The 49 largest apparel companies based in Orange County raked in roughly $9 billion in sales, a 9.2% increase from a year ago, according to this week’s Business Journal list.
They employed a combined local workforce of 10,564, about the same as in 2013.
The list is ranked by OC employment. Nine companies added workers, three made cuts to their OC workforces, one remained flat, and 36 were Business Journal estimates.
• Foothill Ranch-based Oakley Inc. maintained the top spot with 2,219 working here, down 1.6%, and 4,315 companywide, a 3.1% uptick. The sunglasses and apparel maker is part of Italy-based Luxottica Group SPA, which also owns the Chanel, Prada, Ray-Ban, Dolce & Gabbana, and Tiffany & Co. brands. It kicked off its 30th anniversary in March with the “Disruptive by Design” marketing campaign, which focuses on its “unique point of view” and innovations in eyewear technology.
• Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver Inc. and Vans Inc. of Cypress retained the No. 2 and 3 spots, respectively.
Quiksilver has 978 local employees, according to Business Journal estimates. It reduced its companywide workforce by 10% for a total of 6,300 and reported $1.8 billion in sales, a 6.7% decline from a year ago.
The action-sports company sold its snowboarding subsidiary, Mervin Manufacturing Inc., in October for $51.5 million and in January signaled it’s making a play for hotel business under the “Quiksilver Hotels & Resorts International” name.
Vans
Vans employs an estimated 892 workers in Orange County and 5,622 companywide. The apparel manufacturer’s revenue rose 17% to more than $1.7 billion for the 12 months through Dec. 28, and it became the second largest brand for parent VF Corp. of Greensboro, N.C. VF’s largest brand is outdoor clothing company The North Face, which reached its own milestone last year, with global revenue topping $2 billion.
The company also invested $2 million to build the Vans Off the Wall Skatepark in Huntington Beach.
“Skateboarding is our heritage, our roots,” said Doug Palladini, Vans’ general manager, at the park’s opening in March. “And the bigger we get, the more we feel it’s critical that we give back. … All these kids skating here are wearing our shoes, and they pay for those shoes, so this is something that we can do to say thank you to them and constantly reinvest in our heritage.”
• Tustin-based swimsuit maker Raj Manufacturing LLC retained the No. 6 spot. The company kept a roster of 401 employees in OC, about the same as it had last year. It also leased a 7,000-square-foot building in Santa Fe Springs, where it added 119 garment workers, and is in the process of shifting about 70% of its production from China to the facility by the end of the month.
The company’s annual sales are estimated at $130 million.
• Cypress-based Hybrid Promotions LLC moved up three spots to No. 7. It increased its local workforce 20.9% to 375. The company’s sales revenue also rose 6.3% to $425 million. Hybrid, which screen prints T-shirts and sweatshirts under its namesake brand and under Bitter Sweet and Cage Rage, among others, signed a deal last June for 173,990 square feet of warehouse and distribution space in Cypress to accommodate its growing business.
• Volcom Inc. in Costa Mesa reported a 2.6% increase in its OC-based workforce to 348. The company, ranked No. 9, has 958 employees overall, a 6% increase. Its parent company is Paris-based Kering, which also owns Puma, Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Saint Laurent, among other brands. Volcom reported $325 million in revenue, a 3% decline from the same period last year.
• AST Sportswear Inc. moved its headquarters from Anaheim to Brea, occupying 115,810 square feet of office space. It also moved up six spots in the ranking to No. 13. The company hired 65 local employees for a total of 230, a 39.3% increase.
• Rip Curl Inc. in Costa Mesa shed about 20 employees in OC but remained at the No. 18 spot along with two Garden Grove-based companies, Morning Sun Shirt Co. and Three Dots LLC, each employing 150.
Rip Curl, which also operates in Brazil, Israel, South Africa and several other countries through corporate licensees, reported $250 million in sales revenue, an 11.1% year-over-year increase.
