Atwater Clothing is Orange County’s latest buzz brand.
The Costa Mesa designer of clothes inspired by surfing has shop owners and other industry types raving.
“Those guys are the coolest and the nicest,a very talented group of kids doing fantastic things,” said Jeff Yokoyama, owner of Generic Youth, a Costa Mesa boutique that sells Atwater clothes.
Atwater is part of a long line of local clothing designers to generate an early buzz. The two-year-old company has less than $5 million in yearly sales.
Whether Atwater graduates from OC’s startup pack remains to be seen. Some, including Costa Mesa’s Volcom Inc., have gone from buzz to big time. Others, such as Irvine-based Ambiguous Industries, have struggled to get beyond their initial hype.
But Atwater Clothing has something else going for it,a pedigree.
Founders Dean Bradley and Scott Madison are seasoned designers who came up through the ranks at Costa Mesa-based Hurley International, a buzz brand that Nike Inc. bought in 2002.
Atwater, which launched less than two years ago at the Action Sports Retailer show in San Diego, has four employees, including Bradley and Madison.
Those in the tight-knit surfing and skateboarding clothing business say Atwater has the potential to break through and achieve the kind of success that Volcom has had. Volcom has yearly sales of $270 million and a recent market value of $500 million.
Bradley and Madison said they appreciate the support but dismiss the buzz.
They’re still in the trenches, trying to get their feet in the door at surf and specialty stores and to land more shelf space at Surfside Sports in Costa Mesa.
Duke Edukas, owner of Surfside Sports, has been nurturing brands for years.
“He told us, ‘You have to prove yourself to get more real estate,'” Bradley said.
Surfside gets inundated with new brands, according to Edukas.
“You can’t take everything,” he said. “Anyone can come into the store with a line and say they want to be the next Volcom. You have to see through that.”
Sales of Atwater clothing at Surfside Sports have been good, according to Edukas. Now Atwater is in prime spot: in the front of the store.
Atwater is a top selling “B” brand, Edukas said, one step below Costa Mesa-based Rvca Clothing, the county’s current buzz king.
B brands include Irvine-based Billabong USA’s Element, Torrance-based Matix Clothing and Santa Ana’s Obey. Atwater made a quick jump to B, considering the others have been around much longer, he said.
Edukas said he knew of Madison and Bradley before they came pitching their line. They had a solid reputation, he said.
Madison came up at Billabong USA under Bob Hurley. He followed him when Hurley left Billabong to start Hurley International.
Madison brought new designs to Hurley, such as plaid and houndstooth board shorts. He has a designer’s flair, yet he’s technical. He’s known for his detail, such as putting the Atwater logo on grommets and embroidery inside the waist of shorts.
Customers like the quality and detail, according to Bradley.
But there is a fine line: “You can easily price yourself out of the market,” he said.
Bradley spent six years at Hurley, including a few years as art director for its young women’s line. He is known in graphic arts and design circles for his illustrations. His white tiger T-shirt is Atwater’s top-selling T-shirt. All the T-shirts are made in Gardenia, with the rest of the clothes made overseas.
The company finds overseas manufacturers to produce its clothing through consultant BrandLogic. It also rents office space from BrandLogic.
Atwater recently won over Nordstrom Inc. This spring, about 40 Nordstroms are set to sell Atwater’s clothing.
It took several tries to make that happen, Bradley said. The Nordstrom’s buyer was waiting to see how Atwater did, he said.
Atwater is one of the top sellers at Costa Mesa-based AntiApparel LLC, an online seller of smaller clothing makers.
“They’ve always done well for us,” co-owner Sean Brady said of Atwater.
Atwater sales come mostly from Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and Huntington Beach, he said.
The clothes also are sold at Jack’s Surfboards in Huntington Beach. But they’re not in Huntington Surf & Sport, another trend setting shop in Surf City.
Bruce Bradley, dad of Dean Bradley, is an investor in Atwater. Bradley calls his dad the “wise old owl.” Retired for six years, the senior Bradley is part-time chief financial officer and helps out with business decisions.
“I don’t know what I would’ve done without him,” Dean Bradley said of his dad.
Marketing
This year, Atwater plans to spend more on marketing, Bradley said. It’s been doing events and a lot of grass-roots and online marketing.
Atwater also has surf, skateboarding and skimboarding teams.
The company just hired Greg Osthus, former vice president of sales and merchandising for Irvine-based clothing designer Lost and Irvine’s Ezekiel Clothing Inc., to lead its sales and merchandising.
Osthus said he was attracted to Atwater because of the unique look of the trims and fabric.
“Everything is premium,” he said. “It reeks of quality.”
That’s what he hopes to pitch to surf and specialty shop buyers for stores on both coasts and in Puerto Rico.
Atwater is seeking to grow at a time when the biggest names in the business are struggling with a downturn in sales at stores.
“This year will be very hard for apparel companies,” said Aaron Levant, founder of the Agenda Trade Show, which focuses on startup clothing companies and takes place alongside the industry’s dominant Action Sports Retailer show in San Diego.
Atwater has staying power, according to Levant.
“These guys are very seasoned,” he said. “They’re ahead of the competition.”
The challenge for young companies is to learn the business side and stay relevant with the kids, Edukas of Surfside Sports said.
“It’s real easy to get bummed out, burned out,” he said. “Slow growth translates to strong growth.”
