JDM Merchandise in New York and Mizrahi-Gardner of LA were your traditional opportunistic jobbers when they started (in 1990 and 1985, respectively), buying and selling in any category of cloth they could get their hands on if the price was right.  The majority of their company histories was defined by this approach to business.

Then, one day, Jerry Duitz of JDM got his hands on a lot of scrubs.  Do you remember when everyone wore them in college back in the late 70s-early 80s?  They still do today.  Anyway, Jerry made a killing on this lot, and so did his retail customers.  Now he only deals in scrubs, and a recent merger with a friendly competitor called Green Town makes Jerry and his clients even happier.

Around the same time, Alex Mizrahi and Peter Gardner were getting set to retire after long fruitful careers in the garment business when a tee shirt design house approached them about being the exclusive distributor of their closeouts.  Do you remember when everyone used to wear tee shirts back in college?  They still do today, and everywhere else too.  Anyway, these trendy tees sold like hot cakes in the off price market.  The next thing you know, they’re tee shirt jobbers, with the occasional hoody thrown in the mix.

This is why you can not afford to miss a single show.  Our vendors keep reinventing themselves, sometimes from show-to-show, and you can profit from these transformations – if you stay in touch with them.  In the business of below wholesale immediate goods, you have keep close ties to your friends and networks, the way Peter Gardner and Alex Mizrahi have since they were classmates in 7^th grade; and the way that Jerry Duitz did with Jacob Shalit of Pacific Teaze (who helped Jerry set up at his first OFFPRICE Show).

At our new venue, Halls A&B of The Sands Expo & Convention Center, you will see a lot of new developments on the Show Floor – and I’m not just talking about all the new exhibitors.  Many of your favorite vendors have added more booths to show new products, and some have expanded into new categories – like LA Grand’s big splash into accessories!  Buyer tours will include special programs for boutique buyers headed by our dear friend T. J. Reid.  There will even be a design house from New York on the show floor who is looking to make new friends at OFFPRICE so that we can see more street fashions at our show.

And speaking of street, our new boutique concept “A TASTE OF OFFPRICE” was a big hit in New York’s garment district during Market Week last May.  900 buyers and merchants were pleased to write orders with new vendors who they missed at the Vegas Shows – but they won’t miss them this August!  Expect more great meetings when the TASTE comes to LA during the Majors Market in October.

And now it’s on to Vegas, and let’s win from there.  Join us as we reach new heights with old friends doing new and wonderful things for the trade.