New York fashion might have changed, but if you look closely, there's still a little bit of Seventh Avenue that's not just hanging on, but thriving.
The company is run by chief executive officer Ariel Chaus, who has steadily built on and expanded the business his parents, Bernard and Josephine Chaus, started in 1975.
BCI is something of an enigma -- selling branded and private label goods to department stores and generating some $400 million in sales.
The company is seeing double-digit growth in a tricky consumer landscape and is "highly profitable," according to chairman Manny Chirico, the former chairman and CEO of PVH Corp.
Now the firm is looking to expand across a number of different vectors.
BCI is hitting the accelerator with its contemporary CeCe line, expanding it into a lifestyle play, while also ramping up the Ted Baker women's apparel business, under license from Authentic Brands Group.
Some dealmaking is in the offing, an effort that no doubt will be helped along by Chirico, who had a hand in or led the deals to buy Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Warnaco and more while at PVH.
"We have a very solid platform," Chaus said in an interview with Chirico at the company's showroom on, of course, Seventh Avenue. "We're going to continue to build upon that. We have great brands in our portfolio. I think we're going to continue to maximize that, looking for new opportunities as they present themselves.
"We're never going to jeopardize that or take a crazy swing or over-leverage the business or buy something that has too much risk," the CEO said. "There aren't a lot of competitors out there that have our balance sheet or that are growing and looking to expand."
BCI is working with a business model that would be familiar to a garmento from 25 years ago. And while Chaus acknowledged the similarities, he also stressed just how different his business is today.
Not only is it dealing with a smaller competitive set in the Garment District, Chaus said the business has evolved dramatically and is set up to cut goods quickly, test the market and then chase what's working.
"We are really de-risking the fashion element of these goods by putting things on the floor that we know are going to sell," he said.
The company is also set up to drop-ship goods directly to consumers, accentuating its business with wholesale accounts.