Finding Newness in Novelty

The trim and sendout business has enjoyed a boom in recent seasons as novelty details have driven sales at retail across several categories from contemporary and missy to juniors and tweens.

The surge in novelty items was a welcome sign for trim suppliers following the sparse mid-’90s days of minimalist fashion. Still, the industry has struggled as manufacturers turn to lower-cost imports and offshore suppliers.

But as long as consumers look for novelty trims and treatments such as nail heads, rhinestones, sugar glitter, crystalina, caviar beads, flake glitter, flocking and rainbow foil, manufacturers will find ways to feed the demand.

“Buyers say, the more gunk on it, the better,” said Chris Griffin, president of Los Angeles-based novelty- T-shirt maker Chica, which combines screen prints with embellishments for its collection. Griffin, who sells his artsy and athletic tees to such retailers as JCPenney, Torrid and Alloy, reported a 28 percent sell-through at retail this month.

Novelty embellishments have done especially well with tweens and teens, said Scott Krugman, a spokesman for the National Retail Federation. “A lot of that glittery fashion for young people is coming straight out of pop culture—Britney Spears and the current MTV focus. They’re wearing both a lot of provocative and flashy clothing,” he said.

The consumer demand helped boost Faraj Inc.’s revenues by 25 percent last year, according to owner Zackary Faraj.

“Trimming is a great way to make a garment look fresh and new at minimal cost,” said Faraj, who started his Fairview, N.J.- based business 16 years ago by offering passementery, ribbon embroidery, laser cutting, caviar beading and glitter treatments to eveningwear manufacturers. Since then, the company has grown into offices on the West Coast and counts San Francisco-based Jessica McClintock as a client.

Ebbing of Interest?

While some trim suppliers revel in the novelty moment, others believe this era of embellishments is beginning to wear off.

Fastener Supply Co. chairman and chief executive officer Chuck Jones said his company has recently seen a surge in orders for plain nickel snaps, rivets and grommets, which is likely to increase the company’s year-end sales by 3 percent.

The Ontario, Calif.-based hardware company has supplied snap fasteners, buckle hardware, grommets, eyelets and machine-attached hook and eye to Los Angeles’ apparel industry for more than 70 years.

Keeping up with today’s technology is the company’s top priority. Besides offering an ongoing Web site, www.fastener-supply.com (which serves as a link to potential customers with catalog selection and descriptions), Fastener Supply Co. plans to attend the Industrial Fabrics Association International, which will be held in Charlotte, N.C., this year.

Nowadays, the price for rivets and tack buttons ranges between $25 and $40 per 1,000, said Jones.

Fastener Supply Co. provides about 100,000 snap fasteners annually to small and medium-sized companies in the United States that produce between $1 million and $10 million each year.

“Many of them are seeking brand identity,” explained Jones. “The burrs on the pockets and the tack buttons on the top of the fly give a look of quality to a garment, something that might say, “You can trust us.”

A year ago the company opened an inhouse business called Snappy Setters, which provides sendout services for hardware pieces and creates samples for clients. It makes up less than 2 percent of the company’s overall business, Jones said, but it can generate up to $300,000 a year in revenue for the company.

Offshore Competition

In recent years, increasing foreign competition has had many U.S. suppliers struggling to maintain their margins. East Coast trimmings and hardware suppliers McGregor in North Carolina and Weiner Lace in New Jersey were among the casualties.

Jones said roughly 30 percent of his customers shifted their apparel production— and trimmings business—to Mexico and Caribbean region countries, where the incentive is to keep costs at a minimum.

Adding to the pressure is the threat of higher workers’ compensation payments and an increase in minimum wage. Many suppliers say it is difficult to compete with overseas labor. “The more expenses we face the less we can compete,” explained Faraj. “We are always challenged when a customer hands us a fully beaded, embroidered imported garment that is made overseas and tells us to make something similar to be produced domestically for just a few dollars.”

Some of Southern California’s contractors say that manufacturers provide them with materials to create novelty apparel, a task that is time-consuming and leaves them with little time left for performing work for other manufacturers.

Because of economic circumstances many say there is a need to keep the work local.

“Contractors should be more willing to accommodate manufacturers with the application of novelty treatments in order to get the work,” said Joe Rodriguez, executive director of the Garment Contractors Association of Southern California.

Once a manufacturer has identified the next must-have novelty trim or treatment, the challenge is to find a supplier or contractor that can provide it.

Chica’s Griffin said his company uses about a dozen suppliers and sendout companies in Los Angeles to perform each step of the line’s treatments, and spends anywhere from 35 cents for a one-color screen print to $1.25 per T-shirt for flocking.

“I wish there was a one-stop shop, where one company handles all of those processes in one spot, but some companies are better than others when it comes to certain treatments,quot; he said.