California Apparel News

Luxury denim brand 7 For All Mankind started its great retail leap forward.

On Nov. 15, it opened its first boutique at 100 S. Robertson Blvd. in Los Angeles. On Nov. 19, the brand’s store in Dallas’ North Park shopping center debuted. The denim label will open 10 more stores in 2008, with locations most likely in New York, Las Vegas and Florida, said Aaron Battista, vice president of retail for 7 For All Mankind.

The premium-denim brand’s retail rollout comes on the heels of a year of major change for the label. On Aug. 31, it was purchased for $779 million by Greensboro, N.C.–based VF Corp., which owns several labels, including John Varvatos and Wrangler. The company forecasted the 7 For All Mankind brand will earn annual revenues of $300 million.

The store opening also comes at a time when denim might be losing its power, according to the market-research company NPD Group Inc. The sales of women’s jeans declined in 2006, according to a study released in May 2007. Dollar sales for women’s jeans declined 1.8 percent that year. The decline was the first time in five years that sales in this category went down.

While denim remains an important business, said NPD Chief Industry Analyst Marshal Cohen, handbags and shoes have become an obsession. “I think what we’re seeing is the status handbag becoming this year’s replacement for premium jeans,” Cohen said at the time of the study’s release.

The 7 For All Mankind store on Robertson will showcase the full scope of the brand’s lifestyle collection. The middle section of the 3,100-square-foot store is devoted to handbags and footwear. Retail price points for handbags and small leather goods range from $250 to $1,000. Footwear ranges from $250 to $600. A good chunk of the store’s wares, 35 percent, is devoted to sportswear. A woman’s leather jacket costs $451 at the store. A man’s peacoat costs $1,195. Retail price points for jeans range from $150 to $300.

While Battista would not comment on forecasted sales for the store, he said the design of the boutique was meant to communicate sophistication and luxury. The store makes use of materials such as Russian blue marble, zebrano wood and a chain curtain that features shapes of the numeral seven. The boutique’s front section is devoted to women’s clothes, the middle is the accessories area, and the back of the store makes space for menswear and a lounge.

The debut of the store also comes at a time when Robertson Boulevard is becoming more heavily tenanted by branded-jeans stores. High-profile premium-denim labels True Religion, Paige Premium Denim, Parasuco and AG Adriano Goldschmied maintain boutiques on the street. Rock & Republic has reportedly expressed interest in Robertson space.

Robertson’s denim identity will benefit the street, said Connie Leung, a sales clerk at the nearby Yellowman boutique, located at 110 S. Robertson. “When you have a lot of flagship stores on the street, it will attract a lot more people to the area,” she said.—Andrew Asch