Xara Sportswear’s Chief Strives for a Soccer Fashion Statement
They might end up caked with the grime of a hundred playing fields, but Chris Price wants his trendy, color-coordinated soccer ensembles to start out right--regardless.
And what starting out right means to Price is a presentation unlike any other in the retail soccer market, industry watchers say.
Price is president of Xara Sportswear USA, the American arm of British soccer gear manufacturer and distributor Xara Sportswear International. The fledgling company opened its doors in Tustin less than two years ago and it is already making points in the competitive soccer field.
Competitors Umbro, Adidas and Reusch are also unveiling striking soccer jerseys, shorts and socks, said Lynn Berling-Manuel, associate publisher and editor-in-chief of the newspaper Soccer News. But Price is running with the fashion ball, creating “a designer boutique within the soccer store,” she said.
Xara’s mission is “to make a definite fashion statement,” said Sandy Briggs, executive director of the Soccer Industry Council. “There are definite fashion statements made in soccer that weren’t made 10 years ago. Xara is at the forefront of that. No bargain-basement display for them.”
Price’s dream is to have a separate Xara corner in all of the snappiest soccer shops in the country in a style reminiscent of designer sportswear displays at pricier department stores. Think of the Ralph Lauren display at South Coast Plaza’s Robinson’s and you’ll have the idea.
Xara socks paired with Xara shoes shown beside Xara bags holding Xara jerseys and warm-ups and shorts. Everything available in nine colors except the socks, which come in 11. Strident royal blues, silky blacks, metallic threads and contrasting textures.
“It’s like when a lady goes into a fine department store,” Price says as he mixes and matches colors and styles in his small Tustin office. “You buy your skirt and blouse and scarf and shoes. We want to sell soccer wear that way. We’re fashion-oriented.”
Price spent 1987 touring the country, interviewing soccer retailers and scoping out his competition. This year, business began in earnest, and he says sales are rolling in. Price expects Xara USA to post $1.5 million in sales in 1988, $5 million in 1990.
So far, Xara gear, which ranges in price from $15 for a bag to $110 for shoes, is in about half of the 40 soccer stores in Southern California, Price said. And the response has generally been good to his “fashion and function” philosophy.
“We are trying to do something fashionable, unique, different,” he said. “But sometimes people don’t like our philosophy.”
