Retailers at West Coast Trend Show Searching for Newness

Menswear buyers at the twice-a-year West Coast Trend Show in Los Angeles were greeting the new year with caution but optimism.

Stores were looking for fresh items that came at lower prices to attract shoppers still shell-shocked from the nearly 2-year-old recession that seems to be fading away very slowly.

“Most of the stores are telling me they had a difficult year. Very few are ahead,” said Crittenden Rawlings, who owns Crittenden Clothes, a 6-year-old line out of Lexington, Ky., that makes French-facing soft jackets, silk-lined vests and cotton flannel shirts for high-end stores. “But retailers have said their inventory is in better shape and they have trimmed overhead. With any upturn, they should throw off good profits.”

This is the fourth season for the West Coast Trend Show, held Jan. 30–Feb. 1 at the Embassy Suites LAX North, located near Los Angeles International Airport. Traffic at the relatively new menswear show was up 40 percent this year over last January’s event with 130 registered store buyers, said Ken Haruta, the show’s organizer, who also reps Scott Barber, Sanyo, Corneliani, Saltaire, Leather Island/Soft Collection Belts by Bill Lavin and Report Collection.

Buyers attending West Coast Trend roamed through 71 hotel suites stocked with more than 200 lines that encompassed everything from fashionable activewear to high-end shirts and suits for Fall 2010.

Sales representatives were busy sitting down with buyers and seeing what Fall had to offer. “The show is going really well,” said John Faul, whose Red Zone Agency in Newport Beach, Calif., represents apparel lines such as Victorinox, Red Jacket and 1921 Denim. “There is a much more upbeat attitude than last year.”

Ralph Odenberg, also with the Red Zone Agency, said retailers were in a better position this year to keep costs down and work on profits by carrying different brands and clothing that exuded fashion and newness. He said many stores were well-stocked last year with the same old big brands carried by their competitors. “They can’t do that anymore,” Odenberg said.

He also noted that retailers are chasing after a 30-something customer who frequently buys clothes for his work, play and social life. Customers over the age of 50 are sticking with their Tommy Bahama shirts.

With uniqueness in mind, Red Zone Agency carries the Red Jacket line of specially washed T-shirts imprinted with vintage baseball-team logos, which sells in upscale stores such as Nordstrom. Five years ago, Victorinox Swiss Army, known for its Swiss Army knives, developed a line of fashionable clothes with a technical edge. Jackets are made of high-tech fabrics that are thin but warm with special places for cell phones, iPods and keys. “Our idea was to represent different products,” Faul said.

With uniqueness and cost in mind, Allison Basile was showing a relatively new line of contemporary men’s shirts under the Age of Wisdom label, which she designs and sells. The parent company, Quantum Concept Inc. of Vernon, Calif., does mostly private-label goods for Nordstrom Rack, Macy’s and Costco. But taking advantage of its relationship with Chinese factories, the company decided to develop Age of Wisdom three seasons ago to respond to retailers’ demands for a different but trendy shirt that retails for under $100. The shirts are finished with a special wash in Los Angeles, resulting in no two shirts being alike. “Last January, people were telling us our prices were too low,” Basile said, noting many stores were still stuck on shirts that sold for $125 or more. “Now they are coming back and looking for lower prices.”

This is the second time Basile has shown at the West Coast Trend Show. “The show is going well,” she said, adding she wrote orders with 11 stores the first day. “It is great for retailers who don’t want to do the Las Vegas shows. People have time to sit down and write.”

Ron Igelman and Andy White, buyers for the Ascot Shop in affluent La Jolla, Calif., said they like the event because they don’t have to hop on a plane and the show is compact. They will also go to New York twice a year and to Las Vegas to visit reps and vendors.

“Our inventory is way low, but we’re in a good position for spring,” Igelman said. Sales at the La Jolla shop were robust during the last two weeks of December but have been relatively slow during January. The 60-year-old boutique, which is well-trafficked by wealthy tourists and well-to-do residents, is planning several promotional events this year, such as trunk shows.

White said the 4,500-square-foot store, which has a full-time tailor, was adding a few lower-priced items for the more cost-conscious shopper. Instead of an abundance of $300 shirts, they are pumping up inventory with $100 to $150 shirts.

Still, spring is looking like it is going to be a challenging season. “I’m more optimistic for fall,” White said. “I think it is going to be a long spring.”