California Apparel News

Retail buyers, encouraged by improved May sales reports, were upbeat at the Los Angeles Fall II/Holiday Market, held June 6–10 at the California Market Center, The New Mart, the Cooper Design Space and The Gerry Building.

Showroom managers said demand for immediate goods and October deliveries was strong as buyers searched for novelty and replenishment items. Everyone hunted for deals, they said.

“The buyers were hesitant during April [market], but they’re leaving orders here,” said Melody Fast, whose Melody Fast Sales sells sportswear and knits in the CMC. “I think business is finally coming back.”

The upbeat mood was reinforced by May same-store sales results. According to the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi’s index of 72 retailers, comparable-store sales were up 2 percent.

Comparable-store sales for California-based chains such as Gap Inc. and Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. were up 10 percent in May, which suggests consumers are returning to the buying habits they demonstrated before concerns about war and other world events stalled spending.

Some store owners said their May results would have been better if they had not experienced a number of late deliveries from manufacturers last month.

While price cuts and major discounts fueled recent sales improvements, fashion may be the draw this Fall.

“Buyers are looking for freshness, but they’re also looking for different ways to conduct their business, whether with trunk shows, in-store events or social gatherings,” said Sharon Koshet of Sharon Koshet Sales in the CMC.

“The buyers are coming to this market with the intention to buy, so you have to have something for them,” added Isabel Sokiryahsky, designer for Isabel, a Dallas-based leather line.

Contemporary items were hot on buyers’ lists. Representatives of Los Angeles–based women’s dress line Lapetina & Lomeli said buyers were out for their embellished silk and lace chiffon items, patchwork tank camisoles, and ruffle-sleeve art deco blouses with beaded embellishments. The CMCbased showroom inked more than $30,000 in deals from Macy’s and Saks Fifth Avenue for delivery in mid-October.

Specialty retailer Erica Berge, whose Erica Dee boutique is located in Corona del Mar, Calif., stocked up on “casual chic” items. These included light, bright T-shirts by C & C of California, cargo pants and tees by Da Nang, and vintage-inspired denim from Chip and Pepper, all based in The New Mart.

“There’s going to be a lot of layering this fall,” said Berge, who stayed cautious in her spending—a strategy she said has helped her maintain a 15 percent growth clip every month since she opened the store two years ago.

Another freshman store owner, actress Lisa Rinna of month-old Belle Gray Boutique on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, Calif., placed orders for cashmere tops and canvas bottoms by FAL, Von Dutch hats and dress shirts, and Citizens of Humanity denim, a line that she said has plenty of crossover appeal.

“It’s kind of a scary time to open a retail store, but I’m being selective [about choosing lines for the store],” she said. “I think that has made a difference.”

Pam Magnan of Pam’s Boutique in Dana Point, Calif., looked for soft, sexy casualwear.

“Something you can wear to the gym or out to dinner,” she noted.

Magnan, who boosted her budget by 30 percent this year, hunted for new lines that would help her store stand out from other Orange County boutiques, which she said have a tendency to carry the same lines.

New retailers at CMC

The CMC experienced improved traffic from visitors outside of Los Angeles. More than 270 new retailers, representing 42 states and 16 countries, registered, said Cecil Strickland, executive director of retail relations at the CMC.

Showroom managers noticed an improvement over the Fall I market in April, but some said business is still spotty.

“It runs hot and cold,” noted Nancy Matulich of Italian-made line Buccelli. “A lot of my accounts are doing real well, but there’s some I didn’t see this time.”

Likewise, Trisha Geftos of the Nataya showroom reported “just fair” traffic.

“We’re doing good overall,” she said. “I think the economy is picking up. It’s definitely better than the last show.”

Others—including Melody Fast, Sharon Koshet and Isabel Sokiryahsky—had brisk markets. Fast did well with sweaters embellished with faux fur and French terry tops. Koshet got plenty of orders for Arev olive pants that feature four-inch zippers on their front sides and for evening dresses by Roger Perry and Alberto Makali. Sokiryahsky said buyers snapped up stretch-lace jerseys and leather jackets in burgundy and bronze luggage pigments.

“There’s a positive attitude right now, but still you have to have good relationships with your accounts,” Sokiryahsky said.

Traffic up at New Mart

Traffic for the contemporary lines found at The New Mart was up 6 percent to about 840 registered buyers from a year ago, said building manager Ethan Eller.

“We have been setting attendance records for every market for the last three years,” Eller said, attributing the market growth to new tenants and the fast-growing success of domestic and international contemporary designers and representatives at the Designers & Agents Annex.

Showroom reps reported steady traffic with previously scheduled appointments and some walk-ins. Buyers from Nordstrom’s Savvy division, Boca in Pacific Palisades, Calif., Fred Segal in Santa Monica, Calif., and American Rag in Los Angeles placed orders for immediate, transitional and holiday goods.

Business was steady at Custo Barcelona on The New Mart’s 11th floor, where specialty-store buyers from Undercover in Santa Monica, Clover in Los Angeles’ Los Feliz neighborhood, and H. Lorenzo in West Hollywood, Calif., placed orders for items from the 300-piece Fall 2003 collection.

D & A Annex strong

The Designers & Agents Annex on The New Mart’s third floor was lively with buyers hunting for hard-to-find noveltyknit and leather pieces for Fall.

This year’s event had 945 registered buyers, compared with 915 last year, said show coproducer Ed Mandelbaum. Exhibitor attendance was also up to 69 spaces from last year’s 57.

Barneys Japan, Max of Denver, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Madison and Traffic of Los Angeles, and Scoop NYC were some of the retailers shopping the show.

The show also presented its share of newness.

Capital Tailors, a Los Angeles– based men’s and women’s sportswear collection that applies classical tailoring techniques to denim, bowed at the show. Designers Glenn Williams and Eero Gathers created a 30-piece collection that features cotton-twill skirts, tapestry blazers and trousers. Joe Krafka, president of Red Dragon and former president of Earl Jean, is the distributor of the line, which received financial backing from Lucky Brand Dungarees’ Gene Montesano and Barry Perlman. He said the company logged orders from Fred Segal, American Rag and Traffic.

Others debuting lines included Love This Life of Los Angeles, Override of Torrance, Calif., and RTR Packaging Corp. and Vivienne Tam of New York. World According to Jess, a chic, imaginative line of designer pooch bags and accessories based in New Jersey, opened 48 new accounts at the show.