Retail Shift
Apparel makers retool business in wake of Federated/May Co. merger. ...
L.A. Designers Head to China With Governor
A touch of California fashion is accompanying Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on his weeklong trade mission to China later this month....
San Francisco International Fashion Week Falls Apart
A San Francisco group’s second effort to organize its first international fashion week blew up in a high-tension drama that left international designers stranded and local designers searching for an al...
Business Is Still California Casual at C&C California
The founders of C&C California Inc., the much-touted Tshirt company whose brightly colored tops quickly became a must-have staple in many women’s closets, may have been acquired this year by a big...
Tyler to Return to RTW With a New Collection
Designer Richard Tyler, considered by many to be the godfather of Los Angeles design, is headed to China to start manufacturing a revised version at lower price points of his label called Ric...
Tarrant Tapping Into Star Power… Again
Beyonceacute;’s House of Dereacute;on is company’s latest celebrity-driven venture...
Importers in Holding Pattern as U.S., China Debate Safeguards
To import apparel from China these days, you need the combined skills of a mathematician, a lawyer and a psychic....
Pumped-Up Fuel Prices Bump Up Shipping Costs
The price to ship apparel across the ocean from Asia has risen steadily in recent months due to mounting fuel prices, and it is about to go up again on Oct. 1....
Lofts Focus on Fashion in Downtown L.A.
When the Eastern Columbia Building in downtown Los Angeles is remodeled into loft-style condos next year, fashion will be all around the landmark structure....
MAGIC Breaks the 100,000 Mark
LAS VEGAS—Consumers are playing dress up....
Satellite Shows Taken Out of Orbit
LAS VEGAS—Just when you thought MAGIC Marketplace could not get any larger, it has....
Inventory Specialists at Buxbaum Evolving Into Apparel Investors
When 7 for All Mankind went looking for a major investor in its hot denim venture, the Los Angeles apparel maker did not go to the usual suspects in the investment banking community....
Peak Season at the Ports Has Not Peaked
What a difference a year makes...
Retail World Launched L.A. City Controller's Career
Deep roots in the garment industry and seven years of retail experience gave Laura Chick the skills she needed to become one of the most powerful women in Los Angeles city politics....
Garment Sweeps Turn Day Into Night for Factory Employees
California’s crackdown on unregistered garment manufacturers has had an unintended consequence: The week-long series of raids, which closed 98 garment factories in the state, has turned some apparel wo...
Round-the-Clock Port Program Has Glitches to Work Out
The long-awaited program to keep the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., open late at night is garnering mixed reviews from many importers and freight forwarders....
State Labor Officials Conduct Garment-Shop Raids
State officials launched raids of small garment factories scattered throughout California in search of business owners believed to be violating labor and tax laws....
Central America Gets the Green Light for Apparel Production
The hard-fought passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement is a boon for California apparel manufacturers looking for an economically viable alternative to producing in Asia....
CAFTA Could Be Reality by End of July
Political observers are betting that the U.S. House of Representatives will approve the Central American Free Trade Agreement by the end of July, right before Congress adjourns for a five-week summer ...
Mid-Year Economic Review: Forecast: Uncertain
Declining jobs in apparel manufacturing and the threat of a housing bubble offset a steady outlook for the end of ’05 ...
Independent Drivers Might Not Keep on Truckin' at Night
Los Angeles–area truckers who haul cargo might boycott a new program to keep the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach open at night and on Saturdays....
Los Angeles Port Complex Skirts Shipping Delays
What a difference a year makes....
Ports to Keep Gates Open Longer to Ease Congestion
In one month, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., will open their gates on an extended basis so truckers can pick up or deliver cargo containers at night and on Saturdays....
Importers Roll the Dice on Chinese-Made Apparel
Apparel importers bringing goods in from China are becoming a bit like gamblers....
Exploring China as a New Apparel Frontier
SHANGHAI, China—If you’re going to do business in China, be prepared to be served duck tongue or still-squirming lobster. And if someone tells you his not-to-be-missed factory is only one hour away, bra...
ASAP's China Tour Kicks Off as Safeguard Measures Kick In
HANGZHOU, China—The 87 apparel importers who set out on a two-week trip to China on May 20 arrived just as the United States government installed temporary quotas on several categories of apparel impor...
California Cruises Ahead
A new L.A. mayor and plenty of tourist attractions bode well for Southern California’s economy. ...
The End of Quotas Isn't Really the End
Nothing is ever easy in the apparel business, particularly when it comes to importing from overseas....
Central American Factories Stalled While Waiting for Free-Trade Agreement
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala—Inside one of Guatemala’s largest apparel factories, hundreds of nimble workers stitch colorful knit shirts to the rhythm of Latin music interspersed with rock ’n’ roll tunes....
Peru Picks Up Pace to Stay Vital in Apparel World
LIMA, Peru—As a slew of struggling Latin American countries wage a heated battle to save their apparel and textile industries in a quota-free world, Peru is counting on Pima....
California Cos. Look to Europe to Boost Sales
Daniella Clarke has expansion on her mind when it comes to beefing up sales of her fashion-forward collection, sold under the Frankie B. label. And the designer knows how she will do it: She’s...
Uncertainty in the Air About CAFTA
First there was NAFTA. Will there be CAFTA?...
Apparel Quotas Could Return by Mid-Year
California manufacturers were not terribly surprised that the Bush administration announced it might restrict imports of three types of apparel coming from China or that industry groups filed an addit...
Port Workers Ready to Roll, But Highways Pose Problems
Nearly 7,000 part-time longshore laborers at the Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles have been trained and are waiting in the wings to work during the peak season thi...
Apparel Incubator Raises Promising New Companies
It’s a familiar tale. A young apparel designer comes up with a fresh idea for a clothing line and in no time lands plenty of press, thanks to placement in influential retail boutiques and a following a...
Ports Batten Down Hatches to Cope With Cargo Increase
The crux of the shipping season isn’t even here yet, but industry experts already are reading the tea leaves and seeing signs of port congestion up and down the West Coast....
Cargo Theft Expected to Increase With Ports Open Later
Cargo theft is big business in Southern California, totaling about $1 million a day....
Sri Lanka Hopes to Land U.S. Apparel Business Post-2005
With China and India expected to gobble up a bigger piece of the world’s apparel pie, scrappy Sri Lanka is launching its own battle to protect its apparel industry....
Barriers Prevent Quick Passage of CAFTA
Apparel manufacturers may have to wait a little longer to see CAFTA become a reality....
End of Quotas Draws Buyers to Hong Kong Fashion Week
HONG KONG—IIke Zakaria landed in Hong Kong after an overnight flight from Los Angeles and, two hours later, began searching for Chinese apparel factories that would help distinguish his family’s clothin...
Bankrupt Ames Acquired by Da-Rue California
Ames Ladies Wear, a family-owned chain of nine stores in the Los Angeles area that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection more than a year ago, has been acquired by another local family-r...
Beginning of 2005 Ushers in Questions for Apparel Importers
If last year was the “Year of Shenanigans,” 2005 is likely to be the “Year of a Little Instability.”...
Delays Expected for Apparel and Textiles From Southeast Asia
U.S. apparel and textile manufacturers said they expect many goods made in Southeast Asia will arrive days to weeks late after a tsunami generated by an undersea earthquake wreaked havoc in the region. Three countrie...
Revisions in the Works for Garment Contractor Law
There may be some changes in store next year for the California sweatshop-reform bill known as Assembly Bill 633....
L.A. Textile Company Files Copyright Suits
A Los Angeles textile company owner has filed eight lawsuits alleging that a raft of retailers, manufacturers and textile converters have used his copyrighted fabric designs....
Beefed Up Mexican Port Could Compete With Los Angeles
A major Hong Kong firm has plans to build a new port south of Ensenada in Mexico’s Baja California region to compete with the jammed port complex in the Los Angeles/Long Beach area....
Overseas Competition Reverberates Within L.A. Textile Industry
First, it was the energy crisis, and now it is the stepped-up competition from overseas apparel factories....
This Pass Says Go
The recent congestion at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach is now just a bad memory for port officials....
Uncertainty in the Air About CAFTA
California companies that have invested in Central American apparel and textile factories are curtailing their expansion plans in that region until a free-trade agreement is in place....
Designers, Organizers Look at Future L.A. Fashion Week Dates
Fashion is much like politics. Both are tied to perfect timing....
