In praise of Ralph
Before the heady, halcyon days of Flinders Lane in the '60s and '70s drift into dodgy memory, I want to recall a name: Ralph Dahan. Don't worry, this is not an obituary. Ralph has banished himself to Perth where he is still working at the age of 76. He's into his fourth marriage (to former model Kerry Karr) and they have a 14-year-old son.
Ralph was part of the gossip-over-coffee crowd that kept the legends of the Lane alive after commercial realism would have cleaned it out of factories and warehouses and showrooms. People hung in there because it was the scene. Ralph was one of its key characters.
When Ralph forsook manufacturing and became a fashion agent he found his place in the sun - or more in the deadly draft, if you've ever toiled up the Lane's coronary hill with a bag of samples on a cold day.
Ralph's fashion agency was the best of its time, with lots of elegant showrooms, beautiful sales people and leading labels presided over by one of the most passionate, attractive characters ever to walk the schmutta stage. Think of Ralph and you see pepper and salt stubble, white teeth, mobile shoulders and waving hands. He was a specialist in hilarious melancholy - the mood of the times.
In 1996 Ralph gave his fashion agency business to partner David Murrihly who now trades it as RDM Marketing Services in Port Melbourne. Ralph went to Perth to open two Saba shops but they didn't suit the locals and he closed them and retired. Gary Austin rescued him from oblivion three-and-a-half-years ago and now Ralph charms menswear retail customers three days a week.
In reference to Jayson
Popular schmutta executive, Jayson Haydon, has resigned as general manager of KCX International, the trading name for Kid Crew Express Pty Ltd. He had been there for two and a half years, having moved from a stint with the ill-fated Physico when it went badly public in conjunction with menswear retailer Ed Harry. Although Jayson maintains the KCX parting was amicable and has praise for the three brothers Clarke, he was still not reassigned when I spoke to him.
KCX is one of the giants of budget clothing supply in Australia, although few people seem to appreciate its size. In the face of retail chains and discounters moving steadily towards doing their own import sourcing, KCX has not only been able to shoulder its way into the supply chain but has grown dramatically in the process. The company plays its cards so close to its chest that they appear glued on, but some trade guesses put its annual turnover in excess of $100 million.
That becomes more believable when you look at its customer list including Target, K-Mart, Noni B, Just Group, Suzannegrae and Big W. It operates a dozen brands as well as supplying under retailers' house brands. Last year it bought Diamond Cut Lingerie in Melbourne.
Most of the brands are associated with budget womenswear or kidswear, but Oscar de la Renta is one of them and probably suits the KCX business with Myer and David Jones. I don't think Oscar would like being discovered in a K-Mart dump bin.
Myth has it that the three Clarke brothers, who own and run the business, were fed up a few years ago and wanted to sell but no buyer came forth. So they simply grew bigger.
In memory of Max
A famous Surry Hills building I've written about previously has burst back into the news. Somebody of my acquaintance has just taken space in the Holt Street headquarters of the late Max Frost, textile wholesaler, and finds that some good old traditions haven't changed.
Although Max is not around to pursue his endless vigil on expenses, his caretaker still is after 30 years of faithful service. Max would have been proud of him.
One of his strict rules relates to rubbish collection. Bins that are left out on the nominated night must be taken in by 10am the next morning. If they are not, the tenant gets one free warning and thereafter receives a series of incrementally increasing fines. The first is $10 and subsequent offences are increased by $10. Thus a badly forgetful year could result in more than $500 in garbage bin fines.
I also have it on good authority that the bathroom lights are operated by a plunger switch which gives you only limited time to make your deposit, wash your hands and get the hell out before blackness engulfs you. Reading the paper is therefore out of the question unless you jam the plunger with a matchstick. Oops, sorry Max, I didn't mean to incite people to wasteful behaviour.
By Fraser McEwing