California Apparel News

Everyone in boutique retail juggles an increasing variety of tasks, ranging from traditional jobs of buying merchandise to newer jobs such as handling social media, and Marie Shaffer hopes to cover every base of the fashion industry at her shop, the Hail Mary Boutique and Denim Bar. It opened this summer at 2665 Main St. in Santa Monica, Calif., and is located across the street from an American Apparel store and a few blocks away from the Pacific Ocean.

When not working on the Hail Mary shop floor, she intends to reopen a wholesale showroom called Jean Genius Inc., which is currently on hiatus. The showroom will be located in the back of the 1,600-square-foot shop, which is outfitted with a 1950s-era jukebox and a backlit steel sign spelling out Hail Mary.

On the shop floor, she sells 20 brands, ranging from men’s and women’s labels such as True Grit to Los Angeles–based independent label EIS, tops brand Sol Angeles, Stance socks, women’s fashion brand Astars, and denim brands AG, Diesel, Agave and Frame Denim. She also hopes to provide trend consulting on what is selling well at her shop, which is located in a neighborhood that attracts tourists from overseas as well as residents of Los Angeles’ Westside.

Shaffer acknowledges that the business plan is unorthodox. While a handful of boutiques have mixed retail and wholesale divisions in the past, it remains rare. Shaffer says that she will offer both wholesale and retail services out of necessity—and because she can.

“It’s very costly to get started. I can’t rely only on retail to finance the whole concept. I can’t depend on street traffic,” she said. But she feels that mixing the shop floor and a wholesale business is right for her. “I’m a multi-faceted person. Why settle for one aspect of what you can do?” she said. But her plan is not for everybody. “You got to take one step at a time. You can’t do more than you can handle. I’m pretty energetic,” she said.

Boutique retailers have not offered showroom services in the past because the two businesses have been traditionally separated, said Frances Harder, founder of Fashion Business Inc., an educational nonprofit for fashion businesses. “It’s pretty tough out there. But when you think of the logic of it, why not?” she said of Shaffer’s mix of wholesale and retail. But Harder said it is difficult to start a wholesale business and build a good track record.

Shaffer’s multi-hyphenate business plan sounds ambitious, but Shaffer might be just the person to pull it off. She has worked on every side of the fashion business. She started her career working in sales as a stylist and as a denim buyer for Fred Segal. She owned and ran a now-defunct showroom called Tool Box, which did business at The New Mart showroom building in Los Angeles. She and her husband, Jim Shaffer, also owned and ran denim line Blue Tattoo. They sold the label’s trademark in 2012 to a Chinese business. In the past year, she consulted with the Los Angeles World Airports on opening new fashion boutiques at the Tom Bradley International Terminal of Los Angeles International Airport.

When Shaffer takes her upcoming Jeans Genius business on the road, her store manager, Kelly Tyler, will run the store, Shaffer said. Fashion is not the only thing on Shaffer’s mind. In the back of Hail Mary she also will sell furniture custom-built by her husband.