California Apparel News

It was a year of both the mega-deal and the quiet merger. 7 For All Mankind sold for $775 million and American Apparel for $774 million, while Chicago menswear company Hartmarx quietly swooped in and bought its third Los Angeles label, Monarchy.

Private-equity company Veronis Suhler Stevenson picked up MAGIC Marketplace parent Advanstar Communications for about $1.14 billion. And Fashion Coterie parent ENK International bought WSA Global Holdings, the producer of the biannual World Shoe Association show, for an undisclosed amount.

California’s minimum wage increased, as did employers’ health-care costs and lawmakers’ attempts to correct the state’s health-care system.

Gap shuttered its Forth & Towne baby-boomer concept business, and Pacific Sunwear exited its One Thousand Steps shoe concept and began to look for ways to get out of the urban market by exploring opportunities for its demo stores.

Christian Audigier and the owners of Ed Hardy artwork fought over royalties, and Paul Frank Industries and Paul Frank Sunich fought over the Paul Frank name.

JANUARY

The Dominican Republic joined the Central American Free Trade Agreement, leaving Costa Rica the last country to join the free-trade initiative. With the addition of the Dominican Republic, the agreement, known as CAFTA, becomes CAFTA-DR.

Jan. 1, 2007, brought in a slate of new California laws that could impact the state’s apparel and retail businesses. Chief among the new laws was an increase in the state minimum wage by 75 cents to $7.50, with an additional 50-cent increase scheduled for January 2008.

E-tail spending during the 2006 holiday season rose 26 percent from the previous year, surpassing the $100 billion mark on Dec. 23 for year-to-date, non-travel e-commerce spending.

Immediate goods were the order of the day at the Jan. 12–16 run of the Los Angeles Fashion Market, where retailers were on the hunt for dresses, novelties and new lines to entice customers to buy after a lackluster holiday season.

The Jan. 25–27 run of the Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo and Agenda trade shows in San Diego was relatively quiet, according to several exhibitors who credited the “retailer fatigue” to the crowded trade-show calendar.

M.M.P. Inc., a Los Angeles company doing business as Fabrics & Fabrics, filed suit against Forever 21, claiming the Los Angeles fast-fashion retailer knocked off one of Fabric & Fabric’s prints for dresses and tops sold in Forever 21 stores.

FEBRUARY

The North Rodeo Drive building that houses Gucci’s Beverly Hills store sold to Los Angeles–based real estate group The Festival Cos. for more than $40 million.

Ocean Pacific shuttered its Irvine, Calif., office and dismissed about 18 employees after three months under new ownership by New York–based Iconix. Operations for the iconic surf brand moved to Iconix’s New York offices.

Anaheim, Calif.–based Pacific Sunwear shuttered 74 of its 225 urban-themed demo stores.

Exhibitors reported brisk business at the MAGIC Marketplace, Project Global Trade Show and Pooltradeshow, which ran Feb. 13–16 in Las Vegas concurrently with six satellite shows, including new shows CurveNV, the E.C.O. Trade Show and the United Trade Show.

MARCH

Los Angeles–based contemporary brands Libertine and Jovovich-Hawk both struck deals with fast-fashion retailers for diffusion lines. Libertine’s collection is slated for Target, and Jovovich-Hawk’s line is set for MNG by Mango stores.

The owners of the Lady Liberty Building in downtown Los Angeles began transforming the 60,000-square-foot, five-floor building to showroom space. Owner Bellagio Management LLC announced it intends to convert the building to eight loft-like 6,000-square-foot showrooms.

San Francisco–based retail giant Gap Inc. shuttered its Forth & Towne concept after 18 months in business. Since the 2006 launch, Gap had opened 19 Forth & Towne stores, which carried merchandise for women aged 35 and older.

Lawmakers were preparing to reintroduce a piece of legislation written to extend copyright protection to fashion designs. The Design Piracy Protection Act was first introduced in 2006 by U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R–Roanoke, Va.).

Designer Anand Jon Alexander was arrested after several women, including a 15-year-old girl, accused the Beverly Hills designer of rape and assault. Alexander designs under the name Anand Jon.

By most accounts, retailers turned out in force to shop the showrooms of the California Market Center, The New Mart, the Cooper Design Space and the Gerry Building during the March 23–27 run of Los Angeles Fashion Market. Traffic was steady at concurrent trade shows Designers and Agents and Bright Cos.

Pasadena, Calif.–based tags-and-labels maker Avery Dennison Corp. reached anagreement with rival Paxar Corp. to acquire the White Plains, N.Y.–based company for $1.3 billion.

Advanstar Communications, parent company of MAGIC International, was being sold to an investor group under the direction of private-equity company Veronis Suhler Stevenson for about $1.14 billion in cash.

APRIL

After nearly a year of negotiations, the United States and South Korea hammered out a free-trade agreement on April 1 that could boost trade between the two countries by as much as $20 billion a year.

Santa Ana, Calif.–based software developer AIMS and Woodland Hills, Calif.–based factor Continental Business Credit joined forces to streamline the purchase-approval process for their clients.

Los Angeles–based retail consultancy and buying office Directives West formed a formal partnership with Los Angeles trend-forecasting agency Trends West.

During the first three months of the year, the number of cargo ships calling at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach dipped slightly compared with 2006, but the number of containers was up considerably, meaning the ships arriving at Southern California’s ports were carrying more cargo per trip.

The California Supreme Court sided with employees in an April 16 ruling that allows employees who are denied lunch breaks to file a complaint against their employers to seek up to three years of back-pay compensation. Employers had fought for a one-year limit for back-pay liability.

MAY

Macy’s Inc. opened a 291,169-square-foot, three-level Bloomingdale’s at the South Coast Plaza shopping center in Costa Mesa, Calif.

A new proposal, the Clean Air Action Plan, sought to eliminate the pollution from older trucks serving the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach by retrofitting or replacing 16,000 trucks with cleaner models that pollute less. The controversial proposal was expected to cost $1.8 billion and will be funded by increased rates.

RVCA, the Costa Mesa, Calif.–based streetwear brand, announced plans to open its first retail store. The new store debuted in the summer in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district.

Vegas Enterprises, the Australian majority-stake owner of surf brand Rusty, unexpectedly terminated the 40-year-old licensing agreement between Irvine, Calif.–based C&C Cos. and San Diego–based Rusty, following an ongoing dispute over the well-known brand. On May 17, an Orange County Superior Court judge granted C&C a temporary restraining order against Vegas and Rhellip;And Everything Else, preventing the Australians from continuing to claim that C&C’s license with Rusty is over.

Premium-denim brand Chip & Pepper opened its first West Coast store at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, Calif. The 900-square-foot store will carry the entire collection of denim, sportswear and C&P University tees designed by the label’s twin owners, Chip and Pepper Foster.

The Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo’s fledgling Holiday show, ASR Holiday, held its second edition May 23–24 in Costa Mesa, Calif., in a new, larger venue. There was a 20 percent increase in attendance and a slight uptick in exhibitors.

California labor officials closed 30 apparel factories in Southern California for labor-law violations in one of the largest garment-factory sweeps in the state in two years.

A report conducted by Cambridge, Mass.–based Forrester Research Inc. for the National Retail Federation’s Shop.org division announced that apparel became the No. 1 non-travel online purchase in 2006, outpacing computer-product sales.

JUNE

Premium-denim maker J Brand Inc. became embroiled in a legal squabble that threatened to place 40 percent of the Los Angeles–based company in the hands of its original investors. Industry veterans Colin Dyne and Todd Kay, who loaned J Brand $130,000 two years ago, went to court to get a chunk of the blue-jeans venture that has become a popular label, selling for $150 to $255 a pair. Dyne and Kay said J Brand founder Jeff Rudes repaid a portion of the loan back but has yet to fully pay back the money.

Business was surprisingly good at the June 8–12 run of the Los Angeles Fashion Market at the California Market Center, The New Mart, the Cooper Design Space and the Gerry Building, as well as concurrent temporary trade shows Designers and Agents, Brighte Cos. and Boutique Lingerie, according to many sales representatives and showroom owners.

Retail real estate investment in California’s Inland Empire outpaced industrial sales, indicating that retailers were finally making a serious move into the region, located about 90 miles east of Los Angeles, analysts said.

Jordache Enterprises and Frankie B. owner Daniella Clark worked out a settlement for the Dittos denim brand. Earlier this year, Clark released a line of Dittos-branded denim under a license for the Spring/Summer season. Jordache, which acquired the Dittos license in 1981, when the popular, high-waisted denim brand filed for bankruptcy, filed a million-dollar name-infringement and false-designation-of-origin lawsuit in New York against Clark, her company and related parties.

Los Angeles–based fast-fashion retailer Forever 21 released an upscale concept line called Twelve by Twelve, with plans to open in-store shops for the new concept line as well as its own free-standing stores.

Designer Christian Audigier and his company, Nervous Tattoo, filed a cross complaint in response to a lawsuit filed in May by the owners of the Ed Hardy license, under which Audigier has been producing a line of tattoo-inspired apparel since 2004. The first suit—filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court by Ed Hardy licensor and owner of Don Ed Hardy intellectual-property rights, Hardy Life—alleged that Audigier and Nervous Tattoo breached their 10-year licensing agreement and asked for the immediate recision of the agreement. Nervous Tattoo filed a $5 million cross complaint against Hardy Life, alleging breach of contract, fraudulent misrepresentations and negligent misrepresentations.

Caruso Affiliated, the owner of The Grove lifestyle center in Los Angeles and developer of Americana at Brand in Glendale, Calif., signed a deal to bring Barneys Co-Op to the Americana development. Barneys New York operates its Co-Op concept store at The Grove, as well. The Americana Barneys New York Co-Op is the third Co-Op store in Southern California. Costa Mesa, Calif.–based South Coast Plaza also is home to a Co-Op store.

St. Louis–based Kellwood Co. announced plans to shutter its Chico, Calif., distribution center, effective Aug. 31, and lay off about 160 workers between mid-July and the end of August. The closure was prompted by changes in the company’s business processes, said Kellwood Global President Jeffery Streader in a prepared statement.

Liz Claiborne Inc.’s new chief executive, William McComb, announced he is splitting the nearly $5 billion company into two divisions. One division is for direct brands Juicy Couture, Lucky Brand Jeans, Kate Spade, Mexx and Sigrid Olsen, as well as the company’s outlet and e-commerce business. The other division is for wholesale “partnered” brands, such as Liz Claiborne, Dana Buchman, Ellen Tracy, Monet, Laundry by Design, Prana, C&C California, and DKNY jeans and activewear, which will work on partnerships with the company’s retail customers to focus on highly desired products that will turn faster.

JULY

Boardsports brand Globe International announced the sale of skate brand World Industry to Newport Beach,Calif.–based I.E. Distribution in a deal valued at $8 million.

The U.S. Court of Appeals of the Federal Circuit heard a case that could decide whether holiday apparel imported into the United States in 2006 could retroactively qualify for duty-free status. The case, Michael Simon Design Inc. v. the United States, could affect manufacturers who paid customs duties on imported goods such as Christmas sweaters and Halloween shirts last year.

Attendance was up by 15 percent at the Miami SwimShow, according to show organizers who celebrated the show’s 25th anniversary during the July 11–15 run at the Miami Beach Convention Center. The trade show runs concurrently with the runway shows of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Miami Swim.

The Los Angeles–based Pooltradeshow teamed up with San Diego–based independent shopping event Thread, which moved its headquarters to Pool’s in Los Angeles’ Silver Lake district. Although Thread will continue to operate its consumer-driven shows—which feature indie designers, music, art and film—a handful of Thread’s designers will show at the August run of Pool in Las Vegas.

Australian surf brand Cult Industries temporarily ceased operations at its Huntington Beach, Calif.–based American headquarters. The company laid off its staff and halted distribution while executives determined how to proceed. The company was in talks with potential American licensees who could manage the brand going forward, said Doug Spong, owner and founder of the Australian brand and a partial owner of Cult Industries USA.

The Port of Los Angeles celebrated its 100-year anniversary with a July 12 fashion show titled “L.A. By Design,” featuring Los Angeles brands and several city officials walking the runway.

Los Angeles–based premium-denim maker 7 For All Mankind sold to VF Corp. for $775 million. The Greensboro, N.C.–based manufacturing giant also bought Portland, Ore.–based retail chain Lucy Activewear for $110 million.

Surfwear maker Quiksilver Inc., the $2.3 billion surf maker based in Huntington Beach, Calif., and the Kymsta Corp., a Los Angeles company with $4 million in annual revenues, were scheduled to head back to U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Nov. 13 for yet another trial that would determine how these two clothing companies would be allowed to use the word “Roxy” in their labels.

Commerce, Calif.–based Blue Holdings named Glenn S. Palmer chief executive officer and president, taking over for Paul Guez, who took on a more strategic role in the company. Palmer has 30 years of experience in corporate finance, operations and the apparel industry, including experience at Cerberus Capital Management, Amerex Group Inc., Best Manufacturing Group LLC, Liz Claiborne and Bonaventure Textiles USA.

San Francisco–based Gap Inc. named Glenn Murphy chairman and chief executive officer of the company, filling a position left vacant by Paul Pressler, who left the company in January.

Port clerks at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach received a 14 percent salary increase, and multi-employer pension trust contract negotiations were reached between the clerks and terminal operators and 17 shipping lines.

AUGUST

New lingerie trade show CurvExpo Inc. announced plans to launch a New York edition, called CurveNY, in February.

Irvine, Calif.–based luxury brand St. John hired Glenn McMahon, former president of Dolce & Gabbana USA, as its new chief executive officer.

The Holiday/Resort market has traditionally been one of the smallest markets on the Los Angeles market calendar, but buyer traffic was particularly low during the Aug. 10–14 Los Angeles Fashion Market, according to many sales representatives who reported turnout from primarily local retailers.

Costa Mesa, Calif.–based Paul Frank Industries, which had been battling founder and designer Paul Frank Sunich in court since he was fired in 2005, announced it had amicably settled the dispute over Sunich’s interest in the company. Details of the settlement remain private. PFI and Sunich are still battling over control of the Paul Frank name.

Los Angeles–based trade show The Exclusive, which operates upscale menswear shows in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, was acquired by Norwalk, Conn.–based Business Journals Inc., parent company of MR magazine and MRketplace.com. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The show will be renamed MRket and will continue to be held biannually in Las Vegas.

Brooks College, which offers fashion programs at its Long Beach and Sunnydale, Calif., campuses announced it will close both campuses in a gradual phaseout, expected to be completed in early 2008. The decision came about after an effort to sell the Long Beach campus to another educator fell through last year.

The California Market Center began expanding its contemporary fifth floor to add a 42,000-square-foot space on the fourth floor called Area 4. The space will be connected to the fifth floor by a new staircase and will feature an exclusive dedicated elevator from the lobby. Showrooms are expected to be open for the Los Angeles Fashion Market in March.

Fashion Business Inc. received a $97,000 grant by the city of Los Angeles to provide consulting services to apparel manufacturers in the city. The grant is a “growth industry contract” and was created to spur growth in the city’s manufacturing core.

Los Angeles–based Vanounou Clothing Inc., maker of Go Jeans and Go Clothing, filed suit against Target Corp., accusing Target of trademark infringement and other transgressions relating to Target’s Go International label.

Chicago-based menswear manufacturer Hartmarx Corp. bought Los Angeles–based premium-denim and sportswear label Monarchy for $12 million. Monarchy joined Los Angeles labels One Girl Whohellip; and Zooey, both acquired by Hartmarx last year.

It was a buyers’ market in Las Vegas at the Aug. 27–30 run of the giant MAGIC Marketplace and its ever-growing coterie of satellite shows. In addition to MAGIC; its men’s, women’s, accessories, childrenswear and sourcing shows; and its subsidiary and partnered shows—the Project Global Trade Show, Pooltradeshow, ISAM (the International Swimwear and Activewear Market) and Printsource at MAGIC at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Sands Expo & Convention Center and Hilton Convention Center —there were several independent shows for buyers to shop. The ASAP Global Sourcing Show shared space with the Global E.C.O. Trade Show at The Venetian, where The Exclusive, CurveNV, Lingerie Americas, Accessories The Show and Moda Las Vegas also showed. The Off-Price Specialist Show was nearby at the Sands, WWIN (WomensWear in Nevada) was at the Rio Hotel & Casino and United Trade Show was at the Alexis Park Resort.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce hosted a week-long workshop designed to educate the trade and consumers about counterfeiting and the efforts to stop it.

A federal judge ruled in favor of Costa Mesa, Calif.–based Paul Frank Industries in the trademark-infringement lawsuit that PFI brought against founder Paul Frank Sunich, who was fired in 2005 after negotiations for a buyout failed. Judge Cormac Carney decided that Sunich may not design under the names “Paul Frank” or “Paul Frank Sunich.”

SEPTEMBER

X-Rite Inc.—a provider of color-matching, measuring and simulations solutions—signed an agreement to purchase Pantone Inc. for $180 million. Pantone’s products are used by designers in several industries—including fashion, home deacute;cor, architecture and digital technology— to identify, match and reproduce colors.

Buyers, surfers and skaters descended upon San Diego for the double whammy of the Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo, held Sept. 7–9 at the San Diego Convention Center, and the Agenda trade show, held Sept. 7–8 at the San Diego Concourse. Counting 20,000 attendees, including 7,000 buyers roaming the aisles at ASR and an expanded exhibitor list at Agenda, show organizers for both events declared the Spring 2008 shows a success.

Barneys New York opened its newest store in San Francisco’s Union Square.

Vernon, Calif.–based premiumdenim maker Citizens of Humanity acquired denim veteran Adriano Goldschmied’s premium-denim brand GoldSign and Laundry Atelier, Goldschmied’s laundry and laboratory.

Designer Mart in Margiela opened a 2,800-square-foot Maison Martin Margiela boutique on Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills.

On Sept. 10, the California Legislature passed a bill to require that all but the smallest employers contribute as much as 7.5 percent of their payroll to cover the cost of health-care insurance for employees or pay into a state pool that will provide coverage. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he would veto the bill and called for a special legislative session to work out an alternative to this health-care bill.

New York–based The Warnaco Group Inc. announced it would severely whittle down its $389 million swim business, which it operates through the Warnaco Swimwear Group, a division based in Commerce, Calif. The plan, which is a bid to bolster Calvin Klein’s business and enhance the $1.8 billion company’s profitability, calls for the sale of some of Warnaco’s swimwear brands—including Catalina, Anne Cole and Cole of California—and discontinuing others, including Warnaco’s license to produce Op’s juniors swimwear, which it kept after selling the Op brand to New York–based Iconix Brand Group last year.

Luxury shopping venue Two Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills was sold for an estimated $275 million, according to Cushman & Wakefield real estate brokers who represented the buyer, Sloan Capital Partners LLC, an investment holding company. Sloan acquired the property from the Rodeo Owner Corp.

Los Angeles contractor The Evans Group opened a satellite office in San Francisco, where services will include fittings and sample sewing.

OCTOBER

Blue Holdings, the publicly traded premium-denim manufacturer, discontinued its Life & Death brand and planned to close its two retail stores and dismiss 35 employees, or approximately 25 percent of its full-time staff.

New York retailer Intermix opened its first Los Angeles store on Robertson Boulevard.

Macy’s celebrated the 25th anniversary of its Macy’s Passport fashion fund-raiser, which has raised more than $27 million for HIV and AIDS charities since it launched. For the silver anniversary, Macy’s enlisted the support of Dame Elizabeth Taylor, Dita von Teese and a veritable who’s who of designer brands on the runway.

Costa Rica became the last signatory country to join the Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement, joining the United States, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and the Dominican Republic.

Juicy Couture opened a boutique on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. The new store was the latest in an ambitious expansion plan for the Southern California label, which is owned by New York–based Liz Claiborne. More than 20 Juicy stores have opened since last year.

Designer David Cardona joined premium-denim brand Rock & Republic as vice president of design.

Los Angeles–based retail chain Metropark named Renee Bell chief executive officer, replacing Bob Allison, the retailer’s interim chief executive officer, who will remain on the company’s board. Bell was previously Metropark’s vice president and general merchandise manager.

Pacific Sunwear announced it would shutter its nine-store footwear division, One Thousand Steps, and retained investment banker Financo Inc. to help it find “strategic alternatives” for its 154 urban-themed demo stores.

Brush fires in Southern California stymied buyer traffic at the Oct. 26–30 Los Angeles Fashion Market, but showroom representatives said sales were brisk for Spring goods and Immediate deliveries.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa spent 4frac12; hours in the Fashion District, visiting the Designers and Agents trade show during the Los Angeles Fashion Market .

The Cooper Design Space in the Los Angeles Fashion District renovated its mezzanine to open up more showroom space in the 11-floor building. The building also began work on its 10th floor, which is nearly leased and is expected to open in early 2008.

NOVEMBER

Los Angeles–based Junk Food Clothing debuted a collaboration with San Francisco–based retailer GapKids under the moniker Junk Food Loves GapKids. The collaboration will be tested in 131 GapKids stores across the United States and, if successful, will be rolled out to the rest of the chain.

A Los Angeles Superior Court jury ordered the owner of Glendale Galleria, a neighbor of the Americana at Brand, to pay $15 million in punitive damages to Rick Caruso, whose Caruso Affiliated is the developer of the Americana at Brand shopping center. Caruso accused General Growth Properties Inc. of illegally threatening the Cheesecake Factory restaurant chain after it showed interest in opening at the Americana. The Galleria was said to be courting the restaurant, too. The jury also awarded Caruso $74 million in compensatory damages. General Growth attorneys denied that the Chicago-based real estate development trust lobbied the restaurant against dealing with its competition. They plan to appeal the awards and the rulings.

With 330 attendees from 39 countries, the Organic Exchange’s annual conference, held this year in Monterey, Calif., was a record success for the 5-year-old organization.

Construction began on Falcon California Inc.’s 109-unit open-air Stanford Wholesale Mart, which will open in early 2008 with a mostly juniors tenant mix. The mart, at the corner of 12th and Stanford streets, could also have a new neighbor; Falcon California is planning another project across the street.

Premium-denim brand 7 For All Mankind opened its first boutique on Los Angeles’ Robertson Boulevard. The company opened a second store, in Dallas, and has plans to open 10 more stores in 2008.

Despite the lackluster forecasts, the holiday season started with big sales on Nov. 23. According to a study released by the International Council of Shopping Centers, combined U.S. retail sales for Black Friday and the next day—called Black Saturday—rose 7.2 percent over the same period in the previous year.

Saks Inc. settled a lawsuit with one of its vendors regarding the department store’s charge-back policy, but many in the industry questioned whether the settlement—for an undisclosed amount—would lead to any substantial changes in charge-back practices. On Nov. 23, Saks settled a case filed in 2005 by attorney Donald L. Kreindler, a partner at New York firm Phillips Nizer. Kreindler alleged that Saks’ charge-backs for markdown allowances of more than $31 million led to the demise of a manufacturer called Apparel Group International (AGI), which produced Oscar de la Renta fashions. Kreindler specifically represented International Design Concepts LLC, which had purchased the assets of AGI.

A Nov. 29 raid in the Los Angeles Fashion District resulted in 26 arrests, the all-day closure of 11th Street between Maple and Santee, and the seizure of more than 50,000 pieces of suspected counterfeit clothing, jewelry, accessories, DVDs and CDs estimated to be worth $8 million.

DECEMBER

The U.S. Senate passed the Peru Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act, known as the PTPA. President Bush signed the measure into law.

Irvine, Calif.–based young contemporary brand B.B.Dakota hired Roth Capital Partners, a Newport Beach, Calif.–based investment bank, to look for acquisition possibilities or even consider an initial public offering.

Truckers, longshore workers and thousands of other port workers in Long Beach, Calif., and Los Angeles began enrolling for Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) cards, the mandatory security cards now required by the federal government.

Robert Hass, a descendant of Levi Strauss & Co. founder Levi Strauss, announced he will retire as company chairman of the board after 18 years in that position. He will remain on the board as a director with the honorary title of chairman emeritus. Board member T. Gary Rogers will take over as chairman of the board in February.

After nearly a year of negotiations and paperwork, Endeavor Acquisition Corp. in New York completed its approximately $774 million acquisition of American Apparel Inc., the vertically integrated manufacturer of T-shirts and other casual clothing made in downtown Los Angeles. Endeavor, a blank-check company that traded on the AmericanStock Exchange under the symbol EDA, has changed its name to American Apparel and is now traded under the symbol AAP.

Stephanie Seeley, who joined the Pooltradeshow in October as show manager, was named operations manager of the trade show, replacing Mindy Weiner, who resigned to pursue other opportunities in North Carolina. Seeley most recently held the position of head buyer at Los Angeles–based specialty retailer American Rag Cie.

ENK International—the New York trade-show organizer whose shows include Fashion Coterie, Intermezzo Collections, Sole Commerce, Accessories Circuit, Brighte Cos. and Blue—announced its acquisition of WSA Global Holdings, the producer of the biannual World Shoe Association show and its luxury show-withina-show, The Collections at WSA. WSA Global Holdings, based in Encino, Calif., provides marketing services for the footwear and accessories market and produces WSAToday, a trade publication, and WSAToday.com.