Rays Apparel Moving Headquarters to Irvine
By JENNIFER BELLANTONIO
Rays Apparel Inc. is consolidating its operations in bigger digs in Irvine.
The apparel maker for brands such as Ocean Pacific, Split, Old Navy and Jimmy Z, recently bought a 136,000-square-foot warehouse at 20 Goodyear in the Irvine Spectrum for $8.7 million from San Diego-based Goodray Corp.
Jon Marchiorlatti, Chris Bates and David Bolt of CB Richard Ellis Inc. in Newport Beach represented the seller. Dave Kluver and Garrett Sholer of Grubb & Ellis Co. in Newport Beach represented Rays.
Marchiorlatti said the move lets Rays capitalize on low mortgage rates and consolidate its operations.
The company plans to move its 60,000-square-foot Costa Mesa headquarters at 350 E. Paulorino Ave. to the new space, which is a stone’s throw from Irvine-based Ocean Pacific Apparel Corp.
Rays designs and produces Op apparel in its Costa Mesa warehouse.
“I can walk to their building in less than five minutes,” said Andrew Lelchuk, senior vice president of Op. “It’s going to be good for us from a licensor and licensee relationship. Being that much closer will give us a lot more opportunities to interact.”
Rays already has moved a small retail operation from San Diego to the headquarters.
It also plans to relocate a 25,600-square-foot Irvine warehouse to the facility. It’s unclear if Rays plans to keep the old Irvine warehouse. Jim Stark III, president of Rays, did not return calls for comment.
Split, an action sports brand Rays bought in 1999, will stay in its 42,000-square-foot building in Santa Ana, Lelchuk said.
Meanwhile, Rays is revamping the new Irvine complex, including about 20,000 square feet of office space.
The rest of the building, which sits on 7.8 acres and was built in 1982, will be used to store T-shirts and other apparel and distribution.
The move gives growing Rays more wiggle room.
The company saw a 25% jump in OC employment in the past year to 100 workers. Companywide employment grew 47% to 140 workers.
Rays continues to see more work from its licensed brands.
Op, for instance, handed Rays the license for its juniors and girls apparel about a year ago, Lelchuk said. Rays already had the license for Op and Op Classic.
“The female part of our business is a huge growth opportunity across multiple categories,” he said.
Helping fuel that momentum is Op Classic, which features retro-style clothing, such as collared knit tops with colorful stripes and wood buttons.
The apparel maker launched the collection two years ago and continues to expand it.
“That had a trickle down affect and polished up the image of Op,” Lelchuk said. “Retailers are looking at us in a different light.”
