Signature Line : O.C. Designer Mossimo Puts Famous Name on Global Expansion Plans

IRVINE — Holiday shoppers seeking cover at South Coast Plaza from last weekend’s rainstorm found instead something akin to the opening day of a world’s fair. Hundreds of people crowded the entrance to the just-opened Mossimo Supply--they lined up inside to meet the man whose name is found on everything from ball caps to boots.

They pressed designer Mossimo Giannulli as if he were some teen idol or sports celebrity to pen his famous name on store bags, T-shirts, jackets, even on bottles of water.

After years of making store appearances, the 30-year-old sportswear maker said the attention is still unsettling.

Before joining the crowd at the opening of his first free-standing boutique, Giannulli stopped by the house in Balboa where his company began in 1987. He parked at the garage where he distributed the now legendary pairs of neon-colored volleyball shorts with an “M”emblazoned across the backside and reminisced about his company’s seven-year journey. “It was sort of a spiritual moment,” he said.

Considering the success Giannulli has achieved--company revenues are expected to reach $60 million next year--his time of reflection might easily include a few moments of self-satisfaction. Giannulli has crafted an empire that includes six divisions--from eye wear to men’s and women’s active wear--and an image that is becoming as recognizable in Southern California as those of his fashion heroes, Giorgio Armani and Ralph Lauren.

As a USC freshman in the 1980s who spent more time on the beach than in class, Giannulli said he began “paying attention to what was lacking” in sports clothing. It was the decade of surf and beach wear, when new companies appeared as often as ridable waves. Giannulli figured he, too, could just as easily enter the market, even without any knowledge of the fashion industry.

He raised initial funds selling a line of T-shirts that he designed, and he sold his car. Giannulli eventually borrowed $100,000 from his father, a golf course and landscape architect who has worked on courses nationwide, including Pelican Hill in Newport Beach. (He emphasizes that it was a loan: “The day I paid him back was the happiest day of my life.”)

Giannulli concentrated on fabric research and was among the first to market Supplex, a synthetic fiber that feels like cotton but dries quickly. He used the fabric to make an innovative three-panel short silhouette (most pants are cut with two panels) that still ranks among the collection’s best sellers. That first year, the shorts and a limited line of basics, such as T-shirts and pants, logged more than $1 million in orders.

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Born in the San Fernando Valley, Giannulli moved to Corona del Mar with his family when he was 16 and spent his junior and senior years at Corona del Mar High, alma mater of other local fashion heavies that include designer Shawn Stussy and Kelly Gray, vice president of St. John Knits Inc.

There he got his first taste of being an entrepreneur, he recalled, doing everything from selling sodas at the beach to detailing cars. “I’ve always tried to be self-employed. I wanted to do it my way.”

Giannulli likened his attitude to that of his grandfather, who emigrated from southern Italy “starting out with nothing but a landscaping business.” His father, who is also a sculptor, took the business and the family’s social and financial status to another level, Giannulli said.

Taking a rich kid’s easy ride to success is not the secret to Giannulli’s accomplishments, said Sada Valov, managing editor of Action Sports Retailer, a trade publication for the active-wear industry. “Whether he came from a privileged background or not, he did something with what he had. . . . creating a very good product,” Valov said.

She said she considers Giannulli’s keen sense of marketing among his greatest strengths. The company’s advertising campaign has stayed consistent through the years, she said, building a recognizable image for the label.

Indeed, a Mossimo Inc. print ad from six years ago could easily run tomorrow and not look dated. Featuring models of Mediterranean heritage with strong features and shot in dramatic black and white, the long-running campaign appears in hip national magazines such as Details and Vibe and has helped distinguish the label as more than a source for beach shorts and T-shirts.

Within the next year, Mossimo apparel, shoes and accessories will appear in stores throughout Europe, the Far East, Australia, Chile and North America in a global expansion that could nearly double the private company’s reported revenues of $35 million.

Expansion plans include opening Mossimo Supply stores in Munich, Germany, and Sydney, Australia, followed by boutiques in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Dallas, Paris and Singapore.

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Mossimo’s retail boutique marks a turning point for the company. Giannulli wants to offer more signature products--following the tradition of Armani and Lauren--and he’s heading in the right direction. At South Coast Plaza, Mossimo Supply is directly across from Armani AX (featuring the Italian designer’s lower-priced clothing line) and on the floor above Ralph Lauren Polo.

“I don’t think I’m anywhere near comparing myself to (Armani and Lauren),” Giannulli said. “My target market is nowhere near what theirs is. But I don’t think there’s anyone in my market offering (clothes) with the same special presentation and service as those other stores.”

Giannulli rejects any suggestion that he is going head-to-head with nearby department stores that carry his wares, including the Bullock’s Mens Store, which opened the first Mossimo in-store boutique last year. As a showcase, Mossimo Supply will only enhance the business of the other outlets, he said.

He cited the Gap, Banana Republic, and parts of Armani AX and Ralph Lauren Polo, as rivals for the same pocketbook.

Mossimo Supply will also serve as a testing ground for new merchandise that would otherwise never make it past hesitant department store buyers, who still view Mossimo as a beachwear maker and not a source for leather goods or dressier apparel, he said.

Though the entire Mossimo collection is available at its 2,600-square-foot store, Giannulli said merchandising will follow the “less-is-better” rule.

Basics such as T-shirts and trunks are stocked along with the complete menswear line, which now includes dress shirts, denim and linen separates, and leather jackets that sell for $16 to $400.

The store also stocks Mossimo Woman, a line of swimwear and cover-ups selling for $48 to $80 each, and items from the company’s newest division, Mossimo Body, a collection of Lycra and lace active wear priced at $38 to $60. A complete women’s wear line will make its debut in spring, 1995.

Other Mossimo-branded goods include Zippo lighters, backpacks, keychains, biker wallets, socks, belts, small leather goods, jewelry and a range of other accessories. Completing the look are footwear, from heavy lug-sole boots and athletic shoes (selling for $42 to $120 under the Mossimo Sole label) and stylish Mossimo Optics, glasses selling for $125 to $200 that have been worn by Janet Jackson and her dance team and by Sylvester Stallone in the movie “Demolition Man.”

The store also sells products not designed by Mossimo but that reflect his personal touch, such as Neal’s Yard, a line of herbal-based toiletries; Catholic sanctuary candles, and books on everything from design to philosophy. Customers are served bottles of trendy Tynant mineral water, and the staff is encouraged to learn the names of regular customers.

“People thought I was scattering too much with all these divisions. . . . But when surf wear bottomed out, we stayed above,” Giannulli said. “When I license out a product, I don’t do it to get it out of my hair. It’s not a matter of selling my name, take the royalty and run. I’m still involved in everything down to the packaging.”

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Sandy Schonwald, president of Aquarius Ltd. in St. Louis, which is licensed to produce a Mossimo accessory line, called Giannulli’s close involvement “remarkable.” From product creation to distribution, “he’s totally involved and very particular,” said Schonwald. “Moss is adamant about maintaining the integrity of his product and name.”

Mossimo Woman and Mossimo Body are licensed to Lunada Bay in Anaheim, where they are co-designed and produced. The swimwear line, which accounts for 20% of Mossimo revenues, has appeared in the past two issues of Sports Illustrated’s annual swimsuit issues.

But it has been a move away from beach wear that has contributed to recognition of Mossimo Inc. as a contemporary sportswear design label, said Alexandra Nelson, West Coast editor for the Daily News Record, which tracks the menswear trade.

“I think he has successfully made the transition. He’s pretty well recognized as one of the top West Coast designers in the field,” Nelson said. The Otis Parsons School of Design recently announced that it would award Giannulli its achievement award in business and design at a black tie presentation in April.

Last year, Giannulli was chosen as Orange County Entrepreneur of the Year. The award, sponsored in part by Inc. magazine, Merrill Lynch and Ernst & Young, goes to a business executive who takes risks, shows innovation and practices growth management, according to Greg Ross, a partner at Ernst & Young.

“The judges looked at the size of the company and his age and thought what he accomplished was exemplary,” Ross said. “He has developed the identity of a company around a concept, which a lot of other people have done, but he did it faster and with his own knowledge instead of relying on that of consultants.”

Nelson of the Daily News Record referred to oft-described corporate culture at Mossimo Inc. as a factor in the company’s success.

“All my friends happen to work with me,” said Giannulli, adding that after three hours at last weekend’s store opening, he took part of his staff to dinner and later that night, “they all crashed” at his place in Laguna Beach. Giannulli said he and his “crew” often go to nightclubs or to shoot pool after office hours.

“We don’t have titles around here, we’re just making clothes,” said Moss, as his circle calls him. “We give a lot of rope here. You can either take it to the limit or hang yourself.”

Besides a warehouse and offices for design, accounting and production, the 31,000-square-foot headquarters in the Irvine Spectrum also has a gym and a basketball hoop. “I want this to be more than just a workplace,” he noted. “Quality of life is important to me. I’m building a lifestyle with a young spirit with my clothes and my company.”

Profile: Mossimo Giannulli

Founder and owner: Mossimo

Headquarters: Irvine

Business: Youth-oriented fashions

Age: 30

Past: Graduated from Corona del Mar High School in 1982. Launched his first collection in 1987 out of a Balboa garage.

Present and future: Collection now includes shoes, eye wear, swimwear and accessories. Eventually will include underwear, bedding and other products.

Latest risk: Recently opened first boutique in South Coast Plaza. Other stores planned in Munich, Sydney, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Dallas, Paris and Singapore.

Honors: Orange County Entrepreneur of the Year, 1992; recently received fourth nomination for the Marty Award, which recognizes excellence in West Coast menswear design.

Source: Mossimo