Westward Ho : Chula Vista Garment Maker Rides Trail to Success
The way Ray Pagano saw it, the trail to success as a clothing manufacturer headed west--into Western wear apparel, a small but growing segment of the clothing industry.
That idea dawned in 1985, when Pagano realized that his A.S.C. clothing manufacturing plant in Chula Vista, which produced garments under contract for other companies, was being undercut by overseas competitors with dramatically lower labor costs.
So Pagano created Pagano West and entered the $75-million tailored Western wear market that is dominated by heavyweights such as San Francisco-based Levi Strauss & Co. and Dallas-based Circle S, both of which make Western suits, sport coats and tuxedos for men.
Pagano, 53, owner and principal designer of Pagano West, won’t disclose revenue or profit figures, but industry observers said that Pagano West has captured about 8% of the upscale Western wear market.
“He’s made great strides in promoting his product the last several years,” said Daniel DeWeese, editor of Tack’n Togs Merchandising magazine, a Minneapolis-based trade publication. “He’s one of the top four or five in terms of sales,” in a field that now includes about 20 manufacturers.
Pagano said he is successful because he touts the fact that his producers are “Made-in-the-U.S.A.” That ability to wave the flag is important, Pagano said, to customers who won’t buy foreign automobiles take great pride in anything manufactured in the United States.
“To the Western customer, it’s very important,” Pagano said. “Here’s a guy who believes in motherhood and apple pie. He drives a truck with a gun rack on the back. He’s what some of us refer to as ‘redneck.’ But he’s the backbone of the country.”
While Pagano probably could cut labor costs by opening a maquiladora , or “border twin plant,” he has resisted because of that emphasis on offering an American-made product. Pagano West does, however, on occasion use material manufactured in other countries.
The Pagano West label includes three lines: The popular priced Raymond line, the mid-priced Pagano West brand and the upscale Pagano Royalty collection. The Pagano West brand is the company’s top-selling label.
DeWeese linked the growing Western wear market to the fact that Americans are enthralled with the romanticized image of the “golden age” of cowboys during the 1800s. “In the time he’s been in the industry, I’d say he’s been a pretty good influence. I even own a couple,” of Pagano-brand coats, DeWeese said.
Pagano said his designs are based upon the dress code of legendary Western figures such as Wyatt Earp and John H. (Doc) Holliday.
“That’s our niche, and we’ve been able to maintain it,” Pagano said.
Pagano said modern-day cowboys such as Gene Autry, Clint Eastwood and Larry Hagman have purchased Pagano West outfits.
Pagano recently added a state-of-the-art, computerized design system. “It has taken hours of work and transformed it into minutes,” Pagano said. “I’m amazed every time I look at (the machine). I came from the old school where you laboriously cut a pattern, you drafted it. It took forever.”
The automated design system, which was installed six months ago, configures patterns in such a way that cloth utilization has increased as much as 10%. The computer-generated patterns are also more accurate then those drawn the old-fashioned way, making them easier to handle in the sewing room.
Pagano also was one of the first garment manufacturers to utilize cutting machines that use ultrasonic sounds to craft the decorative designs that adorn Western wear. The ultrasonic cutting gives an exact shape without the need for embroidery. The company has used this method for three years.
“It’s done in a matter of seconds and the quality is infinitely better,” Pagano said. “It’s really been a boon for us.”
Those technological advances have helped Pagano West to reduce labor costs, Pagano said. The increased use of automation, when coupled with domestic production, allows Pagano to fill most orders in less than 48 hours.
Pagano hopes to soon bolster his ability to compete with those market leaders by acquiring an undisclosed, larger rival.
Although the Pagano West label does not carry the name recognition of more established brands such as Circle S, the Chula Vista-based company offers products that are sometimes of superior quality, said Howard Smith, manager of Wild Bill’s Western Outfitters in El Cajon, who has carried the Pagano West lines for three years.
Pagano West “is a proven selection for us,” Smith said. “The pricing is comparable with other lines.”
The company wholesales its garments to about 1,100 retailers around the country. But most of its clothing is sold through “mom-and-pop” shops clustered in the Southwest states.
Pagano, who confesses that he never was a cowboy, grew up in a family of designers and tailors. He immigrated from Italy to New York City with his family at the age of 3 and moved to California during the 1960s.
“When I got into the industry, I went into women’s wear first,” he said. “I did it primarily to get out from under my father’s shadow.”
His father, Frank, now 92, had built a reputation as a European men’s wear designer. Murals depicting some of his father’s designs now grace Ray Pagano’s office.
Pagano worked for several other design houses before opening his own plant in Chula Vista in 1976.
