California Apparel News

After a slow start to business in 2013, apparel retailers are forecasting good business for the rest of the year.

On May 22, Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. announced a 2 percent increase in same-store sales for the first quarter of 2013. Net sales rose to $169.8 million in the first quarter over $162.3 million last year, said Gary H. Schoenfeld, president and chief executive officer of PacSun.

“After a slower-than-expected start to the spring selling season, we are pleased with our overall first-quarter performance, which was led by strength in our women’s business,” Schoenfeld said.

The PacSun chief noted that extreme weather and a cold snap at the beginning of this year made an impact on business. “Weather has not been a friend to the marketplace in the first quarter,” he said during a conference call with Wall Street analysts. “We’re not prepared to say that a hot summer will change issues we have spoken of, but we’d welcome the hot summer.”

Schoenfeld also promised that his company would continue its initiative to whittle down its big fleet of stores, which currently has 638 locations. PacSun will shutter more than 20 stores this year. In previous interviews, Schoenfeld said underperforming stores were hurting PacSun’s bottom line. But the retailer also opened a high marquee pop-up shop in New York’s SoHo neighborhood recently. The 10,000-square-foot store will stay open through the Labor Day weekend. “It will bring the best of PacSun to the world’s most influential fashion destination,” he said during the May 22 conference call.

Retailers and Wall Street analysts at the 14th Annual B. Riley & Co. Investor Conference in Santa Monica, Calif., also forecast improving business through 2013 Like PacSun’s Schoenfeld, B. Riley & Co.’s Jeff Van Sinderen said the year started off tough for many retailers. “Weather was a real drag on business,” he said. “It was a challenge to sell spring merchandise.”

But apparel companies presenting at the conference intend to expand business through retail. Joe’s Jeans Inc., which is headquartered in Los Angeles, has a goal of running a fleet of 100 stores by 2017, said Hamish Sandhu, the company’s chief financial officer. The company intends that most of its upcoming stores will be full-price stores and they will be located domestically. Currently, Joe’s operates 12 full-price retail stores and 19 outlet stores in outlet centers in the United States.

Joe’s Jeans also intends to build its business through increased e-commerce and continuing to merchandise its lower-priced women’s jeans brand, Else, which is currently sold at some Macy’s stores.

The Wet Seal Inc. also presented at the B. Riley & Co. conference, but it will develop a different route to higher sales than Joe’s. The store will look to increase its mobile-phone commerce, said John Goodman, chief executive officer of Wet Seal, based in Foothill Ranch, Calif. “The mobile phone is her weapon,” he said of the Wet Seal juniors customer. “It is how we will talk to her.”

Wet Seal’s e-commerce sales are currently 6 percent of the company’s business, and Goodman hopes to boost it to more than 10 percent. The company also hopes to build its outlet-stores business. It will open 15 outlet stores this year and four mall stores and remodel more than 20 stores.