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Affliction Hires 11 Execs to Diversify Clothes

Seal Beach-based Affliction Inc. has tapped a group of seasoned apparel industry executives to help the edgy clothier make a headlong push into women’s clothes, designer jeans and licensing next year.

The company hired 11 executives from Los Angeles-based Seven For All Mankind LLC, Costa Mesa’s Paul Frank Industries Inc., Los Angeles-based Larry Hansel Clothing LLC’s Rampage, Los Angeles-based XOXO Clothing Co. and other companies.

Among those joining are Chief Financial Officer Rob Otto, Chief Information Officer Scott Hampshire and women’s design director Katie Tracy.

All three previously worked for designer jean maker Seven For All Mankind.

Affliction’s new senior vice president of licensing and international sales, Sam Wilson, was the vice president of licensing for Calvin Klein Inc., part of Phillips-Van Heusen Corp.

The new executive lineup represents a sea change for the company, which is known for the rock star image of its clothing, clientele and management.

Affliction has wooed the well-photographed with its clothes and accessories, which are inspired by tattoos, punk rock and heavy metal music and mixed martial arts.

The privately held company hopes to maintain the dizzying pace of growth it’s seen since starting the Affliction brand in 2005.

Affliction now generates more than $125 million in yearly revenue selling clothes under the Affliction, Sinful and Xtreme Couture labels at Seattle-based Nordstrom Inc., Fred Segal and Lisa Kline of Los Angeles and smaller stores such as Hun-tington Beach-based Electric Chair and SX in Irvine.

It licenses its brands to distributors in Europe, Asia, Canada, South Africa and elsewhere.

The company has some 85 employees at its recently expanded 130,000-square-foot headquarters in Seal Beach, where it recently relocated from Signal Hill.

Co-owners Eric Foss, Clifton Chason, Courtney Dubar and Todd Beard have been managing Affliction on their own for the past three years.

The company needed to bring in experienced executives to help manage growth and prepare for future initiatives, Foss said.

“The business grew so rapidly and it just got to a certain point where we needed an infrastructure below us,” he said.


Turning Point

The new hires come amid a turning point for Affliction.

The company has been working hard to sew up a rough patch after cofounder Beard abruptly resigned as president last month after allegedly making threats to mixed martial arts fighter Randy Couture and his wife, Kim Couture, over their Xtreme Couture clothing collaboration with Affliction.

Beard, who the company said is seeking treatment for anger management and alcohol abuse, remains a shareholder in Affliction, according to the company.

The new executive team should help the company work out the kinks as it ventures into new areas, Foss said.

The company plans to unveil a women’s clothing line under the Affliction label next year, which will sell for $95 to $600.

The clothes will be a divergence from Affliction’s existing Sinful line, which is mostly made up of women’s T-shirts, hoodies and tanktops.

Affliction women’s line will be more feminine than the company’s signature look with blazers, dresses, pants and blouses made of silk and other fabrics, Foss said.

The clothes will be sold at Affliction stores and upscale department stores such as Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s.

In addition to women’s clothes, Affliction plans to roll out a collection of high-end jeans, which is where its new executives’ expertise comes in.

The jeans, which will sell anywhere from $155 to $225, could rival those made by other designer denim makers including True Religion Apparel Inc. and Rock & Republic Enterprise Inc.

The clothes and jeans are set to be made at Affliction’s 250,000-square-foot Rancho Dominguez factory, which counts more than 100 workers.

Plans to license the Affliction brand to watchmakers and sunglasses makers next year are in the works, Foss said.

The company, which opened an Affliction store in Los Angeles earlier this year, also has plans to open more shops in Miami, New York and Las Vegas in 2009.

Some in the apparel industry wonder if now is the right time for Affliction to roll out stores and launch products.

The economic downturn that has slammed retailers and apparel makers especially hard does indeed pose challenges for Affliction, Foss said.

Affliction hasn’t seen a dip in sales and plans to get through the downturn by strengthening its cachet as an “it brand,” he said.

“The brand is doing better than ever, so there would be no reason to not launch these plans,” Foss said.

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