Stories for November 2008

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Friday, November 28

Kahn Back at The Wet Seal

Foothill Ranch–based The Wet Seal Inc. reappointed Harold Kahn to its board of directors. In October, Kahn resigned from th...

Blass N.Y. Closes

Bill Blass New York, the direct-sales luxury concept launched in 2006, closed and will liquidate its assets. The company, which ma...

BB Dakota Joins Forces With Samsung

BB Dakota, the young contemporary brand based in Orange County, Calif., is shaking up its business model....

Fair-Trade Store Opens for the Holidays

In the heart of the Los Angeles Fashion District, a pop-up store featuring only items made in fair-trade cooperatives or by local artisans will be offering holiday gifts....

California's Commercial Real Estate Slows but Outpaces Others

Despite all the turmoil in the money markets and overall pressure on the economy, California commercial real estate withstood the challenges better than most parts of the country during the third quar...

Chinese Subsidies Anger U.S. Textile Companies

With apparel and textile quotas scheduled to expire at the end of this year on Chinese-made goods, a national trade group is urging the Obama administration to take action against the Asian giant for ...

Monitoring of Vietnamese Apparel Imports Ends

Ever since Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization in early 2007, the Bush administration has been keeping a watchful eye on apparel imports from that country. That is about to end....

Gottschalks Announces $30 Million Investment

After three years of poor business, department-store company Gottschalks Inc. might have found a savior for its long-running problems. On Nov. 21, the Fresno, Calif.–based retailer signed wha...

True Aventura

Vernon-based premium-denim lifestyle brand True Religion Apparel Inc. opened a 2,057-square-foot store at the Aventura Mall in Ave...

Law Firm Thelen Dissolves

After 84 years in business, Thelen LLP, an international law firm with offices in Los Angeles; San Francisco; New York; Florshy;ham Park, N.J.; Hartford, Conn.; San Jose, Calif.; Washington, ...

Dalrymple Joins Fashion Bug

Bensalem, Pa.–based retail chain Charming Shoppes Inc. named Kady Dalrymple senior vice president for design and product de...

Navigating Complex E.U. Regulation as Dec. 1 Deadline Looms for REACH

In the European Union, signs, billboards and media warn industry about the proximity of the first major deadline for REACH. The United Kingdom’s public announcement on REACH frankly reminds everyone: “N...

Survey Shows How Much Consumers Will Curtail Holiday Spending

Here’s a little insight into what shoppers might be doing this holiday season....

Affliction Beefs Up Exec Ranks, Announces Plans for Women's, Retail and Licensing

Seal Beach, Calif.–based menswear brand Affliction has announced big changes....

American Apparel, M.B.

Los Angeles–based manufacturer and retailer American Apparel opened a store at the Metlox Center in Manhattan Beach on Nov....

Mickey Mouse Gets Fashionable, Goes Street

Mickey Mouse turned 80 on Nov. 18, the anniversary of the 1928 release of the pop-culture icon’s first cartoon, “Steamboat Willie,” and the octogenarian received a serious birthd...

Hartmarx Delisted

The New York Stock Exchange LLC suspended trading on Hartmarx Corp.’s common stock beginning Nov. 26 because of a failure t...

Manufacturers Get Creative to Weather Economic Lean Times

While retailers toss up holiday sale signs and heavily promote their online storefronts in an effort to capture skittish shoppers, manufacturers are tackling their own set of challenges. Buyers are co...

Action-Sports Cos. Have Tough Third Quarter, Lower Full-Year Expectations

The third quarter wasn’t particularly kind to publicly held action-sports brands and retailers. Retailers Pacific Sunwear of California and Zumiez released their third-quarter earni...

Tech Companies Aim to Provide Solutions to Customs' '10 Plus 2' Law

Apparel importers are worried that a new security regulation proposed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and aimed at improving security for incoming cargo will delay the process of getting goods t...

Macy's Remodeled Pasadena Store

After being shuttered for seven months, the Macy’s store at 401 S. Lake Ave. in Pasadena, Calif., reopened on Nov. 21 with an updated take on the building, which was constructed in 1947. ...

Friday, November 21

Reality Sells at Live! on Sunset

Imagine the Home Shopping Network goes MTV’s “Real World.” That’s the pitch for Live! On Sunset’s upcoming e-commerce store.The new reality show-based e-commerce store is scheduled to debut in December at www.liveonsunset.com. The...

Bringing New Retail to Downtown L.A.

The Downtown Center Business Improvement District is calling on Los Angeles Fashion District workers and residents to complete a marketing survey aimed at luring national retailers to the are...

Chemline

Chemline considers the Earth in every aspect of its collection, from the use of organic and eco-friendly fabrics to the title of this season’s collection, “Altus Humo,” which tra...

FGI Schedules Holiday Fund-Raising Party

Fashion Guild International will be holding its annual holiday party on Dec. 6 to raise money for its scholarship program....

French Twist

Christian Audigier brings his own special touch to the trade show landscape with When I Move You Move ...

Protea

Kelly Bradshaw aims for her clothing line, Protea, to strike a harmonious balance of a “sophisticated look with a little bit of quirkiness.”...

Mary Green Earth

REPURPOSED: No scrap of fabric is wasted under Mary Green’s watch. The designer’s new Mary Green Earth collection is made from a patchwork of fabric remnants and excess elastic that might have...

CMC Showroom Closing After 44 Years

Lee Kreizel sold infants’ and children’s apparel out of her eponymous showroom at the California Market Center since 1964. On Nov. 21 she closed her doors for the last time, citing th...

Layoffs at Hanes

Winston-Salem, N.C.–based Hanesbrands Inc., maker of the Hanes, Champion, Playtex, Bali and Wonderbra brands, announced plans to eliminate about 210 management and corporate positions in an effort to reduce co...

On the Town

The latest edition of our biannual tribute to inspired stores and elegant eateries...

Ferretti Debuts 1st U.S. Flagship, on Melrose

Italian label Alberta Ferretti quietly opened its first Los Angeles store in September....

San Diego Convention Center Readies for Expansion

The San Diego Convention Center, home of the biannual Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo, is the target of a 500,000-square-foot expansion plan, aimed at luring large events and accom...

Delusional

Kandy Kiss is moving a step into the “more done up” direction for its new juniors line, Delusional. The nearly 30-year-old company also produces the juniors li...

Clean Truck Fees to Be Delayed

A new clean-truck fee set to

Pioneering Los Angeles Retailer Ron Ross, 61

A funeral was held Nov. 16 for pioneering Los Angeles specialty retailer Ron Ross. He died in his home in Laguna Beach, Calif., after a short fight with cancer. He was 61....

The North Face of Solar

Outdoor- and athletic-apparel maker The North Face completed installation of a solar-electricity system at its West Coast distribution center, located in Visalia, Calif. The new system, engineered and...

Fire Before the Debut of Urban Outfitters Experimental Shop

A fire broke out in a section of Urban Outfitters’ Space15Twenty experimental shop in Hollywood the day before the Nov. 21 debut of the space....

Fire Hits Garment Building for Third Time

For the third time in little more than a month, a fire broke out in a large downtown Los Angeles garment building that used to be the largest department store west of Chicago....

Proxy Fight Might Be in Charlotte Russe's Future, Analyst Says

Charlotte Russe Holding Inc. recently announced a

Bebe Merchandise Chief Leaves as Sales Slide

Bebe Stores Inc. announced that Chief Merchandise Officer Dyan Jozwick “was no longer with the company” as of Nov. 11. According to the Bebe statement, Jozwick’s duties will be taken over by the existin...

Ed Hardy Las Vegas

Las Vegas is the latest retail site for Los Angeles–based Christian Audigier’s Ed Hardy brand. To celebrate the Nov. 22 opening of the Ed Hardy store at the Fashion Show Mall, Audigier planned an all-day shopping event...

Apparel Imports Take a Dip in 2008

Apparel imports are down this year by 3.3 percent to $54 million....

Indie Shopping Event Compound Holiday Bazaar to Launch in L.A.

A group of hip local retailers and designers will band together on Dec. 14 to sell their wares at a new shopping event called Compound Holiday Bazaar. The shopping event is like an indie mini mall of sorts that will feature local shops such as Sirens & Sailors, The Circle, Una Mae’s and Flock Shop and vintage stores Lucy Finch and Come to Mama/Hung on You. Mostly local designers such as Grey Ant, Jared Gold, Kime Buzzeli of Show Pony, Victor Wilde of the Bohemian Society, Baltazar, Bandit Brand, Matrushka Construction, Mohawk General Store,Dust, Fahmina, Incognito, Kucoon, Anita Hopkins LA Millinery, Junkyard Jeans, Original Hip Hop Chocolates, Valou Jewelry and Smoke and Mirrors will sell a variety of clothes, accessories, gifts and...

Gambling on Fashion at Beverly Center

Men’s fashion retailers are typically conservative when it comes to fashion. Yet Michael Dovan has been taking risks with men’s fashion for more than 25 years—through good times and bad—and he has found t...

Lingerie Americas Cancelled, Curve Partners With Eurovet

The lingerie trade-show competition is over. Lingerie Americas, the international trade show launched in 2002, has “decided to stop its activity,” according to a company stateme...

Yves Castaldi Shows at Film Festival

Los Angeles–based designer Yves Castaldi was selected to participate in the festivities at the third annual Chinese American Film Festival, held Nov. 6–16 at a variety of theaters around the San Gabriel Vall...

Alternative Pops Up in Hollywood

North Cahuenga Boulevard seems to be a magnet for fashion retail. Atlanta-based Alternative opened Limited Addition, a quot;mobile-retail installationquot; at 1555 N. Cahuenga Blv...

Hermegrave;s Tests Luxury in Uncertain Times

Conventional wisdom on the luxury market states that luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Catherine Malandrino and Prada are more recession-resistant than other se...

Society of the Spectacle

Society of the Spectacle’s artistic T-shirt graphics depicting natural objects have a subtext of sociopolitical meaning, but Namanh Hoang tries to incorporate the messages in a way that’s not h...

MAGIC Man

Chris DeMoulin speaks about his challenging first year as head of the country’s largest apparel trade show ...

Cloth Logic

The utilitarian look of vintage military clothing gets tweaked for today’s young bachelors in the line Cloth Logic. Designer Leon Shpayer makes sure that Cloth Logic’s vintage-inspired peacoats...

E-Tailers Take a Cautious Approach to Holiday Season

E-tail may be facing some growing pains this holiday season....

Optimer's New President

Wilmington, Del.–based Optimer Inc. named Lynn Weitzke as president, a new position at the company, which owns Optimer Performance Fibers and the Dri-release and FreshGuard brands. Previously, Weitzke was gene...

For Retail Liquidators, Business Is Booming as Others Go Bust

The gloom surrounding the retail industry is turning into a boom for the merchants of doom....

Monday, November 17

Stylesight Teams With B&B Barcelona

Trend-forecasting service Stylesight has struck a deal with European trade show Bread Butter to present a series of programs for the Jan. 21–23 run of Bread Butter Barcelona and The Source, BB’s sourcing show, which runs concurrently with the...

Friday, November 14

Honoring Juicy Couture at FIDM

A fashionable crowd turned out to honor Juicy Couture founders Pamela Skaist-Levy and Gela Nash-Taylor at the Nov. 12 unveiling of the Juicy Couture Dedication Wall at the Fashion Institute of Design Merchandising in downtown Los...

Saks in Bahrain

New York–based luxury retailer Saks Inc. opened its first licensed Saks Fifth Avenue store in Bahrain. The two-level, 57,600-square-foot store is located in the Bahrain City Centre, an upscale developm...

Farmer Jeans Relaunches With Focus on Tradition, Exclusivity

Farmer Industry is back, and it’s not alone. The denim brand, launched in 2002 by Peter Lang Nooch, is back for Spring 2009 with a new designer, a new cast of executives and two new sister companies t...

New Management Team Hired to Turn Around Charlotte Russe

The directors of Charlotte Russe Holding Inc. hired a turnaround team on Nov. 12, and the same day, the San Diego–based juniors retailer fielded an offer from two private investment firms to a...

Finance Resource Guide

From coast to coast and worldwide, these financial institutions specialize in the apparel business, providing factoring services, asset-based lending, consulting, collection, and many other services t...

Costa Rica Votes to Join Central American Free Trade Agreement

After years of debates, Costa Rica’s lawmakers finally approved the country’s entry into a free-trade agreemen...

Quiksilver Finalizes Rossignol Deal

Huntington Beach, Calif.–based surf giant Quiksilver has completed the much-anticipated sale of Rossignol, its underperforming winter-sports hardgoods business. In a...

Repositioning at DHL

German shipping company Deutsche Post AG announced plans to close its DHL Express service centers, eliminate its domestic-only air and ground services in the United States, and focus its efforts on its international ...

SoCal Textile Importer Brings Business to Cyberspace

Designers looking for small quantities of novelty fabrics have a new resource online. Michael Shapiro, owner of Beverly Hills–based D&N Textiles, recently launched a new e-commerc...

NPD: Consumers to Trim Trips to Restaurants and Malls

With retail sales down across the board, more of the same might be in store. In a recent survey by The NPD Group, a New York company that provides consumer and retail information, shoppers sa...

Andean Trade Agreement Benefits Apparel Buyers

U.S. shoppers have saved a bit of money because of a trade agreement between the United States and four South American countries....

IT Suppliers Urge Retailers, Brands to Continue Tech Investments

NEW YORK—Technology vendors convening Nov. 5–6 for the annual Apparel Tech Conference at the Fashion Institute of Technology here warned visiting apparel brands and retailers that they...

Cargo Container Traffic at the Nation's Ports Slowest in Four Years

The stalled economy means one thing at the nation’s ports: Cargo container traffic is shaping up to be the lowest since 2004....

Obituary: Fashion Photographer Luc Ekstein, 57

Photographer Bernard Luc Ekstein of Los Angeles died Nov. 5 after battling lung cancer....

Levi's Premiere in S.F.

San Francisco–based Levi Strauss & Co. gave away 1,400 free tickets to the Nov. 10 screening of the Gus Van Sant film “Milk” at the Castro Theatre to celebrate the opening of a Levi’s store in the city...

Audigier's Boston Tee Party

Los Angeles–based designer Christian Audigier is inviting the city of Boston to the Nov. 15 opening of his new Ed Hardy store on Newbury Street. The grand-opening party will feature live music and DJs, celebri...

Chain Reaction: California's Newest Boutiques

Times are tough, but retailers are still opening stores at some of California’s most exclusive addresses. Here is a list of a few recent openings. ...

Manufacturers See New Options for Online Sourcing

Online sourcing has become an increasingly popular way to connect retailers and brands with overseas factories and suppliers. A new resource, MFGtextiles...

Boutiques Turn to Promotions, Product to Save Tough Holiday

What might be good medicine for major retailers could make fashion boutiques sick....

80's Purple: Beyond Streetwear

The 80’s Purple Web site (

Swim Fashion Week Set to Debut in Australia

IMG Fashion just announced the debut of a swimwear fashion week in Australia. The event, titled Swim Fashion Week @ Sanctuary Cove, will take place Feb. 25–28, 2009, on Australia’s G...

Thursday, November 13

Anand Jon Convicted on 16 Counts

Designer Anand Jon was convicted on Nov. 13 of rape and multiple counts of sexual assault involving seven female victims ranging in age from 14 to 21....

Friday, November 7

Skechers S.F.

Skechers S.F. Manhattan Beach–based footwear brand Skechers USA Inc. opened a flagship store on Powell Street near San Francisco’s Union Square neighborhood. The 7,500-square-foot, three-story store carries 800 Skecher...

U.S. Government to Monitor Apparel Imports From China

Quotas on all U.S. apparel imports coming from China

Baby Greens

Los Angeles–based apparel brand Organically Grown launched a baby line called Organically Grown Baby. Carried by retailers Macy’s, Gottschalks, Dillard’s and Buy Buy Buy, the new collection includes organic-cott...

Alleged L.A. Fashion District Robbers Arrested

From May to September, up to three suspected bandits committed a string of 10 muggings and armed robberies in the greater Fashion District, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The three m...

San Clemente Voters Say 'Yes' to Off-Beat Retail Center

San Clemente, Calif., voters made a special trip to the polls on Nov. 4 to give Shaheen Sadeghi a green light to build the unconventional Playa del Norte center....

Blue Holdings, Headgear in Joint Venture to Expand Labels

Blue Holdings Inc., a Los Angeles denim company, will be expanding its labels in a joint venture with a Virginia apparel company....

ACG Plans State of Apparel Industry Panel

The economic well-being of the apparel industry is the subject of the monthly breakfast meeting of the Association of Corporate Growth scheduled for Nov. 12....

New Consumer Product Safety Regulations Set for 2009

Apparel manufacturers have one year to prepare for the effects of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. Introduced late in 2007 in reaction to a rash of safety scares and mass recalls connected...

New Designers in Play at Arcade Boutique

Despite a weak economy, the Melrose Place district of Los Angeles continues to attract designer fashion stores. Novice retailer Rochelle Gores chose the fashionable neighborhood as the site of her fi...

End of an Era for Mervyns

After 60 years in business, Hayward-based Mervyns announced plans to liquidate its remaining 149 stores and sell off approximately $900 million in remaining merchandise, including clothing, footwear, ...

Mandell Resigns as COO of Christian Audigier

Henry Mandell, the chief operating officer of Culver City, Calif.-based Ed Hardy, has left the company after more than two years on the job. Mandell, who estimated the co...

Shopping Event Features Indie Designers

Unique Los Angeles—a home accessories, design, gift and fashion shopping event featuring independent local designers—will debut Dec. 13–14 in the penthouse of the California Market Cent...

E-tail Experience

A recent Consumer Reports study found L.L. Bean, Zappos and Lands’ End among the top-rated e-tailers for quality, “more-accurate descriptions and sizing information, an informative Web site, and an eas...

O'Neill Clothing to Launch Kids' Collection

O’Neill Clothing USA will debut a collection of surf-inspired apparel for girls ages 2 to 6 for Spring 2009. A division of Irvine, Calif.–based licensee La Jolla Group, O’Neill Clothing already makes juniors and girls...

Hispanic-Themed Section to Bow at MAGIC in February

In February, the MAGIC Marketplace will bow MAGIA, a new section created for retailers looking to tap into the Hispanic market. ...

October '08 Sales Tough

Retailers generally reported poor performances in October, and many economists used strong language to describe the state of retail in the past month....

Panicked Retailers Start Holiday Sales Early

At JCPenney, the frost wasn’t even off the Halloween pumpkins when the mid-tier department store pulled out a red pen and slashed by 50 percent the price on many of the store’s colorful Christm...

Babakul

All signs on Kym Gold-Lubell’s Babakul pants point to denim. There are long stay stitches, rivet hardware, bar-tack stitching and embroidered pockets. But Babakul is...

L.A.'s Menswear Designers Take Risks as Others Play It Safe

Even in the best of times, menswear is rarely on the cutting edge of fashion. Womenswear—with its dramatic trends, glossy magazines and voracious consumers—tends to unabashedly hog the spotlight. So, it is a bi...

New Bloomie's Concept in Santa Monica

Santa Monica Place will be saying goodbye to its Macy’s and hello to a new kind of Bloomingdale’s....

St. John Debuts SoCa Boutique for First Stand-Alone Collection

Over the summer, 46-year-old Irvine, Calif.–based fashion house St. John debuted SoCa, the first concept intended to be separate from the iconic St. John parent brand, and on Oct. 23...

Fee Collection Begins for Ports' Clean Trucks Program

The new Clean Trucks Program was launched at the

Tuesday, November 4

L.A. Designers Bahama-bound

California may not be an island, but two of our designers, Nick Verreos of Nikolaki and Kevan Hall, were tapped as the featured designers for the first-ever Islands of the World Fashion Week in the Bahamas. Set to be held Nov. 5–8 at the British...

Double RL Finds Happy Trails on Melrose

Ralph Lauren is on the move in Los Angeles. On Sept. 19, a Ralph Lauren boutique opened at 141 N. Robertson Blvd. The New York–based fashion house opened a large, 2,600-square-foot Ralph Lauren’s Double RL store on Oct....

Monday, November 3

Forever 21 Opens in South Korea

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA—The newly opened Forever 21 in the Myeong-dong shopping district in Seoul, South Korea, is barely a month old, and it is already packed with shoppers getting their hands on the Los Angeles–based retailer’s trendy fashions....