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Southeastern Stores Upbeat on Spring

Retailers shopping Atlanta Apparel Exhibition buying popular urban lines at red-hot Velocity area

By: BRENDA LLOYD

ATLANTA - Most retailers shopping the Atlanta Apparel Exhibition last week reported coming off a strong December, some with sales increases in the double-digits, and they are optimistic about spring.

The show, held here at the Cobb Galleria Centre, drew buyers from across the Southeast and from as far away as New York, New Jersey and California. They came to pick up a few fill-ins for immediate delivery and to buy spring merchandise. Buyers swarmed around the hottest urban lines in the show's Velocity area. Sales representatives for Coogi, Girbaud, Timberland, Miskeen, Eklectik Genes, Live Mechanics and others reported strong business on the first day of the show, as did many others with fashion lines, including Tayion Collection.

To liven things up at the show and boost its own marketing, Live Mechanics had several celebrities visit the show, including Big Boi from Outkast, Bonecrusher, D12 from the Eminem crew, and Q, the lead singer from rhythm-and-blues group 112. They signed autographs and talked up the Live Mechanics line at the show.

The Southeastern Mens and Boys Apparel Club (SEMBAC) was marketing its group, too, with a booth next to registration that had literature on the history of the club and membership.

Gil Rhee, president of Trends Inc., which has seven stores in Atlanta, said sales were up considerably over the holiday season, and he was anticipating a good February. He said he has booked spring already, through June, but was in market checking out a few lines, including Coogi and Miskeen, to see if he'd missed anything or saw something new. Rhee said he did well in December because his stores had "great product and categories." His best-selling lines were L-R-G and Coogi, followed by Polo, The North Face and Enyce.

Mel Hill, proprietor of Shining Starr Fashions in Greensboro, N.C., booked some fill-ins of best-sellers, particularly flight jackets and T-shirts with graphics of characters and rapper expressions popular in the urban community. He said he would go to MAGIC to start his spring and summer buying. "This is a brush-up to get us to MAGIC," he said.

Holiday sales at his two-year-old store were up considerably, he said, and much better than what they had been earlier in the year. However, he said, "It wasn't because the economy is improving-it's because people were buying gifts for Christmas."

In S. Kim, owner of Number One Men's Fit in Milledgeville and Dublin, Ga., also had a strong holiday season, with sales up nearly 20 percent, which he credited to having fresh merchandise on his shelves and to stocking the right brands. He said he was optimistic about spring and would increase his buy for the season.

Kim filled in on expression T-shirts for immediate delivery, and booked T-shirts, denim jeans and woven shirts from a variety of vendors, including Girbaud (particularly Girbaud's shuttle shorts), Coogi, Southpole, 5ive Jungle and Lot 29. He also bought leather jackets from Avirex. Kim said he booked more than 50 percent of spring open-to-buy at the show.

Cory Fogel, owner of Freedmans Mens & Ladies Shoes & Suits, a 25,000-square-foot fashion store in Atlanta, ordered suits, neckwear, dress shirts and accessories for both immediate and spring two deliveries, and also tweaked orders he'd made previously. He said he booked about 30 percent of his spring open-to-buy at the show.

Fogel booked Tayion Collection, particularly a three-piece suit with a double-breasted vest and a jacket with a vent and tab in the back. He also booked Steve Harvey, Stacy Adams and Giorgio Brutini suits, and he bought his neckwear from the same vendors to coordinate with the suits.

"I like this show," he said, "because it helps me when I get to MAGIC. I'm not so overwhelmed and can concentrate on future orders. Here, I'm focusing more on immediate deliveries."

Fogel said he had an excellent holiday season, which was helped by cold weather that prompted sales of sweaters and leather jackets. "I was very pleased, and I'm optimistic about spring," he said.

Roy Lakhani, owner of In Style in Portsmouth, Va., booked fashion suits from Stacy Adams, Zacchi and Giorgio Brutini for spring and summer, as well as dress shirts, neckwear and shoes. He said his sales were up 5 percent in December and are still good in January.

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