Fancy Footwork Gives Bargain Sleuth an Edge on Fashion
Sue Harmon dashes into a dressing room at The Fashion Statement in Santa Ana with her latest catch: a black-and-white polka-dot suit that will cost her only one penny--if she buys a red striped suit by Jones of New York for $149.
Moments later, she emerges from the dressing room resplendent in her polka dots.
“This is my penny suit,” she says. “I’m really paying $70 each for two outfits. My husband can’t cry over that.”
Harmon makes it her business to hunt for bargains.
The 35-year-old Huntington Beach woman publishes “Hidden Values,” a directory of outlet and discount merchants in Orange County who sell everything from bridal gowns to Bibles at below-retail prices. The booklet includes ads for discount clothing, perfume, lingerie, men’s suits, jewelry and miscellaneous goods.
In compiling the guide, Harmon faces an unusual occupational hazard: She could go broke snapping up bargains.
“I have to be really good,” she says. “It’s very difficult not to shop. You really have to direct your time.”
Like a shopping sleuth, Harmon hunts down off-price stores, resale shops and authentic factory outlets, where manufacturers sell their overrun or off-season merchandise directly to shoppers, eliminating any middleman markups.
“Some outlets are really hidden,” she says.
Often they are tucked away in a corner of a warehouse in an industrial park.
She tracks them down through tips from other outlet owners, or by cruising around the parks in her car, searching for signs of the boutiques.
“All of my friends know I do this so I find out about the stores through word of mouth.”
That’s how she discovered Newport Blue, one of her favorite outlets for men’s sportswear that operates out of a chained-off section of the manufacturer’s warehouse in Tustin.
Harmon, who also shops for her husband and 16-year-old son, picks through racks of tank tops for $4.99, cotton shorts for $8.99, and striped sweat shirts marked $4.99 that still have their original price tags of $21.99.
“Stuff like this I have a hard time passing up,” she says, fingering one of the sweat shirts.
With deals like these, outlets must be careful about throwing open their doors to the public. They set up the outlets in out-of-the-way places and keep a low profile to avoid taking business away from their clients, the retailers.
“One of the reasons my job has been so tough is the manufacturers don’t want to compete with their clients,” Harmon says. “A lot of them don’t want to be known because it would hurt their business, so they don’t advertise.”
Newport Blue, for instance, had to close its larger factory outlet because “we were doing too well. We were starting to hurt our accounts,” says Deborah Williams, outlet manager.
Still, manufacturers want to sell off leftover merchandise. Williams decided to promote her outlet in the “Hidden Values” directory because the small publication provides just enough publicity to attract shoppers without competing with retailers.
“Considering the few hours we’re open and our location, we’re doing great business,” Williams says.
Harmon works hard to persuade outlet owners to advertise in her guide. Pretending not to see the “no solicitations” sign taped on the door of Two Potato, a maker of casual cotton clothing for women that is located in Tustin, she ventures inside and introduces herself to the few employees absorbed in paper work.
Whether it’s her sweet, Southern accent or outgoing personality, she soon has a worker giving her a tour of Two Potato’s factory outlet. It’s nothing fancy, just a roped-off section of the clothing manufacturer’s warehouse with a concrete floor and racks of colorful clothes. Harmon checks the price tags: $5 for cotton skirts, $11 for shorts. She’s sold. Before leaving, she asks for the name of the outlet owner.
“I’ll have to work on them harder,” she says, tucking his card in her purse.
There’s an outlet for almost everything, if one knows where to find it. Harmon buys her dressy clothes at Sutter Place and her slips at Lingerie for Less, both in Huntington Beach. She buys her suits at The Fashion Statement and her son’s shorts and T-shirts at PCH Clothing Co. in Los Alamitos.
She never shops in malls or department stores.
“I’m amazed some people pay those prices. There are very few things you can’t buy at a discount. A suit would have to be extraterrestrial for me to pay $150 to $200 for it.”
Fortunately for the survival of her business, she’s stopped bagging every bargain she sees.
“You learn that everything is not for you. Some things are too old and some are too young,” she says. “I think of clothing more as a necessity now. You have to have clothes for work and recreation. It’s wonderful when you can find them at a good bargain.”
She distributes 12,000 copies of her guide a month to assorted outlets, hotels and discount stores. After one year in operation, the guide now runs 16 to 24 pages, and Harmon hopes to make it as successful as its 80-page parent directory in Dallas.
For a free copy of the directory, call (714) 840-2056 or visit any of the following outlets (eight of Harmon’s hidden values):
Newport Blue: A factory outlet for a division of Ocean Pacific that carries sportswear and beach styles for men. “I bought my son seven shirts, five pairs of shorts and two T-shirts--his entire summer wardrobe--for $100,” Harmon says. 14101 Franklin Ave., Tustin. Hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. (714) 730-5500.
Fragrance for Less: Designer fragrances such as Giorgio, Opium, Perry Ellis, Oscar de la Renta for women and Pierre Cardin and Drakkar for men at below-retail prices. Harmon paid $30 for a name-brand perfume that sells in department stores for $60. 18569 Main St., Huntington Beach. Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. (714) 841-4740.
EJB: “I go after the American corporate man who likes tailored clothes, not Hollywood flash,” says clothing broker Ernie Bruno. Bruno sells suits for $200 to $350, sports coats for $125 to $250, silk ties for $14.88 and dress slacks for $49 to $75. A navy chalk-striped suit sells for $300, about half of what Bruno says a comparable suit would sell for in department stores. 17942 Skypark Circle, Suite E, Irvine. Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. (714) 250-8636.
The Fashion Statement: Clothing for the career woman, including suits by Jones of New York, Seville, Oleg Cassini and Kasper for about $85 to $150. In addition to its everyday discounts, the store occasionally holds a “buy-one-get-one-for-a-penny” special. Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. 3930 S. Bristol, Suite 109, Santa Ana (across from South Coast Plaza on Sunflower). (714) 546-7077.
Sutter Place: Factory outlet for Jessica McClintock, Scott McClintock and Gunne Sax. Plenty of lace and velvet evening dresses for women and girls that sell for up to 75% off of their retail price. 18577 Main St., Huntington Beach. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. (714) 848- 8280.
Leather Wearhouse: The discount showroom sells all kinds of leather and suede garments, including jackets, purses and skirts. “I found a white, leather skirt I really love for $29. The prices are phenomenal,” Harmon says. 18582 Beach Blvd., No. 1A, Huntington Beach. Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. (714) 964-1255.
PCH Clothing Co.: Men’s and boys’ sportswear factory outlet for the Pacific Coast Highway label. Shorts, shirts and slacks sell for about 25-30% below their retail price. Fluorescent-colored shorts that sell for $21.99 in department stores go for $12.99 here. 4478 Cerritos Ave., Los Alamitos. Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. (714) 761-0144.
Designer Labels for Less: A showroom filled with discount clothing for men, women and children. A navy wool jacket by Nancy Heller that retails for $254 recently sold in the women’s department for $80, and a matching skirt was marked from $154 retail to $48.
Designer Labels for Less men’s department carried a navy pin-striped suit by Adolfo reduced from $395 to $225.
There are even bigger bargains upstairs, such as the white knit sweaters decorated with colored balls of yarn for $10, or the green-and-black Paisley sweaters from Saint Tropez for $20. 1801 E. Dyer Road, Santa Ana.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. (714) 261- 6678.
