LAST STORE: Factory 413 is located far from popular retail streets.
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Factory 413: Only Serious Customers Need Apply
The real estate slogan “location, location, location” doesn’t apply to streetwear boutique Factory 413.
Co-founders Chad Muska and Angel Cabada purposely opened the store way off of the beaten track.
It’s located at 413 S. Fairfax Ave. in Los Angeles, a five-minute drive and a world away from the fashion retail streets of the Fairfax district, Melrose Avenue and The Grove retail center. With no other clothing store in sight, Factory 413’s neighbors include landmark photography store Samy’s Cameras, a locksmith and a psychic.
Factory 413 still draws customers, who buy T-shirts for more than $60 along with $150 sneakers. Muska and Cabada are able to turn convention upside down because of who they are.
Muska is an entrepreneur, designer and one of the 30 most influential skateboarders of all time, according to a Transworld Skateboarding magazine article. Cabada founded Supra, one of streetwear’s most popular footwear brands, as well as the KR3W apparel brand.
They opened in 2007 at their remote address because it’s located adjacent to a photo studio. Store staff shoots pictures of the store’s 413 brand, along with art for the e-commerce site (www.factory413.com), where 80 percent of the shop’s sales are made.
Foot traffic is—putting it diplomatically—low. “We don’t deal with a lot of customers,” said Adam Morales, store manager and buyer. “But those who come spend money.”
The top-selling clothing items at the store are T-shirts by Los Angeles brands Unif and The/End.
Unif’s highly distressed-T-shirts, which take a satirical spin on other streetwear labels and some rock bands, retail for $68. Unif tees are finished with an intricate “triple-wash” treatment.
The/End is a lifestyle label that started business this year and has been gaining notice for its attention to details and eccentric elements such as side zippers on pullover sweaters. The brand’s T-shirts retail for $55, and one bearing a black-and-white photo of roses has been popular.
