Orange County’s largest apparel makers made headlines on several fronts in the past year.
Some of the highlights: Costa Mesa-based Volcom Inc. went public in late June, Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver Inc. bought France’s Skis Rossignol SA for $312 million and Foothill Ranch-based Oakley Inc. named a new chief executive.
Meanwhile, the Gray family, synonymous with Irvine-based St. John Knits International Inc., continued their step back from the high-end clothier. Cofounder and chief designer Marie Gray retired in July along with daughter Kelly Gray, the company’s former signature model and creative director. Marie remains a board member with Kelly still a consultant.
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While these changes played out, the 25 apparel companies on this year’s Business Journal list reported a 3% decrease in overall local employment to 10,089 workers.
Without St. John’s decline, apparel makers had a 3% increase in workers.
No. 1 St. John again led the pack, despite a 20% drop in OC workers to 2,143.
The company, majority owned by New York-based Vestar Capital Partners, brought Chief Executive Richard Cohen onboard last year from the U.S. arm of Italy’s Gruppo Ermenegildo Zegna. He has sought to reverse a sales and profit slump while livening up St. John, best known for outfitting politicians and socialites.
Cohen has cut jobs and closed its accessories business.
Most recently, the company tapped Angelina Jolie to model its 2006 line. She resonates with younger women and also may appeal to St. John’s old guard with her philanthropic work.
At No. 2 is Alstyle Apparel Inc. in Anaheim with an estimated 1,600 workers.
Last fall, the company was bought by Texas-based Ennis Inc. for about $240 million. Todd Scorborough came on as the unit’s president earlier this year.
No. 3 Quiksilver had an estimated 1,450 workers. The surfwear maker made headlines earlier this year with its buy of ski maker Rossignol.
Quiksilver recently announced plans to consolidate its burgeoning ski operations at a new center in Park City, Utah.
The site, called Mountain Center, will house the U.S. operations of the company’s Rossignol, Dynastar, Lange and Look units. It also will be home to Quiksilver’s recently announced Roxy ski business targeting young women. The U.S. operations for Rossignol and Dynastar were based in Vermont.
No. 4 Oakley saw a 2% gain in workers to 1,174. The company continues to expand its retail stores and product lines, including sunglasses with built-in digital music.
Oakley recently named a new chief executive, Scott Olivet, who replaces Jim Jannard, founder and chairman of the board.
“As our business continues to grow and gets more complex, it’s apparent that my main passion lies in the chief mad scientist role,” Jannard said in a statement. “I see visions of the future when I sleep, not spreadsheets.”
Olivet is a former vice president at Nike Inc., where he oversaw Nike’s Costa Mesa-based Hurley International unit, among other divisions.
In all, there were nine companies that reported increases, one that posted a drop, seven that saw no change and eight that declined to provide numbers.
Among the movers: No. 16 Paul Frank Industries Inc. in Costa Mesa, which saw its OC operation grow 13% to 135 workers.
The company, which has 14 stores, is set to open locations in Berlin and Amsterdam. Paul Frank is looking to have some 50 to 60 stores worldwide in the next decade.
Paul Frank, which has been hunting for bigger digs, said it was considering bringing in a minority investor so it can expand its retail division faster.
No. 7 Lake Forest-based Sole Technology Inc. posted a 27% jump in workers to 286. Founder and Chief Executive Pierre Andre Senizergues said the skate shoemaker has been hiring across its divisions.
Sole Technology, which is known for its etnies skate shoes and other labels, is looking to at least double its offices, Senizergues said. It has a campus in Lake Forest, totaling 200,000 square feet, but wants to take on another 250,000 to 350,000 square feet.
“We can’t find a building big enough,” he said.
Sole Technology recently bought a 6,000-square-foot building in New York’s SoHo area to house a new showroom, Senizergues said.
No. 9 Rip Curl Inc. in Costa Mesa posted a 28% jump in workers to 250. The company, which sells clothes, shoes, wetsuits, watches and sunglasses, has been ramping up since moving its headquarters to OC earlier this year.
The company’s digs are about 70,000 square feet, double the size of its old space in north San Diego County. The move is part of the Australian company’s bid to get more aggressive in the U.S., according to Chief Executive David Lawn.
Until now, Rip Curl International Pty. Ltd., based in the Australian surf hub of Torquay, has tried to run its U.S. operations from afar, said Lawn in a past Business Journal interview.
No. 12 Volcom was up two spots on the list after raising about $80 million in an initial public offering. The maker of hip apparel now counts a market value of $700 million and has 180 local employees.
List newcomers included No. 10 Garden Grove-based Three Dots Inc., No. 13 Hill Corp. of Anaheim and No. 18 Fullerton-based Johnston Threads Inc.
Last year’s No. 22 Jammin Apparel Inc., formerly of Anaheim, cited California’s tough business climate for its move to Virginia.
