snatched up at a moderate-to-brisk pace. Cal Mart executives concurred, reporting a 10 percent improvement in attendance over last year’s figure, though they would not release hard numbers.

“We had an awesome market,” said Trish Moreno, executive marketing director of the Cal Mart. “We’re getting rave reviews about the energy and the buyer delivery. December business was a little better than people expected, and the new year gave people new hope and a refreshed feeling.”

Buyers in Low-Stock Positions

It appeared that buyers were making up for the cautious attitudes they maintained following Sept. 11.

“A lot of stores are low on inventory and they’re replenishing,” said Lynn Balbinder of Balbinder Sales in the Cal Mart. “They’re definitely going for items, anything novel and new,” she said, adding that her sales office was moving lightweight pieces from a line called Shirtz.

“It needs to be special to sell,” added Susan Burnett of Susan D. Burnett Sales, who reported doing twice the amount of business she did at the previous market. She was doing well with romantic looks, including linen items with ruffle detailing, as well as active sportswear in cotton and Lycra from such lines as San Francisco-based Ours and Carol LeValley and Luna Luz. “They’re buying less, but they’re buying fashion. Everybody who has come in to see us wrote orders. There’s momentum again,” Burnett said.

Victor Costello, who sells Faith, Surya and Haven Bleu for Helen Costello & Associates in the Cal Mart, reported similar results, seeing more than 80 stores, with most placing anywhere from four to 30 orders.

Dina Browner of Randy Cohen Sales saw moderate-performing lines get better play this time as well.

“That’s a good sign for the economy,” she said.

Some reps weren’t feeling that positive vibe as much. Gina Malcolm of New Options reported a slowdown in her ethnic printed dresses but got some positive reaction for romantic floral prints.

“Business has been tough,” she said. “Nobody’s sitting down to buy collections and so much has happened over the past six months, so it’s hard to feel what’s going to happen through this year.”

Vanessa Watson, representing buyers agency Directives West, also saw challenges in such areas as dresses, which she categorized as very, very difficult.

“It’s not related to the economy,” she said. “The dress market has been difficult for the last three years. But even social and evening business has been difficult lately, which I do think is a result of Sept. 11. Business in general is difficult right now, but I do think it’s coming back. We’re seeing a lot of creativity and new things, new reasons for people to buy.”

While some missy items and the dress category remain challenged, hot items such as denim continued to draw strong interest, especially from out-of-state and international buyers. But the saturation of denim products has made buying more specialized, said Ada Tomer of Tel Aviv, Israel-based boutique Ada, adding that retailers want new looks. “I’m looking for new washes and new fits,” she said.

New resource Alain Rosso of La Crescenta, Calif.-based Melange saw the denim overload coming and launched his line with that mindset. Showing at the Focus exhibition of contemporary lines in the California Mart Fashion Theater, Melange opened to mixed results, featuring jeans with various pocket treatments, as well as built-in leather belts, pleather combinations and reptile prints.

On the flip side, Jean-Claude Martin of Buggia Jeans was reporting brisk business with his line.

“I got on the Buggia project about a month and a half ago and the response has been off the hook,” he said.

Regional Appeal Strengthens

The market managed to again attract buyers from outside the Southern California area as the Cal Mart continued its buyer incentive program, recruiting buyers from the East Coast, Midwest and Canada. “Hopefully, we’ve made inroads for future business by taking care of people who may otherwise go elsewhere [to shop],” said Moreno.

Wendy Bastiste, a buyer with Twiggy, an Ann Arbor, Mich., boutique, was among the non-locals in town looking for West Coast goods.

“I was in New York for Intermezzo and I wanted to do [this show], because I know L.A. has a great selection. I carry BCBG, Hot Sauce and To The Max. Particularly, I’m here for accessories and bathing suits,” she said.

Glen Kay of Los Angeles-based Mandalay said he saw a lot of national accounts at the market to buy Los Angeles-specific lines.

“They’ve been flying in from as far away as Florida and Texas. They’re coming into this market because they know they can’t get us in New York,” he said.

Sheila Gradford, co-owner of PSG Design, saw buyers from as far as Japan and Australia. Most were focused for this market, she said. “They know their customers. They’re not trying to redesign your line.”

New Business at the New Mart

The out-of-town traffic was also prevalent at the New Mart, where traffic surged 60 percent from last year’s figure to 900 buyers. New attendance accounted for a 20 percent rise, said New Mart director Ethan Eller, who added that the numbers were the strongest since the January 2000 market, when 897 buyers attended, and represented a big improvement over January 2001’s show, when 543 buyers attended.

“Attendance is up again because new boutiques and specialty stores are beginning to open and we’re starting to pick up more international business,” said Eller, who counted about 175 new buyers to this year’s market.

“We’re seeing new buyers from all over the country, but we’re also seeing an influx of buyers from [Asia],” Eller added. “I think China joining the World Trade Organization is going to have a huge impact on Los Angeles’ ability to service that market.”

Still, several vendors reported that the quantity of orders placed was consistent with last year, though many reps were reporting orders for higher quantities, which they attribute to a rebounding consumer confidence following the events of Sept. 11.

“It’s been a better market because some of the buyers haven’t been so eager to shop or they missed the last market, and now it’s down to the wire and they have to write orders for immediates and Summer,” said Kathy Messina, a rep for the showroom A’La Mode on the seventh floor of the New Mart who reported strong sales for novelty jeans by Janeth Lee and button-up peasant tank tops with crochet or lace trimmings by Jaloux.

Poor fall and holiday sales kept many buyers cautious in their selection process, and thus, many were extra-sensitive to their customers’ needs, said retailers.

“The purpose of this market is to find items that are a little bit more reasonably priced and retail-friendly,” noted Jeannine Braven, a buyer for Fred Segal Flair at Fred Segal in Santa Monica, Calif. “The store’s collection is pretty much complete, but with everything that’s going on in the market right now we want to be extra-sensitive to all levels of consumer confidence.”

New design direction was also helping spur orders, as buyers arrived at market looking for new, softer silhouettes.

Claudine Russell, a Los Angeles-based Nordstrom contemporary buyer, said she was deluged by such hot-selling items as peasant tops and gypsy skirts, noting, “I’m just trying to edit the lines down to the best quality, best price and best representation of the trend.”

Russell added that her team was looking for feminine, romantic pieces and “anything but novelty T-shirts.”

The Annex Draws a Crowd

The Annex, which featured 55 contemporary lines at the New Mart, also produced better-than-expected attendance, said co-producer Barbara Kramer, who reported registration of about 600 buyers.

“At first we were concerned about attendance for this market because the Intermezzo show in New York ran on the same days,” said Kramer. “We thought that we would have a slower market but that’s not the case.”

The Annex show, a smaller version of the Designers & Agents show, drew buyers from specialty retailers and better boutiques in Los Angeles, including Traffic, Tracey Ross, Blonde, Theodore, Planet Blue, American Rag and Jennifer Nicholson, who turned out to see designer lines by William B., Alvin Valley, JP & Mattie, Ash Francomb, Mon Petit Oiseau and Blue Cult, among others.

The feedback was generally positive. Rena Franklin, vice president of sales for New York-based label Alvin Valley, reported doing more immediate business in one weekend than she has during any other Los Angeles market. Among the best-selling items were stretch-gabardine pants with wide leather waistbands and asymmetrical stretch-cotton twill pants. Chiffon-top and peasant styles were on the buy list of Selden Pazar, a Los Angeles-based contemporary buyer for Yaso in New York’s Soho district who said such items are hot sellers for the East Coast boutique.