Fire on Fire With Knits
Los Angeles–based juniors denim and sportswear maker Fire saw its business nearly double from $15 million in 2005 to $25 million in 2006, said the company’s president, Andrew Strasmore.
“And we’re on the verge of another huge year in 2007,” he noted, explaining that Fire is expected to reach $40 million in sales this year.
This growth took the company a bit by surprise. Most brands that targeted department-store business struggled with the consolidation of the Macy’s and Robinson-May department-store chains. Also, the denim market was the target of many naysayers. But Fire had one of its best years on record.
“It was a situation in which, suddenly, our point of view meshed perfectly with market trends. We had a focus on dresses and skinny jeans at just the right time, and the market reacted,” Strasmore said.
The addition of a New York showroom and a new vice president of sales, Lowell Tillman, helped realize part of that revenue jump.
Now Fire is adding a knit-tops and bottoms division to its offerings, which already include woven tops, skirts and dresses. To help with the new direction, Fire hired veteran knits designer Armene Voskanyan, who last worked for 6 Degrees, a juniors contemporary tops line. She will also oversee Fire’s woven offerings.
The new division is set to debut for Back-to-School. “This isn’t a casual knits line. It’s a fashion knit line,” Strasmore said. Fire hopes the category will appeal to the young consumer already buying its denim for occasions when something a little nicer is in order.
The knits line will bow with 100 pieces to wholesale from $8.50 to $14.50. Fire’s knits will target its current retailer base of majors and boutiques, including Macy’s, Nordstrom and major juniors chains. For more information, call (310) 558-9100. —Erin Barajas
