Stories for March 2001

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Friday, March 16

Apparel and Textile Industry Urged to Conserve, Get Lean

The California apparel and textile industry should prepare for several more years of operating under the current electricity and natural gas crisis, according to industry ex...

Delia's Concept Finds Growth in Youth

Delia’s Corp., the New York-based junior company that’s looking to open mall stores in the teeming-with-teens California market, began life in 1993 as a niche direct marketer to underserved col...

Modern Amusement Opens L.A. Store, Unveils Women's Line

Costa Mesa, Calif.-based menswear manufacturer Modern Amusement has opened a 1,000-square-foot boutique on Third Street in Los Angeles, where the company will showcase its men’s apparel line and unveil a smal...

To Serve and Perfect

Good old-fashioned customer service stands to be the key to succeeding in the fierce competition for online retail sales ...

Design Direction

Designer David Cardona recently met with Otis students at the school’s CaliforniaMart campus to critique designs and offer advice to seniors as part of the eveningwear design course. Cardona was one of...

Cyberspace: March 16, 2001

In another sign of the times, Idealab, the Pasadena-based Internet incubator behind such high-profile dot-com failures as Eve.com and eToys, is closing its Silicon Valley office; its...

Special Occasion Show Bows at the Hyatt in Los Angeles

Thirteen special occasion designers recently showcased their Fall lines at the Hyatt Hotel in Los Angeles as part of the West Coast Special Occasion Designers Market, which marks the...

Guatemala Endorses Global Compliance Program

The Guatemala Apparel and Textile Commission, Guatemala’s national apparel trade association, has endorsed the Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production (WRAP) certification program....

Roup to Head Tiger Brand USA

Ontario, Canada-based Tiger Brand Knitting will set up its U.S. headquarters in Santa Barbara, Calif., under the direction of Herman Roup, former chief executive officer of Chorus Line Corp. Rou...

National: March 16, 2001

Tiger Beat, the Primedia-owned kid celeb mag whose sister publication is Seventeen, is jumping on the tween fashion-brand bandwagon, announcing a ...

Finishing Company Is on Call for Fashion Emergencies

It’s no different than any ER across the country. In fact, the daily chain of events at Santa Fe Finishing is almost identical. First, a frantic call requesting immediate assistance is receive...

Urban Suburban Off to Slow Start, Does Well for CalMart Tenants

The second installment of the California Mart’s biannual trade show Urban Suburban got off to a slow start during its March 12–14 run, but by the end, many of the CalMart’s fourth floor showroo...

February '01 Retail Sales Disappoint

February is the shortest month and one of the smallest contributors to retailers’ annual bottom lines. But this February was more important than most because analysts and prognosticators alike were anx...

California: March 16, 2001

Los Angeles-based lingerie manufacturer and retailer Fredericks of Hollywood is looking for a new owner, according to the bankruptcy att...

CFF Donates $10,000 to Operation School Bell

The California Fashion Foundation (CFF), the philanthropic arm of the California Fashion Association (CFA), recently made a $10,000 donation to Operation School Bell of the ...

International: March 16, 2001

Wal-Mart de Mexico S.A., Mexico’s largest retailer, has reported February same-store sales up 2.8 percent over the same month last year....

Economy: March 16, 2001

February was a difficult month for retailers, with GAF (general merchandise, apparel and home furnishings) sales up a mere 0.6 percent on a year-to-year basis, the smallest incre...

Survival of the Fittest

Exactly 30 years ago, Dorothy Schoelen and her then-husband started a junior sportswear label called Strawberry Plant. The designer shifted course in the early 1980s, creating a missy coll...

Friday, March 9

Movers: March 9, 2001

Ron Lalla has been named senior vice president, global operations for Kmart Corp.; he will be responsible for Kmart’s Far East operations, global sourcing and quality assurance....

Local Designers Go Vintage for Fundraiser

Los Angeles-based designers Estevan Ramos, Trina Turk and Janice McCarty will create one-of-a-kind items made from vintage clothing as part of a fundraiser to benefit Alegria, the Salvation ...

Ben Kluger, L.A. Apparel Pioneer, Dies at 86

Ben Kluger, one of the pioneers of the modern Los Angeles apparel business, who founded and operated Ben Kluger Trimming Co. and its successor companies for more than half a century in the do...

Economy: March 9, 2001

Add Minneapolis-based Target Corp. to the short list of retailing giants that have weathered the economic downturn thus far with better-than-expected fourth-quarter results; Target, the nation’s fourt...

YMLA Scouts for New Juniors in Wake of Pacific Coast Merger

Los Angeles-based young men’s apparel company YMLA is looking for small companies for possible acquisition in the wake of its recent announcement to merge with Pacific Coast Apparel C...

International: March 9, 2001

Wal-Mart and

L.A. Designers, Retailers and Editors Preview FGI Scholarship Entries

A group of Los Angeles designers, retailers and members of the fashion press were on hand to critique to entries for the Fashion Group International’s March 7 scholarship awards at th...

Local Reps See Temporary Delays After India Quake

Fabric shipments from India have been delayed due to lost production and disruptions in the supply chain in the wake of the Jan. 26 earthquake in the Indian state of Gujarat, but Los Angeles-based tex...

Technology Helps L.A. Dye & Wash Stay Afloat

Los Angeles-based garment dye house Los Angeles Dye & Wash Co. Inc. counts limited competition and energy-efficient machinery with helping the company weather the current energy crisis....

High Gas Prices Force Garment Industry Laundry to Shutter Anaheim Facility

The recent natural gas crisis that has raised some companies’ utility prices 400 percent and has already claimed a highly visible casualty—L.A. Dye & Print Works—is also affecting ...

Denim Mills Continue to Look to Mexico

The past 10 years has seen a shift in a large portion of California production to Mexico and the manufacturers of jeans have been a significant part of that shift....

Urban Suburban Show Highlights Young Men's Urban Fashion

Los Angeles’ California Mart will present the second installment of it’s biannual trade show on the fourth floor on March 12-14. The show will primarily showcase CalMart’s young men’s’ and urban b...

Industry Support

The Textile Association of Los Angeles (TALA) teamed up with the American Red Cross to host a blood drive on March 7 at the California Mart. TALA member Howard Gilm...

Sterling Exits Acrylic Business

Charlotte, N.C.-based -based fiber and chemical company Sterling Chemicals Inc. announced it is shuttering its acrylic fiber commodity textile program after a series of cost reduction program...

Energy Crisis to Be Topic of CFA Meeting

The energy crisis, its effect on the apparel and textile industry and strategies for conserving power will be the topic of a seminar at the California Mart on March 14, hosted by the...

The Refined Season

Premiere Vision textile fair highlights natural fiber blends and strong prints for the Spring 2002 season...

Reps Say Fashion Coterie Crowds Light and Cautious

New York-based contemporary trade show Fashion Coterie drew mixed reviews from California-based designers and sales representatives who returned to the West Coast to report a slower-than-norm...

California: March 9, 2001

Nordstrom Inc.’s off-price Nordstrom Rack division is set to open its first San Francisco store this fall; the location will be the 555 Ninth Street Retail...

Veteran Sales Rep Charlie Rose Dies at 88

Legendary apparel industry veteran Charles “Charlie” Rose passed away Feb. 26 of natural causes. He was 88....

Reinis and Reinis Close Shop to Join Longstanding L.A. Firm

The law firm of Reinis and Reinis has closed its doors and attorney Richard Reinis will join downtown law firm Buchalter, Nemer, Fields and Younger as counsel....

Second Generation Combines Labels

Los Angeles-based junior and children’s apparel manufacturer Second Generation has just merged its two junior and kids labels, Second Generation and Bebop....

National: March 9, 2001

Columbus, Ohio-based Limited Inc., the nation’s second-largest apparel chain, is looking for a buyer for its Lane Bryant division, which offe...

Seminar Clarifies CBI Developments

The Trade and Development Act of 2000 and how it pertains to apparel manufacturers was the topic of a one-hour seminar that the American Apparel & Footwear Asso...

Friday, March 2

National: March 2, 2001

Beaverton, Ore.-based Nike Inc. is recalling 225,000 pairs of Jordan Trunner LX and Jordan Trunner 2000 cross-training athletic shoes that contain a small metal str...

Economy: March 2, 2001

Consumer confidence, buffeted by stock market gyrations and a drumbeat of news about layoffs and closings, continues to fall, down to 106.8 in February, its lowest level since 1996, according to the...

Swim Reps Work Local Market, Gear Up for July in Miami

The past holiday season’s unpredictable weather did more than put a damper on the tourist trade in the Southeast, it also threw the post-holiday’s traditionally booming swimwear sales off schedule....

Delia*s Considers California Retail

Delia*s is coming West....

Retail: Long-Term Value on Wall Street?

Several large publicly traded retailers fared well over the past five years, despite disappointing fourth-quarter results and first-quarter expectations for the industry in general, according to a rec...

Movers: March 9, 2001

Nina B. Robinson has been named director of marketing, Irvine portfolio, for Minneapolis-based Madison Marquette Retail Services, the management company for Irvine ...

TALA Urges Industry to Donate Blood March 7

The Textile Association of Los Angeles has teamed up with the American Red Cross to encourage members of the textile and apparel community to donate blood during the organization...

California: March 2, 2001

The Santa Monica City Council voted against Minneapolis-based Target Corp.’s plan to open ...

Paul Frank Adds More Stores, Licenses Sunwear

Newport Beach, Calif.-based accessories and junior apparel manufacturer Paul Frank Industries has opened its second retail store in the Haight district of San Francisco. A store opening party is plan...

International: March 2, 2001

In other Nike-related news, a report by the Baltimore-based Global Alliance for Workers and Communities that was commissioned by the Beaverton, Ore.-based shoe giant fou...

Metchek Named Person of the Year by Fashion Industries Guild

Ilse Metchek has been named Person of the Year by the Fashion Industries Guild of Cedars Sinai Medical Center, which will host its annual fundraising gala on Oct. 6 at the Regent Bev...