http://devel.globalpurchasinggroup.com/ en mercedes@globalpurchasinggroup.com Copyright 2012 2012-02-28T22:09:00+00:00 /blog/social-media-like-unlike/ /blog/social-media-like-unlike/#When:22:09:00Z If anyone reading this hasn’t jumped in feet first into the social media world, you may not be missing out on much. Having spent much of last year working on growing my social media exposure, there are a few things I've learned I learned along the way. I have been tweeting for 3 years and have tweeted over 7000- 140 characters of wisdom. Well, I like to think they are. My facebook page has a less than average number of “likes”- 208 for Global Purchasing Companies and 164 for Dovetail Clothing Company. Seems that people “like” me more as a person- 491friends on my personal page. I’ve gathered this information from using my own companies as the testing grounds and this is what I have learned. You can’t ignore or wish away social media, it’s here to stay and it’s not just “something the kids do”. Every credible business must have, at the very least, a facebook page and a twitter account. How you use them is going to depend on the type of business you have and what you would like to accomplish. Some of the most important moments of the year have been predicted or reported on twitter. It saved lives on March 11 when @abcnew.au reported that a Tsunami was going to hit the coast of northeast Japan in 15 minutes, and a family was found alive after a tweet giving their locations during the aftermath of the Turkish earthquake. Twitter has been able to report the news as it happens. Remember the local man in Abbottabad that reported a helicopter hovering over the predawn sky in Pakistan? He unknowingly was tweeting about Osama bin Laden’s raid. It’s shared funny moments, like when Julia Probsta, deaf since childhood and huge soccer fan, reads the lips of the players and live tweets their comments during the game. It’s also united us, such as after the London riots when people rallied on twitter and facebook with a “brooms up” call to help clean up after the chaos. It has shared points of view, entertained and educated us on how small and fragile our world is, and most important, it has liberated us. Your facebook/twitter is a great way to engage your consumer and have them become interactive with the brand. They can become cheerleaders, brand ambassadors and through word of mouth, your best asset. The challenge is to get them to care enough to want to “like” you, never-the-less get them to post on your wall and spread the news. Keep in mind there are many advantages to just listening to them and not really posting much about yourself. This works best for designers/brands. You really want to be able to understand the consumer in the most intimate way. They will tell you everything from what they had for lunch to where and how they like to shop. By finding friends on facebook or by using the # (hashtag) to find keys words that are important to you (and your business) you will start to follow and learn from a very specific target market. Think of it was a cyber focus group. Getting them to care is really the most difficult part. At Dovetail Clothing we used my personal base of friends to send invites to “friend” the company. Some did some didn’t. We used the hashtag on twitter to find people that had a similar profile to our target market and started to follow them. We looked at who they follow and followed those people. There is an unwritten rule on twitter that if I follow you, you should follow me. You might notice that some people of an equal number of followers to following; to me this defeats the propose. Twitter isn’t a popularity contest and if you treat it as one you will soon regret it. So once you get a few followers it’s important to start an interesting stream of tweets. We have found that most followers will retweet or comment on your post early in the morning and in the evening. Once we get a few followers that we find to be “tribal” leaders we invite them to be our friend on facebook. We have also tried to get them to have their friends like us. We offered a gift if they retweeted our post to be friends. We got 10 people to retweet. We had a tee shirt design contest where the winner would get $500 plus their name on the tee shirt label. We got zero response. We’ve done polls and asked questions all with very little response. "Is anyone out there?" was the daily question in our office? Then Irene hit. My retail location was flooded out. The first few days, I posted about its progress but soon I grew weary and stopped posting on the store's facebook page. A week or two pasted by, when I started getting posting on the stores wall; “are you alright? When will the store reopen? Will you open in a different town?” Low and behold they are out there! I just didn’t really give them a good enough reason to want to post. Let’s face it, we are all time poor. Don’t ask me about those that play Farmville and Angry birds all day, but most of us don’t have time to check who’s doing what and when we are asked to answer anything that takes time, forget it. So I started to study those facebook sites that have incredible interaction to see what they had in common. • They all address the good, the bad and the ugly in a timely and funny matter. Let’s face it, there is always going to be someone, somewhere that wasn’t happy with the product or service. You will win over more friends by how you handle the situation plus it’s just not credible to not have any negative comments. • They educate and keep you informed. We are finding that 80/20 is the mix you want to keep with your social media. 80% should be fun or educational. On the Global Purchasing Companies facebook (and twitter which are linked saving time) I like to post retail business related stories. This saves my followers time in reading all the massive amounts of information since I have edited it. Great news is that now most stories offer an icon so you can link the story right to your social media of choice. 20% are postings of workshop dates and events I am speaking at. • They give you special privileges, insider updates and discounts. Everyone wants to be the insider. By offering them limited addition items, early bird discounts before a sale and the “scoop” before it hits the press they feel they are part of a VIP group and more likely to “talk” about your brand. • They create a little drama. Mattel woke up Barbie sales after a long slump. Barbie had just broken up with Ken and Bratz dolls where hitting Mattel’s bottom line. Mattel used the popularity of other websites to draw attention to the single Barbie and Ken by posting profiles on match.com. Fans were encouraged to vote if Barbie should take Ken back. All the voting could be done on the facebook page. Everyone likes playing match maker. • They stand for a cause. Everyone likes the idea that they are contributing to a cause, but they consider it a “value added”. They don’t want to pay more or make a donation but they are more likely to pass on the information to a friend if you have an interesting talking point. You could offer a $1 donation to a charity of choice for every “like” the facebook page gets. Emails are part of the whole social media world and it’s important that they look and are professional. Use a service like Constant Contact. They will help you put together your email blast, track it and also offers the clients receiving the emails the option to “op out” which is now the law to do so. Tracking is a key component to email marketing. You want to check who is opening your emails and who is passing them on (forward) to someone else. So you might be asking yourself "do I even need a website?" The answer is yes. While facebook does offer some e-commerce, it’s limited and it doesn’t seem to be very effective. You are able to post items for sale on their “market place” or by adding a shopping tab on your tool bar. I have yet to have anyone click on anything I have posted for sale. The “big” brands seem to be more successful but what I found was a link from their facebook page to their website. If you are planning on just using social media as a form of advertising, beware that it does cost money and it takes a lot of time to update. I suggest you take out ad’s with Google Ad Words to drive traffic to your site. I wouldn’t spend money on facebook ad’s that only get the person to “like” your page since I haven’t found evidence that the person liking the page will engage it right away. A simple plan of action would be to run one email campaign a month. Most of it informative fashion tips, trends and brand reviews. Part of the email would be on what’s happening in the store, events and sales. Most services will tweet and facebook your email to those online but not on your email list. The informative part of your email then gets posted on your website. Side note- the more text (words) you have on your webpage the higher in ranking you go on Google. On your facebook page you’ll post photos from the past events encouraging all your customers to post their favorites. Send out daily tweets with fashion and celebrity news. Become the “go to” credible expert that your followers have come to rely on. Latest News 2012-02-28T22:09:00+00:00 /blog/3-basic-rules-for-finding-a-job-in-the-fashion-industry/ /blog/3-basic-rules-for-finding-a-job-in-the-fashion-industry/#When:15:42:00Z 1. Network! Get off the internet! You and a million other people are filling out job applications online. I am assuming that you live in an area where there is a fashion district. In NYC we have the garment district. In Atlanta there is the fashion mart called America’s Mart. The idea is to go door to door and ask around. In NYC the building doormen, front desk guy or elevator runner always knows what’s up. Ask who is hiring and get the inside scoop on what’s going on. Don’t forget to bring a business card and a resume. Join http://www.meetup.com and see what “fashion” meetings are going on and take part in them. It’s not just who you might meet at the event but all the connections that they might have. Set a goal to meet at least 5 people at each event or meeting you go to. Go alone! That way you won’t be tempted to just chat with your friend. It’s also important not to ask people for a job or if they know of anyone that is hiring. Instead ask for a reference. You can always use them and that is an indirect way of letting them know you are looking. Of course that only works with someone you know or have met before. If it’s someone new, just tell them that you are looking for new opportunities and that would like to be in touch. 2. Take any Job! Work for free. Yes we know you have 20 years of experience, or that you finished school with the highest marks, and that you can’t afford to take a job for less than $100k. Guess what? So does everyone else. A job is better than no job. A body in motion stays in motion. The idea is to get in the loop and not loose touch with the industry. Keep relationships open and make new connections. Most companies will hire interns and give them the opportunity before hiring someone from the outside. If you have years of experience, great…prove it. Take an entry level job and embrace it! Own it and you will see how quickly you will move up the ranks. In businesses today, especially in this industry, there are no 40 hours for 40 years-type of jobs. To get a raise or promotion you most likely have to change jobs. So keeping your ears open is a must. I understand it can be a humbling experience to be without work for extended periods of time, but when job hunting you MUST spin all the negatives into positives. If you have a gap of more than 6 months and the employer comments, simply say you were doing something new and exciting. Traveling, learning something new, doing volunteer work. Don’t go for the pity! No one wants to work with someone they feel sorry for. What if they say you are too qualified? Come on? Really? Bully them. Say that’s why they know you will do excellent work since you want to move up in the company. Tell them you want to learn the operations from the ground up. Everyone is looking for a bargain! The only thing they might worry about is you leaving them, so say something about investing your time for growth. Look at other opportunities. You might work at a start-up as a free intern and help grow the company. Tommy Hilfiger’s first 5 employees’ are all millionaires. If you have years of experience, mentor a young designer or new store owner. Together you might grow a partnership. 3. Be ready for business. Take down any compromising Facebook photos of your spring break. Open and use a LinkedIn account. Give yourself a title in the area you are looking for a job in. Don’t list your hobby as a title since you are not working. For instance, don’t call yourself a Dancer and expect to get a job as a Designer. Your title is Creative Director but you want a job in sales? Try Marketing and Development Director. Another thing, don’t use made up words or titles like Fashionista and don’t call yourself freelance anything or consultant unless you are really starting a consultant business. It’s also a good idea to have a couple of different resumes. Not that you are going to be making stuff up but you want to be able to match your skills and experience to the job that is open. Last word of advice- invest in a nice business card! Not the free one’s from Vista print with the generic clip art. Latest News 2011-11-14T15:42:00+00:00 /blog/top-10-rules-for-working-a-tradeshow/ /blog/top-10-rules-for-working-a-tradeshow/#When:19:19:00Z Photo: (CC) Phillip Jeffrey Designers that are showing You are the first man in and the last man out each day at the show. Do not eat, sleep or play angry birds while in the booth. It’s not always about making a sale, it’s about networking. Use the buyers to give you feedback on the collection. Don’t be defensive and look busy at all times. Retailers and Buyers Walk the whole show. It’s our job to find that hidden gem that isn’t in the right section. Make it a goal to visit 10 new brands. Look the part. Yes your feet will hurt but we are in the FASHION industry. You are not on vacation. Get an early start and pace yourself. Educate yourself by taking a workshop. Network with other retailers and develop “market buddies”. Latest News 2011-08-11T19:19:00+00:00 /blog/my-save-the-garment-center-manifesto/ /blog/my-save-the-garment-center-manifesto/#When:15:45:00Z “We'd rather starve quick than starve slow." That was the war cry of the union organizers back in 1926. Well we are starving slow. As far as I can tell we have been starving for the past twenty years. I recently went to a Board 5 meeting about the garment center and three good points were made for why our beloved garment center was shrinking and in turn dying. 1. The rents are crazy expensive and the ROI for manufacturing just wasn't there. 2. Cost of production overseas just can't be beat. 3. The garment center wasn't sexy. More on that later... Let’s address current consumer perception. Zara has proven (read they are profitable) that speed to market is the key to having fashion turnover and catching the attention of the consumer. Fast fashion/ wear now are key words in today's retailing. That slow boat from China- No kidding the 4 weeks of transit time from Asia is more than the average turnover at a fast fashion retailer. You can't sell what you don't have. Buying aggressively deep into one over produced "best seller" is "out" with the consumer. Words like limited, crafted and FASHION is what they want. You will never get that from an Asian factory. Price is what you get and price is not always the most important factor. We did a small, very unscientific study. The consumers we reached out to listed what was important to them when buying clothing. 1. Fashion, fit, color 2. Made ethically 3. Had a message or story they believed in 4. Price I attended a workshop on manufacturing in China and one of the most interesting comments shared was, the new Chinese middle class didn't like Chinese product. I see a reversal of trade happening soon. I also see market share for American made clothing in Europe and in Latin America. And we are not talking about cheap clothing I'm talking about contemporary price points. As more retailers demand clean inventories and designers are cutting back on risk, cut to order production is king! These facts establish that there is, and will continue to grow, a demand for American made product. Here is a list of what I think local, state and federal government should do to help. I should note I am the first to hate government handouts but when they are giving money to other countries to develop their factories, (Google it) we should come first. Plus this would be a direct ROI for the city and country. Fashion is the biggest business next to finance in New York City. Improvements: Let’s give Grant money for equipment and education to current profitable factories. I have been to third world countries without any indoor plumbing that have state of the art equipment in their factories. I specify profitable factories because if they can stay open under these current conditions they will surely be incredibly successful. Zoning to keep factories local I know we live in a capitalist country. I am all about the money even when it’s not about the money. Instead of giving tax rebates and abatements including section 8 housing, give it to the industry. Help with the cost of the rents and maybe down the line we won’t have the need to "bribe", for lack of a better word, developers with tax incentives. Jobs would lessen the need for section 8 since there would be more better paying jobs. Side note: I hate when people say these are unskilled laborer jobs. So not fair, I can't sew a button without hurting myself. These jobs take years of training and experience. Promote tourism in the garment center factories that are given "the grants" and require that they have their doors open. Factory owners please don't send me hate mail...we would work around your needs. Ever been to wine country? How about to a brewery? It's the same idea...let's give backstage tours of what we do and how we do it! Provide retail space for young designers (tourism) And just like every good tour you must exist through the gift shop. Having been on a cheese factory tour, I came home with 20 pounds of smelly cheese from Italy. It was more fun than it sounds. Think of the local jaded New Yorkers who would love to shop for the next hot new designer. Build a fashion history and garment center museum with revolving collections sponsored by all of our fashion schools. We could show documentaries, rent the space to premiere movies that are fashion related or host small fashion shows for the up and coming. It could definitely run at a profit. What I would really love is a space for the industry veterans. They could tell their stories "I remember when million dollar orders were written on the back of cocktail napkins" and they could mentor young designers. As a buyer I would like REAL market weeks. I never understood why having a showroom, the vendor still feels like they have to go to the Javits center to do a tradeshow? The answer is that the garment center is not easy to navigate. I remember when 1400 Broadway was JUST dresses, now I sound like an old timer. Let's really put together a market...that means staying open longer and on weekends! Let's get everyone together, the hotels, the restaurants, and let's offer discounts on everything we can. We need to get the boutique buyer back in the garment center. Let's face it, it is the boutique that is going to keep the industry fresh and alive- they’re the best advocate of the young designer. This is not just the responsibility of one industry. Music, art, film… we all work together on projects, we should work together in business. Business will never go back to usual. It just doesn't work that way in our world but it will come full circle. Convenience, speed to market, and cut to order is the new China and that's where opportunities lie. Faithfully, Mercedes 2011-03-30T15:45:00+00:00 /blog/think-big/ /blog/think-big/#When:18:52:00Z Photo: Evan Brennan It seems we have a not-so-new crisis with independent retailers. That crisis is thinking small. Years of teaching my Retail 101 class and my Fashion 101 class I see a stark difference between the two. So many times when I go around the class asking the designers what their dreams are I get...I am the next Sean John or the next DVF or the next Versace, yet when I ask the retailers what their plans are I get ... I want to open a small boutique...I want to start a little store...I think I will pass out if someone ever says to me "I want to be the next Wal-Mart." Well, maybe not pass out but surely do a happy dance. So why the big difference in thought pattern? I think the common denominators are being able to be creative, our parents and fear. I have found that creative minds have the ability to dream, to visualize to color outside the lines. I feel that too many business types forget to use their imagination. They spend weeks reviewing numbers but never envisioning the project. When you are so near sighted it's impossible to see the big picture. Taking the time to dream...to day dream is not a luxury it's a necessity. My husband works in environmental remediation, heavy life or death type of work. His company operations depend on scientific, analytical minds, but for the company to grow as a business they needed someone to see the big picture- to envision the future and to plan that road map. The title they came up with is strategical visionary. I love it! I also love Simon Doonan's new title creative ambassador-at-large, at Barneys new York. The other obstacle in our way is our upbringing. We are told to do well in school - work hard on the 40/40 plan (40 hours a week for 40 years) and then die... I mean retire. It a good plan for most people...but not for us! I met a woman who was a entrepreneur development coach in Nebraska. She was working on a high school program to teach kids how to think like one. She told me she wished that she could start the program in grade school since the "entrepreneurial" sprit had already been beat out of the children by the time they got to high school. Think about what we teach our children....follow the rules...its not if you win or lose...play fair...don't boss your sister & brother around (ok that last one might of been specific to just me) but you get the idea. Parents that weren't business owners, I should say. Successful business owners tend to discourage the entrepreneur. "Your going to leave your 'good job' to start what?" is the feedback most of my clients get from home. Being afraid of failing is another reason for the small thinking. And really that becomes a matter of ego. We don't want to look stupid or bad in front of our friends or family. Without dragging this blog too much longer...there are safety nets you want to put in place but if we take a look back at all of our greatest business persons, inventors even artists they have all failed and some have even been homeless....but their determination helped them overcome. This might be a weird example...Madonna and Britney Spears. Did you ever think that Britney Spears would fall victim to media criticism- shave her hair and have a break down? No....when you have to crawl your way up in the belly of the seediest New York City clubs, far from home and broke, you find away to build a tough skin, pick yourself up, change, grow, move on and start over. When you are a product of a Hollywood lab...you never learn from experience. Think of Babe Ruth...the home run king, he was also known for the most strike outs. You just have to take a swing, or you will never know if you have a home run or strike out. Now I would like to quote my favorite movie Wall Street, the scene is driving down 5th ave, Gecko is speaking to the young and naive junior stock broker. He turns and says to him "You see that building? I bought that building ten years ago. My first real estate deal. Sold it two years later, made an $800,000 profit. At the time I thought that was all the money in the world. Now it's a day's pay. You will never be a player because you can't think like one. You want to fly first class and I own the plane”. So now you have the permission you thought you didn't have to think big. 2011-02-12T18:52:00+00:00 /blog/selling-to-a-life-cycle/ /blog/selling-to-a-life-cycle/#When:20:32:00Z In the retail industry, we talk a lot about up-selling, or adding UPTs (units per transactions), but an organic, creditable way of up-selling is selling to a life cycle. Life Cycle: A methodology that identifies the environmental impacts associated with the life cycle of a material or product in a specific application. Or to put it in retail words...selling to someone that hasn’t had an experience. For example, selling to a first time mom who hasn’t lived through the experience of bringing home a baby. You as the retailer and credible expert should guide the way, demonstrating what she will need and why. Now, a life cycle doesn’t have to be such a major event as having a child. It could be something as simple as going on vacation. I’ll share with you a personal story. A few years ago I was doing a lot of work in Venezuela, traveling about once a month. One of the things I wanted to do was visit Angel Falls, the world’s highest waterfall. So I made plans to stay a few extra days on my next visit. One thing I was sure I needed was a good pair of hiking boots. In NYC we have an excellent outdoor sporting goods store that is known for having all types of gear, so off I went. I was greeted in the shoe department by a very nice (and young) fellow, but right away I was put off a little that this “kid” didn’t know anything. After telling him that I was looking for a pair of hiking boots, he went on to show me all the different styles that they had in ladies but also told me that a small men’s size would work depending on what I needed them for. Next, he asked me where I was going to be hiking and my level of experience. I told him about my plans and before I even finished my sentence he had called over Joe (the names have been changed to protect the excellent sales people). Seems Joe had been on the same trip a few months ago. He pulled out photos, talked about the local food, the dos and don’ts of the trip and gave me a little insider information. $2000 later they had sold me on a ton of stuff I didn’t know I needed. But since they were the credible experts, who had been on this adventure, whatever they told me I needed I bought - industrial strength bug spray, socks that repel water, special water thermos that cleans the water before you drink it, my own portable hammock since I don’t know who has slept on the public ones and they weren’t known for their cleanliness, special hiking pants that stay cool and zip off to become shorts, a crushable hat, walking stick, water proof light weight jacket, small first aid kit, toilet kit (yes it’s what you think it is complete with TP paper) flash light and cap light, not only hiking boots but also aqua shoes and, of course, a back pack to carry it all. I walked out of the store….spending more than I wanted, maybe more than I could afford but feeling like Indiana Jones. They had up-sold me in a customer service friendly way. I had never been on this type of vacation and I relied on their expertise. Now, let me describe what my guide for the next two days and one night was wearing. A pair of rubber flip flops and nylon shorts. That’s it! Of course he grew up on the mountain (that’s me trying to make myself feel better). There was an American couple and a German group of friends who all had camping gear, but of course not as “high Tec” as mine, which did make me feel a little bit “cool”. Two hours into the hike I started looking for things I could dump. The heat and the fact that I really don’t hike made the weight on my back feel 10 times more heavy than it was. I was very glad I had my own hammock, but I left it behind for the next person to use- one less thing to carry. While I was extremely happy over all with all my gear, next time I know (from experience) what I can leave behind. I got back to New York and found a note from the boys at the store, “please stop by and let us know how your trip went….bring us photos”. Of course I wanted to show off my pictures. The guide had told us of a legend that if you are afraid while taking your pictures (trust me it’s scary to hang from the side of the mountain that doesn’t have hand rails like you would find in the US trails, but good thing I had my walking stick for balance) all your photos would come out blurry or not at all. My pictures came out perfect. Back at the shop the “kids” took their time asking me about the trip and how the gear worked out, even making notes on the conditions during that time of the year. I felt good telling my story, and somehow I was now part of some type of club. They created (once again) an emotion that is important in selling. I did mention that I thought I had too much gear and it was too heavy for me to carry. I felt I was out of shape for such a long hike. Then Joe smiled and suggested I stay in shape (note he didn’t agree that I was OUT OF SHAPE) by bike riding. Seems Joe is from the biking department. Needless to say that $1000 later I had a bike which I was going to ride every morning before work or even better yet….ride to work, a new matching helmet, special water bottle holder and a lock. It is NYC after all. I have taken that bike out a total of two times counting when I rode it home and once when Joe invited me to go for a ride called critical mass, which is a large bicycling group that gets together at night to bring attention to the importance of bike riding. Of course I needed to go in and get a nightlight and flashing blinkers and, since I wasn’t used to riding at night, a reflective vest wouldn’t be a bad idea. Total $200 bucks. I would like to add at this point of the story that I am not gullible or an easy sell… usually that is. 2011-01-07T20:32:00+00:00 /blog/crazy-psycho-bitch-how-to-protect-yourself-from-shady-suppliers/ /blog/crazy-psycho-bitch-how-to-protect-yourself-from-shady-suppliers/#When:05:49:00Z One of the most important lessons I learned about being a buyer, I learned when I was 14 years old packing boxes at my uncle's warehouse—yes my uncle was into hard child labor. I remember packing a box of old lady, polyester dresses for a store in Florida. I had run out of a style and the company policy was to just substitute the style for another style (this is a very common warehouse practice). For some unknown reason, that day I decided to call my uncle in the showroom and ask him if it was ok to do the sub. After a second of silence he yelled into the phone, “Child do you have your head up your (censored)? You know what the company policy is! Do I have to baby sit you?” Slam…ok, I got it. So I started to pull another style from the rack that had the same colors but different print, when the phone rang… “Whose box are you packing?” I’ll never forget, it was Tammy from Tampa. “Jesus that woman is a complete crazy psycho bitch, pull the style from another store and pack her shit right”. Ok, in case you didn’t get it my uncle was not your huggy, lovey-dovey type of guy. So I had to unpack another store’s box….pull the style out and pack Tammy’s shipment correctly. I’ll phrase it a different way. I unpacked another box that was packed and ready to go—tape, postage and everything. That day I understood, it’s not about being liked it’s about fear and respect. Years later when I started working with boutique store owners, they all had a common complaint about the same typical nonsense; short ships, subs, canceled orders & styles. They all thought it was a normal part of doing business. Each time I asked them, “Well how did you handle it?” And I got the same answer, “Well I tried to call/return/complain about it but I got no where.” Do you know why they got know where? Because they were nice! You are not in business to win a popularity contest. You don’t need the vendors to be your friends; you need them to respect your business. Being “nice” is not always the way to get what you want and need. You have rights as buyers to demand what you paid for and what you bought. How do you protect yourself? It starts with the paper trail. 1. Write your own orders on your own paper. 2. If you want goods shipped as a set or in groups, say so on your orders. Limit the amount of shipments they can do on the order. 3. Did you get a special deal, gift with purchase or free freight? Write the note on your order. I can’t tell you how rampant amnesia is in our industry. 4.Cancel and start dates? Yes you need to write one; “as ready” is NOT a start date…and cancel dates should never be more than 30 days from the start date. 5.Take photos of everything that you buy. Trust me this is the best way to insure what you bought is what you get. 6. Write a detailed description. “Top” is not a clear description. 7. Make sure you unpack and try on everything as soon as you get them in. You only have 5 days to make a claim. 8. Make any claims in writing (email or fax works) and follow up with a phone call. If they don’t answer you, start charging them a fee and write that if they don’t answer you in 15 days you are going to donate the goods to charity and charge them back the full amount plus freight. Yes, you can get away with this by calling your credit card company and reversing the charges. Is the vendor going to get mad at you? Absolutely! Remember you are the one that should be mad, you bought and paid for the goods in good faith, they are they ones that are cheating you! Be demanding and outrageous, the idea is that they remember you are not going to take their BS. Having said all of this, I must also clarify that it is important to be fair and professional. Building strong relationships with your vendors is key, but keep in mind this is business, and they are not your friends. 2010-05-11T05:49:00+00:00 /blog/10-ways-for-retailers-to-stay-active-and-plan-ahead/ /blog/10-ways-for-retailers-to-stay-active-and-plan-ahead/#When:17:22:00Z Photo: Ed Yourdon If there was a retail rabbit he would have come out of his hole…taken a look around…realized that “baby its cold out there” and told us that the next 6 weeks are going to be slow in sales. This is normal! The first two weeks in January can be and usually are good for most retailers. The consumer has Christmas money (gift cards were again the number 1 gift item) and they haven’t yet received their credit card bills. But they are BARGAIN hunting so unless you are at LEAST 50% off they are not stopping in. We have also found that if you have a touch of spring in (some call it resort) you will pick up a few full price sales and have the chance to test Spring/Sumer trends. So what to do during this “off” time? 1. Clean out the old inventory! Do not pack it and save it for next year. Mark down and kill it. This is your chance to clean up shop and build cash flow for the next season. 2. Take inventory. Since your inventory is at a low this is the perfect time to take stock. 3. Take a good hard look at what makes money and what doesn’t. Do not keep repeating mistakes because the sales rep is so nice. If you have a vendor that is not profitable, kill them. It doesn’t matter what it took to get them in your store. 4. Clean and I mean CLEAN every tiny corner, nook and cranny. 5. Update the look of the store with some fresh paint. I like to paint the back focus wall the color of the season. 6. Move fixtures around, keeping in mind traffic flow and dead spots. 7. Review your overhead. Look at cell phone services, freight bills…this is a business of nickel and dimes. It’s important to keep that overhead from creeping up. Keep in mind that Wal-mart does everything 30% cheaper (read more efficient) than Target. That’s the bottom line. 8. Play games with the staff. See who is the first person to make the sale of the day? Play pass the $20—the person that makes a sale gets to hold onto the $20 until another person makes a sale. The person to make the last sale of the day keeps the $20. Or have a contest for most units sold to one person (UPT). 9. Plan your buys. You can’t sell from an empty cart. Look for new brands, bodies and adjust your price points. 10.Most important relax Spring is just around the corner! Latest News 2010-01-15T17:22:00+00:00 /blog/ugly-sells/ /blog/ugly-sells/#When:05:20:00Z It’s almost the end of the year; really it’s almost the end of another decade, the first of this new millennium. Taking a moment to look back and reflect…I’m trying to figure out what this decade will be known for? What was the fashion statement? I can sum up this decade in one word….UGLY. Ugly is what sold! Need proof….I’ll name you 3 of the best selling items of the decade: Uggs (even the name is ugly), Crocs, and my favorite, the Snuggie. You know it….the blanket with the arms. Need I say more? Now we have to understand why these have been good sellers….I should really say great sellers. The one thing they all have in common is they give us comfort. This decade, if for nothing else will be known as a decade of crisis. It started with Y2K (I still have ramen noodles I was hording at my country house), then came the attacks on 9/11 followed by the war in Iraq, SARS, Anthrax, (remember when you didn’t want to touch your mail?), the Tsunami in Indonesia, Hurricane Katrina, Immigration Issues, Global Recession, Mortgage collapse, Ed Hardy, Gas Crisis, Auto company failures, the earthquake in China, Swine Flu, the death of Michael Jackson (that one might be personal) and rounding out the year with record high unemployment rates. Other decades have had their share of problems…in fact as far as I can remember every decade had its hiccups. The 1980’s had the junk bonds, 1990’s had the dotcoms and 2000’s it was the mortgage and housing bubble. But you know what; we have always pushed through and made it. The trick is to find opportunity in these moments. The Chinese symbol/word for chaos also means opportunity. People that invested in car parts and automotive shops are making a killing since few people are buying new cars, and instead are fixing their old ones. Investors that bought apt buildings are making a killing on rent since people are losing their homes and moving into apts. Even storage places are making a huge profit during these times. Let’s talk about retail…this was also a decade of BIG! Please see my blog Open letter to the Fashion Industry. We didn’t need so many of the same type of retailers all doing a bad job…..and certainly we didn’t need another high-end ego driven contemporary boutique that someone opened because her friends told her she was a good dresser…. Yikes remember the 7 month ego trip of the retailer Kira Plastinia…just ‘cause Paris Hilton is your friend and you have a rich daddy, this does not make you a retailer! National chains and department stores have become the “Rip Van Winkle” of the industry; they fell asleep and have yet to wake up. “Fast Fashion”- “Wear Now” is here to stay! We are living in Darwinism times. If you don’t evolve and change/grow/adapt to the new consumer you will be extinct. Just think Barney’s was a men’s discount store back in the day, Gap sold Levi jeans and sweat shirts. Change is part of business. It’s time to put on our big boy and girl pants and build on those niches. Be fearless, take on the opportunity and capitalize on it. The moment of the future retailer is here…imagination, technology, innovation, and design are the mantra of the future merchant. I plan on opening at least 2 new stores of my own this year….the rents, locations and advertising (social media) are just too cheap and available to sit by and not take advantage of it. And keep in mind if ugly sells ugly is what we will continue to buy. You can’t not change the way people think…you cannot “educate them” you are not “encouraging them”, you cannot “judge them”. Your personal taste and likes have nothing to do with what people will buy. I remember a store owner in the Midwest that wanted to “teach” the young men in the area how to dress New York City style….his reasoning was that every one liked the way he dressed (he went to college in NYC) and since all the young men dressed like “slobs” he would open a shop to sell to them. That lasted 8 months… Personally I joke if I buy one more tattoo print tee I will commit “seppuku”, but guess what I just placed an order for 100 units. It’s about capitalizing on trend. You are merchants; you should not care if you sell peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or high-end designer goods. …then you can then take your money and buy what you like for yourself…laughing all the way to the bank. 2009-12-09T05:20:00+00:00 /blog/interview-with-fashion-insider-tv/ /blog/interview-with-fashion-insider-tv/#When:20:08:00Z I know I’ve talked your ear off about it, and sent emails on it, but here is the proof of how much GPC loves Brazil fashion! Watch my interview with Fashion Insider TV for their FI Special Report on the Minas Trends Fair, which took place from April to May 2009 in Bel Horizonte. Enjoy! Watch interview here 2009-10-03T20:08:00+00:00