There’s Nothing Sleepy About P.J. Salvage
Except the Clothes
Jammies are in.
And not just because more people are working from home.
The trend developed from TV, says Peter Burke, president of P.J. Salvage, a Costa Mesa-based pajama designer. The P.J. Salvage pajama collection has been worn by characters on popular TV shows like “Party of Five,” “Friends,” and “Dharma & Greg.”
P.J. Salvage employs 15 people and has annual sales of $5.5 million. Burke expects that to more than double this year to $12 million.
The company will soon be launching its junior loungewear and is diversifying its clothing and products through licensing. It offers its catalog online.
The P.J. Salvage brand sells nationwide in 1,500 stores, including the Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom chains. Its largest account is with Parisian department stores, a Saks Inc. retailer popular in the South. Internationally, P.J.’s pjs are sold at London’s renowned Harrods and other stores in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan and South Africa.
When people see TV characters like Ally McBeal wearing cute, whimsical pajamas, that creates a market, Burke said. Which is why P.J.Salvage’s public relations company, Mannfolk Public Relations, pitched a pajama party idea to ABC’s gossipy daytime talk show “The View.”
“The idea was picked up by one of the producers. She loved the catalog,” said Dorothy Mannfolk. P.J. Salvage shipped off 250 pairs of jams for audience members and the hosts of the show. Dressed for bed, the hosts and audience members did the daytime talk thing, chatting about sex, makeup and gossiping about the latest hot topics.
“The phones started ringing,” Burke said. Host Meredith Viera wore the fanciful “if pigs could fly” pjs,cute little pink piggies with wings,and “we sold out (stock) within two weeks,” he said.
Burke is betting on the trend sticking around. After all, “everyone’s got to sleep at some time,” he said. And this year, he will be diversifying his P.J. Salvage line to include jammy-matching socks like “sheepy time;” cloud-like sleepy sheep on gray socks imprinted with “Just Relax!” Next up are jammy-matching bed linens and towels. As an extension of the home-nesting trend, Burke intends to branch out into the home products market, which includes items such as aromatherapy effects and candles. The idea is to create a “lifestyle brand,” he said.
But Burke wasn’t always into women’s wear. He started out in his native South Africa in men’s and sportswear and learned the ropes at Durban Clothing and Dugson Clothing. Later, he founded BRM Group, a men’s clothing manufacturer. Eventually, he saw international expansion as part of the big picture and wanted a safer place to raise his three daughters, so he sold to his partners and ventured to the United States in 1994.
“Coming here was starting from scratch again,” he said.
Soon after landing in Southern California, he started Loomworks Apparel and the Lemon & Soda line, a men’s and women’s sportswear brand. In 1997, he took over the financially troubled P.J. Salvage because he said he recognized that sleepwear was rearing as a trend. Burke made improvements in the fabrics and prints, broadened the selection to include robes, boxers and tank tops and took it nationwide with sales representatives in every state.
Increased Competition
Since then, his competition has increased as well. When Burke took over P.J. Salvage, there were about five sleepwear companies; now there are about 30 in the U.S.
Burke said the print design ideas are generated internally but it employs an outside consultant for its junior wear. Manufacturing is also outsourced to factories in Turkey, China and Indonesia.
“A lot more factories are closing down domestically,” he said.
And in Orange County, the factories focus on the surf apparel industry. The company ships from its 6,000-square-foot office and warehouse. In July, Burke said he will be hunting for more space or a third-party distributor to coincide with its expansion plans.
Other Kudos
In addition to its jammies being endorsed on TV, the company enhanced its credibility among national retailers when the industry handed P.J. Salvage a best design award in the intimate apparel category during last year’s Dallas Fashion Awards.
Typically, the pajama industry does well in the fall, Burke said but “for the first time we’re starting to get springtime business.”
As far as springtime design, fabrics will get lighter but the company will stick with what works.
“It’s going to make someone laugh,” Burke said. “It’s got to be fun.” n
