Buyers Tour the San Pedro Mart
Recently, a group of retailers and designers—coming from as near as Fullerton, Calif., and as far as Bangkok—met in the Los Angeles Fashion District for a tour of the area, led by Mercedes R. Gonzalez, director of New York–based Global Purchasing Companies.
The March 28 tour began in the California Market Center but soon headed a few blocks east to the San Pedro Mart, where Gonzalez shared tips for shopping the market—as well as some of her favorite resources in the center, located at 1015 S. Crocker St., at the corner of 11th and San Pedro streets.
“Once you get the hang of things, you can cover market in two days, but I always say you should do three days because there’s always something new,” she told the group.
Gonzalez peppered the tour with plenty of insider tips: Just USA has “denim with a good fit,” Zeniobia has “a really nice plus-size-fit pant,” I. CCO’s sequin bag with a chain handle is a “home run,” and Idea Seamless tanks have excellent recovery and shape retention, she said.
In front of the massive Joia Accessories showroom, Gonzalez told the group to ask for Alfredo. “He’ll tell you what’s good.” Nearby, she pointed out on-trend, up-and-coming brands Cien and Lush.
Gonzalez has been taking buyers on biannual tours of the Los Angeles Fashion District for about three years.
“Most are familiar with the [main] market buildings,”—including the CMC, The New Mart, the Cooper Design Space and The Gerry Building—Gonzalez said. “I will point out a few details about them if they are new to buying in L.A.”
Buyers are less familiar with the wholesale district that lies a few blocks east of the intersection of Ninth and Los Angeles, the traditional heart of the Los Angeles Fashion District.
Built in 1994, the San Pedro Mart houses more than 300 wholesale showrooms. Many of the San Pedro Mart’s tenants are Korean-American owned, and many—but not all—manufacture quick-turn, trendy merchandise for the juniors market. The building’s showrooms also offer plus-size, misses and contemporary merchandise.
“This is the place for every boutique buyer to find margin builders,” Gonzalez said. “No one can make a living doing keystone markup.”
The most recent tour included three retailers—Barb Bills, owner of Fullerton, Calif.–based e-commerce site OriginalCollections.com; Jane Forrester, owner of San Diego–based mobile boutique Chic Street Boutique; and Chaun Roberts, owner of Houston boutique Denim. In addition, Bangkok-based designer Angelys Balek and business director Alexander Inn joined the tour to explore the market. Balek sells her own designs in her Angelys Balek store in Bangkok but is considering adding other brands, as well.
Balek and Inn met Gonzalez when she spoke at the Asia Retail Summit, held in Singapore. Roberts met the retail consultant at the MAGIC trade show in Las Vegas, where Gonzalez hosts a “Retail 101” seminar. Gonzalez said she has been attending MAGIC for 18 years as a buyer and has been hosting the seminar for about seven.
“Las Vegas is a huge draw for us,” Gonzalez said, adding that the bulk of Global Purchasing’s clientele finds the company online or through a recommendation.
Gonzalez founded Global Purchasing in 1998. Today, 70 percent of the company’s client based is international, primarily with retailers and buying offices in Central and South America and the remaining from the United States.
A former buyer for the Frederick Atkins buying office, Gonzalez worked out of the Los Angeles company’s New York office at 1515 Broadway—“which was really cool because it was also the headquarters of MTV back when they played music,” she said. Whether she’s critiquing MTV’s programming decisions or a retailer’s new branding strategy, Gonzalez’s forthright assessments have made her a frequent source for retailer and fashion industry publications (including California Apparel News).
“I make the vendor’s life easy when it comes to international business,” Gonzalez said. “I can also boast that I know just about any important retailer in South America, so the vendors use us for intel on them.”
Gonzalez will be back in Los Angeles in June to host a “Retail 101” course and lead another tour of the district. For more information, visit www.globalpurchasinggroup.com.—Alison A. Nieder
