STYLE STATEMENT.

THE FOUNDERS OF SIANY LAUNCHED THEIR LEATHER AND GIFT BUSINESSES FROM A SHOPPING MALL VENDING CART AND WENT ON TO OPEN STORES IN SOME OF THE HOTTEST NEW RETAIL DEVELOPMENTS IN LOS ANGELES 

SOMETIMES the best formula for growing a business is addition by subtraction.

That's the way husband and wife entrepreneurs Dave and Carin Leib became successful -- by turning a college money-making scheme into a high-end leather and gift business that has grabbed an increasingly lucrative market niche.

But it couldn't have been done without a significant company downsizing after a too-rapid expansion.

Today, Siany (pronounced see-ah-nee) has three stores m the Los Angeles area and a fourth slated for The Grove at Farmers Market. It's pushing its sales to new levels and developing a loyal customer base among mostly high-end shoppers looking for an eclectic mix of gifts, leather products, jewelry and home accessories.

The Leibs have changed the name of their company and revamped their merchandising strategy more than once. They have stores in Calabasas, Sherman Oaks Fashion Square and Encino, and posted revenues of $1.2 million in 1999. They project revenues to surpass $1.5 million this year.

The Leibs have staked their success on catching people's fancy, hoping to snag fashion-conscious shoppers on the lookout for something new. Siany uses up to 200 vendors, buying in small quantities and keeping inventory down and shelves stocked with fresh items.

"One of the keys to our success so far is a lot of new products. We want to surprise people and we want to avoid a mass merchandised look," Dave said while sitting at a table in the office/warehouse that the couple built behind their Woodland Hills home. "Some of our customers come in once or twice a week, and we feel like we've let them down if there's nothing new to see."

The couple's business had its beginnings on a trip that Carin took to Greece during her senior year of college. She was smitten with natural leather bags and other products being made by a manufacturer in that country -- and the bags were being sold for a bargain price of $35 each. When she returned, her friends at San Diego State University wanted bags of their own, but Carin discovered they were retailing in the United States for up to $190.

So she took buying trips to Greece and her business began. After meeting Dave, the couple decided to take the fledgling firm to another level. Carin, who at that time was working as a music coordinator for the television show "In Living Color," secured accounts at Fred Segal, Guess and a few other stores, and the couple began hustling their products at swap meets and on college campuses.

After finding a reliable manufacturer, Carin and Dave started Naturally Yours in 1992. Within six months Dave quit his job in mortgage banking to devote his full attention to the company and a year later Carin followed him.

By 1994, Naturally Yours had carts or kiosks in more than half a dozen Southern California malls, including the Westside Pavilion, Glendale Galleria, Topanga Plaza, the Irvine Spectrum and the Hotel del Coronado. But while revenues were rising at a healthy clip, managing the increasingly far-flung empire was becoming hectic and inefficient.

"We got greedy. We took every opportunity," Dave said. "We wanted to grow and there was no deal that wasn't good enough."

As they continued to expand, the Leibs transitioned from kiosks and carts to small stores, and began moving away from exclusively selling leather goods, adding a variety of gift products and accessories. In 1996, Naturally Yours no longer fit the business and its name was changed to Siany -- a name they found in a baby book.

"It was a new look and the concept of Naturally Yours wasn't working," Carin said. "We started buying differently, revamping our styles and our merchandise."

Once the name change was in place, the Leibs -- who married in 1996 -- began to rethink their growth strategy as well. Revenues were steady but profits were down and managing the growing business was proving more than they could handle. They agreed to scale back.

Although revenues dipped in 1998 after Siany shut down several of its stores, profits remained about the same.

They increased their emphasis on location. Spurred by a desire to move operations closer to home, the Leibs began exploring sites that would attract a well-heeled clientele in the San Fernando Valley. An important move, they said, was hooking up with Caruso Affiliated Holdings, developer of The Commons at Calabasas, which is also building The Grove at Farmers Market.

For his part, Caruso said stores like Siany are critical to the success of his projects, which attract such large chains as Barnes & Noble, Edwards Theaters, M. Frederick and Ralphs, among others.

"There needs to be a balance between national, regional and local tenants," Caruso said. "From a developer's standpoint, it's great to have tenants who are entrepreneurs, who are on site all the time and really put their hearts into their business and treat their customers well. It reflects well on the whole center."

Spotlight

Siany

Year Founded: 1996

Core Business: Specialty gift, handbag, jewelry and home accessory retailer

Revenue in 1996: $833,000

Revenue in 1997: $940,000

Revenue in 1998: $835,000

Revenue in 1999: $1.2 million

Revenue in 2000: $1.6 million (projected)

Employees in 1996: 16

Employees in 2000: 17

Goal: Increasing revenues by building sales at existing stores and marketing Siany-brand products

Driving Force: Provide unique items at a range of price levels with an emphasis on personal customer service