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Hats off to Dorfman Pacific
Warehouse in Stockton has millions
STOCKTON - There was a touch of reverence in John Callanan's tone
as he held up a fine crocheted raffia hat.
"People don't understand the amount of work that goes into a
hat," said Callanan, the vice president of design at Dorfman Pacific in
Stockton.
"The palm tree grows in Madagascar. It's harvested," he
said, explaining the long journey that led to the hat's $150 price tag.
"The palm leaf is dried and pulled apart to the finest centimeter, and
then it's hand-crocheted."
The hat is one of millions at Dorfman Pacific's wholesale
distribution center in Stockton - some elaborate, with
flowers and bright ribbons, and others more simple, like a cadet
cap that sells for roughly $4.
Dorfman Pacific has about 20 brands in total, including Scala,
Stetson, Tropical Trends and DPC.
When President and Chief Executive Douglas Highsmith took over,
the company catered primarily to Northern California. It has showrooms across
the United States and exports to international locations like Japan, China, Australia,
South America and Europe.
Highsmith started out as a salesman in 1973, working his way up
the ladder and eventually buying the business.
"It's been my life. It's my only job," he said. "We
have more hats in this warehouse than anybody else in the world."
Even as he sorted through stacks of hats to decide what would be
added to the 2013 spring/summer line and what would be discontinued, Callanan
was already thinking of the possibilities for the following autumn.
"You have classic shapes. It's really the trims that change a
lot," he said. "I'm definitely seeing a lot more fashion trims at the
moment, and a lot more color."
He finds inspiration in everything from bracelets and hair
accessories to popular television programs like AMC's "Mad Men."
"To me, a line is never really finished. I'm always thinking.
I'm walking around and looking," he said.
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| Design Vice President John Callanan displays a couple of hats at Dorfman Pacific in Stockton, site of the firm's large warehouse. |
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| Stacks of hats are on display in a showroom Monday at Dorfman Pacific in Stockton. The company’s Boeing Way warehouse contains millions of hats from several major manufacturers. |
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| A storage area at Dorfman Pacific contains many boxes of hats. |
At a glance
Location: 2615 Boeing Way, Stockton
History: The company was started by Arthur Hyman and Jack Dorfman in
Oakland in 1921. In 1988, the
distribution center relocated to Stockton to cut down on operating
expenses.
President and CEO: Douglas Highsmith
Employees: 175 full time; about 30 temporary
Challenges
Importing: Most manufacturing, except for embroidery,
takes place overseas. "Making hats is very labor-intensive, and most
Americans would rather sit at a computer than a sewing machine," CEO
Douglas Highsmith said. But importing involves many challenges, such as currency
fluctuations.
Expansion costs: As the company has grown,
Highsmith said he is always looking for ways to become more efficient. Dorfman
now ships five times the hats it used to with only three times the amount of
people.
Government regulation: "The government considers us
a large business, but we're a very small business. We're closer to a shoeshine
stand than we are to General Motors," Highsmith said. "If there's
anything that will drive us out of business, that's what it'll be."
By the numbers
20: approximate number of brands under the Dorfman banner.
280,000: square feet in the company's distribution center.
3 to 4 million: hats on any given day at the
Stockton facility.
Contact Web Content Producer Katie Combs at (209) 546-8255 or
kcombs@recordnet.com. Visit her blog at recordnet.com/multimediablog.
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