THE MALIBU CLOTHES STORY:
In 1946 Bill and Stan Firestone opened one of the first Men’s Wholesale Clothing warehouses in the West. Little did they dream that from a small loft on South Broadway in downtown Los Angeles, where they warehoused the family owned Petrocelli Clothing line to supply Menswear Retailers in the western United States that the business would grow to become one of the most successful clothing operations in the country.
In what sounds like a Hollywood script, the business started by accident, when Stan accommodated a friend who needed a Black Mohair Suit to wear to a wedding, which he sold to him for a few dollars over the Wholesale cost. He then received a phone call from someone who was at the wedding, wanting to know if he could also come down to the warehouse and get some clothes. As they continued to accommodate more and more people, just by word of mouth, they started to keep index cards on file to keep track of customers and their referrals. Once they realized that they were selling more clothes to their referrals than they were to other stores the business was born.
In 1958 a very good customer, who owned a Jewelry store in Beverly Hills, told Stan that there was space available on the 2nd floor of his building on South Beverly Dr. and that was the beginning of Malibu Clothes Beverly Hills. Moving into a new location, and the business growing, there became a need to bring in other fine clothing lines from America, Italy, and Canada to supply an expanding customer base that not only stretches across the United States, but also includes parts of Europe, Japan, Mexico and Australia. Our customer list reads like a Who’s Who of some of the most influential businessmen and politicians, as well as world famous athletes, coaches, and Hollywood celebrities. Malibu Clothes was also one of the first stores to supply all the major Hollywood Studios with menswear for Television and Motion Pictures. Walking into Malibu’s showroom today, in our own building which we purchased and moved into in 1965, you can relive some of our history by gazing upon all the autographed photos and sports memorabilia from past decades.
What is the secret of Malibu’s success? It is the fact that we offer our customers, under one roof, the largest selection of the finest quality clothing made in the world, at wholesale prices that no other store can compete with. But at the heart of our success are our customers. Because of their overwhelming satisfaction with the quality and price of our clothing, they are the ones who refer family, friends, and business associates.
The tradition that Bill and Stan Firestone started, continues today with Stan and his son Rick who joined the family business in the late 70’s after college. It was Rick who in the Fall of 1995 launched the opening of Malibu Collections. Located on the 3rd floor, Malibu Collections carries some of the finest quality Dress Shirts, Neckwear, Sportswear, and Accessories to complement their clothing, but at prices far below the competition.
