Audigier Opens New HQ, Company Store

Christian Audigier’s empire continues to grow. The designer, whose stable of brands has now grown to four, has moved his company from Los Angeles’ Hollywood district to a 160,000-square-foot facility in Culver City, Calif., formerly occupied by Sony Pictures.

The new space, just down the block from Smashbox Studios, where Audigier each season participates in Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, is four times larger than the company’s previous location off La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles.

The move consolidates all of the company’s warehousing, design and marketing operations, as well as its 125 employees, under one roof. The state-of-the-art facility includes an 80,000-square-foot warehouse to accommodate $500,000 in Internet orders per month; an art department outfitted with the latest equipment, including a Roland SolJet wide-format printer/cutter that produces advertising and promotional materials; a design department featuring the latest all-in-one Macs from Apple; a health club; and a new company store open to the public.

Audigier’s sprawling office is decorated with eco-friendly bamboo-based flooring and moc-croc-skin walls. A Triumph TR6 motorcycle modeled after the one Steve McQueen rode in “The Great Escape” sits near Audigier’s desk along with a life-size model of Spider-Man. The walls are decorated with images of Audigier with celebrities, including French singer Johnny Hallyday, who is collaborating with Audigier for his new streetwear line, Smet.

Audigier, somewhat of a maverick in the apparel industry, chose to locate his new headquarters away from the Los Angeles Fashion District or the city of Vernon, Calif., where the core of West Coast brands are based. He still manufactures 70 percent of his product locally.

“I don’t like downtown. There’s too much concrete,” he said. “Here, we’re in the middle of all the [movie] studios. We’re a lifestyle company. It’s more fitting.” He also chooses to conduct sales without a showroom. “They can see everything on the Internet,” he said, referring to buyers. At the upcoming Los Angeles Fashion Week, he will stage his Ed Hardy fashion show at The Grove shopping center.

The designer, known for his tattoo-print tees and embellished denim, has come a long way since he started his business years ago in a 200-square-foot garage. At the recent Project Global Trade Show and MAGIC Marketplace in Las Vegas, he reported sales valued at about $36 million and said the company currently has $47 million in open orders.

Under the Christian Audigier Inc. umbrella are Ed Hardy; Christian Audigier; Smet; and new juniors line Crystal Rock, designed by Audigier’s 15-year-old daughter and set for first deliveries in January. In addition to licenses for footwear, bottled water and watches, Audigier operates 27 stores, divided between company-owned stores and franchises.

The next step may come in real estate. Audigier said he is exploring the hotel business.

“It would fit in with our lifestyle approach,” he said.

The company has achieved its status without any advertising. Celebrities do it for him. On one office wall in the new headquarters are about 150 photos of Madonna wearing various Ed Hardy and AudigierT-shirts, caps and other garments. It’s hard not to open one of the tabloid magazines without seeing a celeb wearing one of Audigier’s brands. The hip-hop and sports communities have also embraced the brands.

“The celebrities are also my friends. They need to look good,” Audigier said.

The celebrity-driven strategy worked well for Audigier’s former employer, Von Dutch. Audigier hopes his current brand will remain vital much longer than Von Dutch, which saw its popularity ebb in recent years.With all this momentum, Audigier said he plans on keeping his business a private company for now.

“I get all kinds of offers [to take the company public],” he said. —Robert McAllister