Clothes inspired by surfing and skateboarding helped drive jobs at the biggest apparel companies in Orange County during the past year.
The group of 25 companies saw local workers jump 8%, or by 778 people, to 10,791. Skateboard shoe and clothing maker Vans Inc. drove the gain by moving its headquarters to Cypress from Santa Fe Springs.
Without No. 5 Vans, the 24 other apparel makers on this year’s Business Journal list edged up local employment by 4% to 10,189 people.
Including Vans, companywide workers grew 5% to 34,663 people.
The list ranks companies by workers in OC.
Vans, part of Greensboro, N.C.-based clothing maker VF Corp., has been ramping up its clothing business during the past two years, spokesman Chris Overholser said.
Vans’ OC worker count grew 155% to 602. The gain doesn’t reflect actual hiring but rather the move of the company’s headquarters staff to the county. A year ago, Vans had 236 workers here at its stores across the county as well as a skate park in Orange.
Earlier this year, Vans shifted the bulk of its workers from its Santa Fe Springs offices to a 104,000-square-foot building in OC. Some employees, who design snow clothes such as snowboarding jackets and pants, came from Vans’ San Leandro office.
“Apparel has been a big push for us since our purchase by VF” in 2004, Overholser said.
The company’s total employees rose 16% to 2,888 people.
Bringing Vans’ base back here is a homecoming for the company. It got its start here and left about 10 years ago.
Vans now handles product design and development, sales, marketing and human resources from Cypress.
The new digs are pimped out: artwork, an indoor skate park and a swanky lounge for sponsored professional athletes to hang out.
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