An Open Letter To The Fashion Industry

Do you know that girl with the hairy upper lip? She’s the one that looks at her lip everyday and assumes that no one else notices something so small so unimportant.

Each day when she walks into the office, you have to fight back that urge to tackle her to the ground and hot wax the thing off. Until the day she takes a photo of herself for Match.com, and she can see herself as others see her… the girl with a hairy upper lip.

Think of this letter as the hot wax of what is so obvious in retail (the hairy lip), yet no one has the nerve to RIP IT OFF (find a solution). They just let the small problems build up and become a huge hairy, ugly mess.

Are we really surprised that so many retailers are closing? Did we need a Home Depot and a Lowe’s at the edge of every new housing development? Did we really need a Best Buy and a Circuit City, or a Linen and Things and Bed Bath and Beyond? Did we really need 5 Starbucks on 4 NYC blocks? (I swear it’s true I live in the middle of that starbuck pentagon).

The Boutiques

Let’s start with the boutiques, since they are the ones closest to my heart. For too long, too many hobby stores where popping up all around the country. You know the boutique... the one which opens when the owners’ friends “all want to shop in my closet”… or who’s husband needed a tax write off (seems like a funny idea now huh) or my favorite, the store who "has to teach everyone how to dress."

Worst yet, the boutique who opens because they and all their friends need somewhere to shop that’s "unique” yet all those stores ended up looking exactly alike. You and your friends all put you out of business, because you (the owner) steals from the store and your friends all want discounts.

Here is some of the wax for boutique owners: If you don’t have a good location or you are just buying the things you like….if you are not negotiating hard with the vendors and looking for margin builders….if you work in the store and are just getting by….if you hate buying ugly things….you WILL NOT MAKE IT.

It’s time to take a hard look at your business and stop your losses.

The Department Stores

Department store….ugh! Where do I start? You are the bearded lady of the retail world.

I have seen buying plans that have 40% markdowns in them! Why would you buy things that you KNOW are not going to sell? The supply chain is decades old, meeting for how many buying meetings they should have is costing more than the budget they are meeting about buying.

But let’s take it to the most basic level. I was in Macy’s on 34th street about 3 weeks ago. I picked 4 dresses (none on sale) to try on. The only time anyone approached me was to ask me if I wanted a Macy’s credit card.

While in the dressing room the two attendants, who by the way did no LOSS PREVENTION (meaning they didn’t even count what I took in to the dressing room), chatted about how it was cheaper to shop at Conways. When I asked them if someone could run out (really, about 10 steps from the front of the dressing rooms) they said no ”that’s not my job”. I left $1,245 worth of FULL PRICE goods in the dressing room and walked out.

Some buzz words for the department stores, wear now, fashion, kill over production of product developments, service!

The Nationals

The nationals are not any better…I was at the BCBG store on 5th ave near 21st street and I was just running in before they closed. I grabbed 4 dresses (I was looking for 4 outfits to wear for the MAGIC tradeshow).

I asked if I tried them on at home and return what didn’t fit in the morning, could I get a refund. They replied ”store credit only”. I said, can you stay while I try them on…”the store closes in 5 minute”. For Pete’s sake is business so good at BCBG that they could just turn FULL PRICE customers away.

PS. I saw the same dress at Macy’s—I could have bought it there and returned it for a FULL refund, that is if the woman would have gone 10 steps out of the dressing room to find me a size.

Some of the other nationals. J.Jill, Cache, Coldwater, Chico’s, Ann Taylor - why are you chasing a customer you don’t have (younger) and why don’t you get to know your core who loves you? Cache? Do you know how much the Hispanic consumer loves you? When are you going to start expanding to Latin America?

Why is it that our “American” brands have such a hard time expending internationally? Why is it that Mango (from Spain) is in 22 countries (including Cuba) and we can’t get the airport Gap right?

How about Zara whose supply chain is beyond impressive and puts 12,000 fashion items out a year with only 18% markdowns at the end of a season while US department stores are at 40%. Zara, small tip for you: you would do more UPT's if you got rid of the huge center aisle you need a moment of interruption at the front door and more dressing rooms!

Abercrombie I have one thing to say to you….5 years of the same back-to school hoodie? The only thing that changes is the price. You can’t contuine on image you need to have a product! Fashion!

Internet Retailers

Internet retailers (no one is safe in this waxing of the market). What are you doing? You have created the worst type of price wars. People are now only shopping for fashion based on price or replenishment. If there is one internet retailer (fashion without a brick and mortar) out there making a profit PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

Zappos I know you are a billion dollar company, innovator of the year (Fast Company) but with your pricing and return policy are you making money? Bluefly, I love what you stand for, what you are doing, many try to copy but they don’t have it right (just yet), but please you need to find buyers that know how to negotiate. No more Saks buyers; you need “down and dirty” buyers that will fight tooth and nail for a nickel off. Old school.

The Vendors, Brands, Designers...

Last but not least the vendors, brands, designers, or whatever you are calling yourself these days. During the tradeshows I was lucky that Dr. Kevorkian was not one of my fav 5. So many vendors told me they couldn’t work with us because of “department store” cancellations and that they didn’t have any over cuts for independents.

What the heck is going on in this business? Doesn’t anyone remember when Federated lost their credit and took hundreds of vendors/brands with them?

How about this: start manufacturing here in the US! Have smaller cuts but more fashion short lead times and faster turn around.

Don’t worry about the production cost you make them up on speed and shipping. The boutiques can test it, sell it, and move on. If you have a hit then you can take it overseas and sell it to the department store.

Just ask Forever 21 if that doesn’t work for them…. (Forever let me know when you go public because you are one retailer I would invest in, but please think about over extension….it can sneak up on you.)

The Bottom Line

Whew that felt good. Here is the bottom line… people will always shop, in good times and bad. When people are sad and depressed….they shop!

Give them a little service, respect, value (don’t rip them off like the $695 Donna Karen Tee shirt on page 18 of the Neiman Marcus catalog) give them something new (young designers get it together it’s your time to shine), make it easy for them and make it a nice environment, keep the floor fresh and when you do have a sale…make it real.

For those that are doing it right, hang in and buckle up. Once this ride is over you will have better placement and a huge amount of market share.

Please don’t email me with your negative comments. I am venting because I know there is money to be made out there. This is a business where excuses don’t pay the rent. It’s not a business for the shy, weak or short sighted. Your business is a work in progress, whenever you think you know your customer base it changes, whenever you think you have your product mix right….you are wrong.

Does anyone remember when Barney’s was a men’s discount store? I rest my case.