Although Alexis and Gianni held its second annual fine fur and outerwear fashion show on a recent November evening in Westbury, the event might have rivaled anything from Fashion Week at Bryant Park. Freeflowing champagne complemented endless trays of tuna sashimi and grilled shrimp. The crowd 90 percent of them Alexis & Gianni's best customers - dressed in formalwear and perused the furs before the show.

The runway featured models in the latest from Cynthia Rowley and Michael Kors and the newest line from Oscar de la Renta, for which Alexis and Gianni is the exclusive Long Island independent retailer. Also shown was Alexis & Gianni's signature label - pantsuits and denim trimmed with fur for women, mink vests, shearlings, even fur-trimmed jeans for children.

Afterwards, guests nibbled on petit fours and napoleons and contemplated their upcoming purchases.

"The show creates a buying frenzy. People want to walk out with something. It gives a nice boost" says John Petras, the company's president. The event, excluding merchandise, costs nearly $70,000 to produce. Designing the lines costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. "But the show is not done with the sale in mind."

Alexis Petras, vice president and John's sister, agrees. "We're showing our customers how much we appreciate their business. It's more of a celebration," said the company's namesake (they use Gianni in the company's name "for the European flair").

That celebration also acknowledges the company's transition from manufacturer to high-end retailer - a transformation that includes a showroom and private-appointment couture salon, a name change and a building-facade makeover.

Since 1996, when the Petras' embarked on the company's repositioning, the privately held company has increased annual sales by 80 percent, John said, though he would riot discuss revenues.

Throughout the company's repositioning, the Petras' have taken careful steps to include their loyal customers. Alexis & Gianni still provides the furs, storage and restyling, alteration and cleaning service clients expect. But simultaneously it is reaching out to a new market that wants cutting-edge fashion.

"The fur business is perceived as catering to 50-to-60-to-70-year-olds who see fur as strictly on the dressy side. But there are 18-to-30-year-olds who want what we see in Vogue. That customer is very different," Alexis says. "We wanted to bridge that gap and appeal to that generation and still focus on the core customer."

The company dates back to 1953 when Ted Petras, who, having came from a long line of furriers, opened Ted Petras Furs, a manufacturer and wholesaler on Seventh Avenue in Manhattan. He opened the Westbury factory in 1982. Since 1986, John and Alexis, who grew up in the business, have reinvented the operation.

They started by branching into retail, renting hotel ballrooms where, around the time of the 1987 stock market crash, they sold merchandise from a large order cancelled by a Ted Petras Furs' client.

"We had a tremendous response," John recalls. "We didn't know a lot about retail. It was trial and error. There were a lot of mistakes. We tried to model from other retailers, mostly."

Calling themselves the Long Island Fur Factory, they opened their father's factory to service the customers on weekends and soon after opened daily.

"There was no showroom. Customers walked right into the factory. It was loud and noisy but people enjoyed the experience," Alexis said.

In 1988, they built their first showroom, displaying furs from all over the world.

"We're constantly changing our strategies in order to sell our product. The retail environment is constantly changing, and we need to change along with it to expand and grow and reach a broader market," Alexis notes.

But perhaps the biggest change was launched in 1996 when John developed a plan to reposition the company primarily as a retailer.

"We wanted to go more upscale and launch our private label. It was a gradual transition so as not to alienate our customers. I didn't want to push it too fast," John said.

They traveled to Europe for inspiration for their new label, keeping their clients' tastes and styles in mind. The company manufactures the line. "Manufacturing our designs is extremely important," John said, adding that it reduces the potential for knockoffs by competitors.

They gave deep thought to the name change. "The new name reflects that we're not just a high-end store selling luxe furs and fabrics. We sell furs, outerwear and leather. We didn't want to be known for just furs."

They introduced the name in 2000 through a mailing. The company is currently kicking off a campaign that will include ads to appear on network and cable television as well as in The New York Times, Newsday, Redbook, Marie Claire and more.

Last year Alexis and John dedicated the first formal showing of their signature label to their father, who was retiring after 50 years in the business. "The transition was very smooth," John said.

Jeffrey Bass, a principal at Garden City-based Margolin, Winer & Evens, an accounting and business advisory firm, gives Alexis and Gianni high marks. "Speaking generically without seeing their business plan, Id have to compliment them on their vision and their understanding of the market that their father appealed to. Most successful companies continue to change and follow the consumers' attitudes and preferences and provide value to the consumer.

"By bringing their expertise in manufacturing to support the retailing end, they lend efficiency to the process. They should be profitable."

Lou Greenberg, president of Manhattan-based fur merchant Global Mink has worked with the Petras' for 30 years. "They've definitely upgraded from a factory outlet to making a strong fashion statement. It's a fabulous evolution. They turned the company from a mom-and-pop to a fashion house."