A Los Angeles apparel manufacturer is expanding to Orange County after striking one of the largest industrial deals reported in Orange County last quarter.
Americhine, an apparel manufacturing and distribution company with several retail affiliates, inked a 170,692-square-foot lease for the entirety of a La Palma warehouse just off Valley View Drive, a few blocks north of the Artesia (91) Freeway.
The company plans on using the site, at 14000 183rd St., for clothing distribution as it ramps up its e-commerce operations amid the pandemic, brokers said.
“Americhine had a great need to expand their current operations in a short amount of time, and we negotiated the deal quickly,” said Kevin Romano of Inco Commercial Brokerage, who had the listing for the site along with Joseph Maiolo.
They represented the landlord, which CoStar Group Inc. records indicate is an affiliate of Oltman Construction. Karina Wukelic of Producre Inc. represented Americhine.
“Despite COVID-19’s disruption of most industries, the demand for industrial real estate has surged as consumers increasingly rely on the internet to access brick-and-mortar retailers from grocery stores to fashion brands alike,” said Wukelic.
Office, Too
Americhine is perhaps best known for its B.O.G. Collective clothing brand, a collection of bohemian-styled women’s clothes sold at a variety of retailers. It was formerly called Band of Gypsies. It rebranded earlier this year to B.O.G. Collective, which stands for Bohemian, Original, Gratitude, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd as brands around the country took to rebranding as a means to “make a statement against discrimination,” and highlight diversity and inclusion, according to the B.O.G. website.
“As we use this moment to make a statement against injustice and discrimination, we are redefining our acronym,” the company said.
The company will also move some office and administration personnel into the La Palma building, which includes about 7,000 square feet of mezzanine office space that’s currently seeing upgrades.
The five-year lease began last month.
Industrial Deals
The deal is the second largest industrial lease reported in the third quarter and among tops for industrial leases during the pandemic, according to brokerage data (see page 34).
Commercial brokerage Voit Real Estate Services said new lease requirements picked up in the third quarter after a short pause in Q2, with vacancies remaining low, transaction activity strong and no signs of a correction in lease rates or sales prices.
“While e-commerce related users have been the primary demand driver in recent quarters, activity in 3Q was broad-based and industrial users in a variety of sectors have normalized their operations and brought their employees back,” the report said.
