If ever MAGIC organizers were to stage an endurance race to see which retailers cover the most ground at the Las Vegas Convention Center and the adjacent Hilton, buyers from independent boutiques selling more than just women’s apparel would easily take first place.
By MAGIC’s measure, 47 percent of retail buyers at the show cross over to shop in several categories — and they’re not all on the same mission. As talks with retailers preparing to attend the show revealed, some are shopping for an increasingly youthful customer while others are looking to add a few more of the season’s must-have accessories and still others just want to size up the competition.
Denice Johnson, owner of Snow Country Clothing in Billings, Mont., will get to know much of MAGIC’s 950,000 square feet this week. While roaming the LVCC in search of the latest contemporary fashions for women, “I’ll walk through the junior area and may pick up a few items,” Johnson said.
Johnson said a tie-dyed T-shirt or paisley tunic with sequins and bell sleeves could make it on her order list. “We’re trying to go a little younger on some things so we can catch that generation, too,” she said.
Keeping young and old interested in her boutique’s merchandise means carrying “Columbia Sportswear and Woolrich, our bread and butter,” as well as more fashion-forward labels like French Dressing and Robert Kitchen and washable suede from Catherine Stewart for BellePointe.
Herbert Fink, owner of Theodore’s in Los Angeles, which sells women’s and men’s casual designer sportswear, said he primarily attends the show “to see what my competitors are going to buy.”
“We are primarily a European label operation,” said Fink, who nonetheless plans to again make his end-of-summer MAGIC pilgrimage. Typical labels at Theodore’s include People of Labyrinth from Holland, and designs from Ann Demeulemeester (France) and Roberto Cavalli (Italy).
However, Fink said, at MAGIC “there are basic items we could run across and could place orders on, like a new jean. The same would be true if we would see a certain blazer, maybe if it’s a vintage style, or this is the time of year to pick up cruisewear if it fits our casual image.”
Related Articles
You May Also Like
While Fink scouts out the competition, other crossover buyers will be making the most of the recent reshuffling that moved Magic kids adjacent to the junior category at WWDMAGIC in the North Hall of the LVCC, and coping with the slightly longer trek to the Accessories category in its new home at the Hilton.
Barbara Parina, owner of Side Street Boutique in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., is attending MAGIC to make sure her almost 12,000-square-foot store is well stocked through next spring with the latest children’s, junior, women’s and men’s fashions.
“There’s everything in the world at MAGIC,” said Parina, who wouldn’t mind finding more of the trendy wide belts the store now sells for $400 to $500, a price tag over which “people aren’t batting an eye.” Bigger purses in heavier leathers with metal adornments costing upward of $400 are also selling well, she said, and could be partly replenished at the show.
Business from tweens — fashion-conscious 7- to 12-year-olds — is also growing for Parina, particularly among children who are tall and busty for their years. She hopes to find more vendors at MAGIC to fashionably meet her tween customer needs. Tween-acceptable labels Parina already carries include Theory, Seven and Skinny Minny.
“Tweens want to be sophisticated for that age,” said Parina, noting how she often keeps smaller woman customers in mind, like those size 0 to 2, when checking out tween and juniors’ vendors. “They like some of the short skirts and tops,” Parina said.
Mardi Fox of M. Frederic, an Agoura Hills, Calif.-based 19-store fashion destination for infants to adults, will be shopping for tween apparel at MAGIC with her co-owner and brother, Fred. It’s a category they recently added to their stores with a department called 101, catering to a young customer who is distinct but hard to pigeonhole.
“I need to capture that girl who is too grown up for my children’s store, but is too young for junior and women’s,” Fox said. “If I see a camisole that is too provocative, I won’t buy it,” she said. “Tweens are not as sophisticated.”
Aside from stocking up on tween apparel and accessories at MAGIC, Fox said she’ll be scouring the show for “more resources for junior denim. And I can’t have enough novelty T-shirts. As far as outerwear, I do think blazers and shrugs are working.”
Stacey Robinson, vice president of Life Size at Fred Segal, with locations at the Melrose and Santa Monica stores, sees no distinct “tween” demand in her business. “My children’s customer really can’t wait to shop in the junior department,” Robinson said.
At MAGIC, Robinson said she’ll be on the hunt for children’s vendors with apparel that’s less basic. “My customer would like to see more fashion happening, mirroring the trends seen in women’s and juniors,” she said. “A lot of vendors don’t like to do that because they don’t want to compromise their women’s business.”
When calling on existing vendors at MAGIC and seeing what’s new in the market, Thomas George said he will have to be strategic. “There’s a hell of a lot of walking involved,” said George, who is used to large spaces as owner of E Street, a 14,200-square-foot fashion denim destination for all ages in Highland Park, Ill. He will first concentrate on meeting with some existing vendors, including Lucky Brand and True Religion. Then he’ll fan out to search for something different.
Although he has to wear comfortable shoes to cover MAGIC’s extensive turf, “I always get a lot out of it,” said George, whose company is also branching out to apparel manufacturing and will launch The Feel Good T-Shirt Co.’s wares in MAGIC’s Platform area.