California Apparel News

LAS VEGAS—The economy is going through a rough spot, but retailers are showing resilience, said vendors exhibiting at the MAGIC Marketplace’s men’s, men’s designer, and contemporary and casual-lifestyle fashion market in the central hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

“If you have a store, you need to stay in business,” said Patrick Chan, the New York– based national accounts manager for Montreal- based suit manufacturer Jack Victor. “You need something to sell.” Stores might be carrying thinner inventories, according to Chan, but they still are selling big-ticket items such as suits. Retail price points for Jack Victor range from $800 to $1,000.

The weak economy meant more retailers ordered goods for immediate deliveries rather than waiting for Fall goods, said Jim Whillas, president of active outerwear label Kakadu Traders Australia. His label’s American headquarters are located in Portland, Ore. He has been exhibiting at MAGIC since 1987.

Whillas said that last February, 75 percent of retailers ordered Fall deliveries. This year, half of his company’s orders were Immediates, and half were for Fall 2008. “They are ordering much closer to the season,” Whillas said, “because they don’t know what is going to happen next.”

MAGIC was still a place to be seen, however. Austin Hess, chief operating officer of Los Angeles –based blazer brand Hollywood Hess, said retail traffic doubled at his booth compared with the previous MAGIC Marketplace.

MAGIC show organizers estimated that attendance this season—about 120,000—was on par with August’s numbers, although many exhibitors said traffic appeared down this time.

Karen Meena, vice president of buying and merchandising at Ron Robinsonat Fred Segal in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, Calif., shopped the menswear market and made orders for the recently debuted Seattle-based apparel line for Indian Motorcycles. New men’s fashions featured lightweight cashmere sweaters and leather jackets with a 1950s-style motorcycle look.

Juniors, contemporary get international boost

The impact of the weak dollar was felt keenly at WWDMAGIC, the juniors, contemporary and women’s sportswear show in the Las Vegas Convention Center’s North Hall. There were fewer American retailers and more international retailers, according to Mike Chodler, co-owner of Realitee Clothing Company Inc., based in Vernon, Calif.

“We’ll equal our numbers from August [at MAGIC], but it was the international business that made the difference,” Chodler said.

Popular trends for T-shirts included ecotees made out of organic cotton, Chodler said. Also popular were T-shirts produced with a burn-out treatment. The chemical treatment gives the new garment a well-worn look. While the increase of international business offered a much-needed charge, the weakening economy reared its head in other ways. Some vendors complained that there was not enough foot traffic during the show. A flow of walk-in traffic would have given a greater boost to Reneacute; Geneva, owner and designer of Austin, Texas– based Reneacute; Geneva Design. She said her sales from this show were slightly greater than her sales during the previous MAGIC in August 2007. “It has been slow. I’m only writing orders for people with appointments, but it’s not worth coming here if you just sell to people with appointments,” she said.

Another impact of the weak dollar was felt in the way retailers ordered, said Alicia Estrada, founder of Los Angeles–based Stop Staring! “Buyers were playing it safe,” she said. “They were only ordering stuff that was tried and true.”

Still, Estrada estimated that her sales at MAGIC increased more than 10 percent compared with the August trade show. In particular, sales of plus-size clothing were increasing, Estrada said.

Streetwear juggles partying, prudent business

With rappers and DJs performing at selected booths in the MAGIC Marketplace’s streetwear section, the trade event felt like a party. However, the section’s vendors focused their attention on the downbeat subject of keeping their business thriving in a slowing economy.

LRG Clothing Co., based in Lake Forest, Calif., scheduled a busy show with more than 260 appointments. Despite the bustling crowds, LRG general sales manager Bryan Wilson said that he planned to focus on steady growth for the rest of the year by keeping inventories lean.

“We’re not taking risks. We’re only taking sure shots,” Wilson said. To keep inventories low, Wilson’s team recommended to retailers to specifically buy items that have been strong performers in the past.

One possible result of this business logic was steady business, according to Wilson and other vendors in the streetwear section. Many exhibitors estimated that their business would be even with the good business that they made during the previous MAGIC Marketplace in August.

Some of the retailers helping these vendors make this business included Up Against The Wall, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Zumiez, Brooklyn Projects, Greyone and Karmaloop.

While streetwear has been popular for the past couple of years, Karmaloop chief executive Greg Selkoe said that the category’s styles have been changing quickly. Compared with the streetwear section’s styles displayed at the MAGIC Marketplace in August, new styles avoided the allover prints that were recently all the rage.

“Colors are not nearly as wild,” Selkoe said of streetwear’s most up-to-date looks. Gray, black and some pinks were some of this season’s most popular shades. —Andrew Asch