NEWSPAPER 2ND CLASS $2.99 VOLUME 73, NUMBER 10 MARCH 3–9, 2017 THE VOICE OF THE INDUSTRY FOR 72 YEARS BCBGMaxAzria Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection By Deborah Belgum Senior Editor BCBGMaxAzriaGroup, the decades-old Los Angeles apparel company that was one of the first on the contempo- rary fashion scene, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protec- tion in papers submitted Feb. 28 to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The company’s Canadian affiliate is beginning a sepa- rate filing for voluntary reorganization proceedings under Canada’s Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. Steps are being taken to close its freestanding stores in Canada and consoli- date its operations in Europe and Japan. The apparel venture, founded in 1989 by Max Azria, has been navigating through some tough financial waters in the past few years. New executives have been unable to turn the company around fast enough and now hope to finish the bankruptcy process in six months. ➥ BCBG page 9 Mitchell & Ness’ booth at the Agenda trade show in Las Vegas TRADE SHOW REPORT Sports Apparel Maker Mitchell & Ness Moving to Irvine Crowded Trade Show By Andrew Asch Retail Editor Schedule Cuts Into LA The North American licensed sportswear business is esti- tive officer. mated to be a multi-billion-dollar market, and Philadelphia- “This facility will house all of our product under one roof Textile Traffic headquartered brand Mitchell & Ness is making a gambit for and modernize our operations with the goal of providing a bigger chunk of it. It is scheduled to open its first West Coast gold-standard customer service. The organization will also By Alison A. Nieder Executive Editor office and a distribution center by mid-March in Irvine, Calif. feature an official showroom where select personnel will be Mitchell & Ness holds licenses with sports leagues such as chosen to support the brand’s overall business goals,” he said. Many of the familiar faces walking the aisles at the Los the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the Mitchell & Ness, a privately held company, has frequently Angeles International Textile Show were missing this National Basketball Association and Major League Soc- exhibited at the Agenda trade show and is retailed at sports season when the longstanding textile show went head-to- cer, making caps, jerseys, shorts and other apparel bearing venues such as Dodger Stadium and high-end boutiques head with an apparel trade show in New York. the logos of popular sports teams. such as Kith and Flight Club as well as in the brand’s e- This season, the show’s Feb. 27–March 1 run at the Cal- The brand will move into an Irvine business park a short commerce shop (www.mitchellandness.com). ifornia Market Center fell at the same time as Coterie in drive from the headquarters of the Billabong label and the The brand’s roots go back more than a century, when it New York. corporate headquarters of retailer Tilly’s Inc. When the new started as a golf and tennis apparel maker in 1904. By the Several longtime Textile Show exhibitors said many of Mitchell & Ness office opens, 20 people are scheduled to 1930s, it was making on-field uniforms for major Philadel- their contemporary customers could not attend the show work there in divisions such as headwear development, mar- phia sports teams such as the Eagles football team and the because of the overlap with Coterie. Some hoped those keting, human relations and information technology. The Phillies baseball team. In the 1980s, the brand created the customers would turn up on the last day of the show, but brand’s head of Latin America business also will work out of Mitchell & Ness Nostalgia Co. to design and sell replicas of the strongest day of the three-day run turned out to be the the Irvine office, said Kevin Wulff, the brand’s chief execu- historic sports jerseys. ● second day of the show, Feb. 28. “Yesterday was fairly busy. We’ve had a good flow,” said ➥ LA Textile Show page 8 Nasty Gal Offices to Remain Open in Los Angeles 8 INSIDE: By Deborah Belgum Senior Editor Where fashion gets down to business SM After being acquired by British-based online fashion retailer 2006 by Sophia Amoruso, was a hot commodity for years with BooHoo.com for $20 million, Nasty Gal is marching forward venture capitalists jumping in to invest in the company. with its same website and smaller offices in Los Angeles as well Amoruso resigned in 2015 as chief executive, handing the as work spaces in New York, London and Manchester, England. job over to Sheree Waterson, the former president at Lulule- Nasty Gal will continue to offer its clothing, shoes and ac- mon Athletica. cessories geared toward women in their 20s and 30s under its Recently, mounting expenses and decreasing revenues forced own label with plans to design exclusive collections later this Nasty Gal in November to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protec- 3 8 year, BooHoo executives said. But in early February, Nasty tion. In the fiscal year ending Jan. 31, 2015, Nasty Gal had net Gal laid off 98 people. revenue of $85 million but a mountain of debt. The online retailer planned to close its two Los Angeles– In court papers, Nasty Gal attorneys said the company Jerry Leigh remembered ... p. 2 area stores soon and shutter its Kentucky distribution center owed United Parcel Service $576,950; Callahan Capi- by April 10. tal $289,332 for its lease on its downtown LA headquar- Retail Sales ... p. 9 “We are thrilled to have Nasty Gal as part of our family and ters; Google Marketing Services $232,786; BNB Foot- are excited by the opportunity to expand the company into inter- wear $293,653; Olivaeous, a womenswear company, Tags & Labels Resources ... p. 10 national markets,” said Carol Kane, the joint chief executive for $318,816; Endless Rose, a clothing company, $256,714; the BooHoo Group and the interim CEO for Nasty Gal. and Cotton Candy LA, a clothing company in the Arts District, Nasty Gal, a pioneer fashion e-commerce site established in $182,222—with many more companies owed sizable sums. ● www.apparelnews.net 01,8-9.cover.indd 1 3/2/17 6:41 PM NEWS Obituary Los Angeles Manufacturer Jerry Leigh, 94 By Alison A. Nieder Executive Editor found Jerry Leigh of California in 1962. geles mill while Tenenblatt was setting up was really an engineer that became a successful The business operated out of “a tiny little one of the knitting machines and asked about garment manufacturer.” Jerry Leigh, founder of Jerry Leigh of Cali- plant on Beverly Boulevard” and relied on the fabric he was making. Tenenblatt’s poly- His son described him as “a product guy fornia, died on Feb. 8. He was 94. selling direct to local stores, according to his ester jacquard knits turned out to be perfect at heart,” who “loved a well-made garment” Founded in the early 1960s, Jerry Leigh of son Andrew Leigh, who joined the company for a pant style Leigh was selling. and “clever construction.” Antex’s Tenenblatt, California grew to be a powerhouse California in the 1980s and now serves as president and “He was my first customer,” Tenenblatt agreed, saying Leigh appreciated the entire pro- apparel manufacturer and later a pioneer in the chief executive. recalled. “That’s 45 cess from design to production. field of licensing. “He hit on a fab- years ago. He was al- “He loved making beautiful garments and Today, the family-owned company produces ric called double knit, ways a customer prob- [he loved] the process, the design of it, the man- apparel under a wide range of brands and li- which was very, very ably until a couple of ufacturing. He loved that part,” he said. “The censes, including Walt Disney Co., Warner popular fabric in early years ago. And it was beauty is he grew old enough to see the accom- Bros. and Dickies Girl. The company manu- ’60s,” Andrew Leigh a great relationship. It plishment and success of his labor.” factures everything from men’s to women’s to said. “He started to build was a different era when Andrew Leigh attributes the company’s children’s apparel that is sold in boutiques as a reputation for himself over 95 percent of what longevity to his father’s knowledge and tech- well as major retailers. as this low-cost operator was sold in the U.S. was nical skills. “His philosophy [was] to always The United Kingdom–born Leigh enlisted making ready-to-wear, made in the U.S. It was look for change and evolve. And watch your just shy of his 16th birthday in the Royal Ar- which was just starting the beginning of a great overhead,” he said. “And that’s why we’ve my’s 7th Army Division on the eve of World to pop in the ’60s.” supply chain that devel- been around all these years.” War II. Along with his brigade, known as the The company’s repu- oped between design In 2012, the company celebrated its 50th Desert Rats because of their training in Egypt, tation attracted the at- and knitting and dyeing year in business as well as the 90th birthday Leigh fought in Italy and later in Berlin at the tention of a buyer who and printing.” of its founder. The event featured appearances close of the war. He married his childhood placed an order for what Over the years, both by the USC Trojan Marching Band and sweetheart, Frances, during the war and later Leigh thought was 300 companies grew.