I recently read a blog on the New York Times website by A. G. Sulzberger about the shrinking of NYC’s famed garment district. Between rising rents, the economic downturn and the lower cost of goods from foreign suppliers, many long time manufacturers, contractors and suppliers can no longer afford to operate in New York City. Even factories and suppliers to high end, couture labels are finding themselves forced out of their spaces by landlords looking for higher paying tenants.

Could that happen in L. A.? You bet. Take one look around the area near the California Mart, New Mart and Cooper Buildings. Remember the old showrooms and buying offices in the Eastern Building? It now consists of high priced, loft style condos. Other buildings have already headed the same way. Great for the revitalization of downtown L. A., not so good for the many long term tenants of these former, apparel industry related buildings.

And yet, lots of new creative spaces have begun popping up. Many of the new work/live lofts contain retail, design and showroom spaces. Contractors can still be found sewing moderate priced garments; textile and trim suppliers are still thankfully located nearby. Many landlords of the garment district buildings provide financial contributions to support the L. A. Fashion District and have a vested interest in keeping the area a vibrant, creative and economic hub. Back in 1996, the L. A. Fashion District became the first Business Improvement District (BID) in the city. Funded by property owners within the 94 block (yes, 94 blocks!) fashion district, the mission is to maintain a “clean, safe and friendly place to work, shop, do business and live through maintenance, security and marketing programs.” So far, so good. But more needs to be done by the city of Los Angeles and state of California to keep apparel related jobs in the area – even in these economic times.

Could the downturn in L. A.’s real estate market be the boon apparel manufacturers need to stay in Los Angeles? Hopefully. By keeping rents affordable and encouraging contractors, suppliers, manufacturers and showrooms to remain in, or move to the L. A. Fashion District it will go a long way to keep Los Angeles’ second largest industry from shrinking, taking with it the jobs and revenues it provides. Let us learn a lesson from New York’s garment district before it’s too late. Maybe they can learn a lesson from L. A. as well.

Jill Mazur is an independent apparel business and technology consultant working with Fashion Business, Incorporated. Email: jill@fashionbizinc.org

I was very excited to see two of my favorite trade shows happening at the same time in the same location. It’s a great opportunity to see a lot of familiar faces and companies as well as new businesses, products and service providers. For those of you who are new to the industry, there’s no better way to see so much product and make so many connections. For those of you who are veterans, what better way to get some fresh ideas? Registration is free.

The fashionista in me is excited to attend the L. A. International Textile Show to see the latest trends in colors, prints, fabrics, trims and more. The techie side of me is excited about Material World and seeing the latest cutting edge (pun intended) technology, hardware, software and equipment. Much like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, these are two great shows that work well together. September 30 – October 2 at the Mart. I’d better put a lunch order in now at New Moon.

FBI will be putting on a number of topical seminars to coincide with the L. A. Textile and Material World shows. A finalized list of seminars will be published in the next week or so. If you haven’t been by to see our new space at the Mart C786, please drop in and say “hello” and see what we’ve been up to the last few months.

There’s so much going on in such a short amount of time, be sure to plan ahead for all three days. You may have just enough time to see everything and everyone you need to see. There’s just enough time to catch your breath before GlobalTex at the L. A. Convention Center October 13 – 15!

Jill Mazur is an independent apparel business and technology consultant working with Fashion Business, Incorporated.  Email:  jill@fashionbizinc.org

Simply put, Viral marketing is a way to utilize existing social networks – mainly online or by word of mouth – to generate buzz for a business, product, person, event, etc. Using video clips, text messages, blogs, images, games, promotional items and more, the goal of viral marketing is to reach a targeted market of consumers without having to spend money on standard marketing or advertising campaigns. Seems like a good idea, right? Maybe. It really depends on your customer and target audience.

Viral marketing can be very successful when launching a new product or brand to a carefully targeted audience. Introducing a new energy drink? Hip, trendy nightclubs may be a great place to promote it. Saw a celebrity wearing your design at last week’s movie premiere or awards show? Tweet, blog, post it on Facebook and email all of your clients and contacts a link to the video or image and tell them where to buy the product. Sometimes you’re the beneficiary of someone else’s viral campaign and the next thing you know, you’ve got a best-selling item on your hands.

I was talking to a colleague the other day about marketing her new product. She mentioned to me that she was thinking of spending her advertising budget to remodel her office instead of buying ads in trade publications and magazines. She was hoping to capitalize on viral marketing instead to maintain interest in her products and generate new customers. Problem is – her products are basic apparel items targeted to the 45 – 60 year old female demographic. Not necessarily the prime audience of a viral campaign. Her response to me was “Well, Oprah Tweets!” Yes, Oprah Winfrey “Tweets” and getting a product mentioned by Oprah is a fabulous example of viral marketing. But don’t hold your breath hoping Oprah will mention your product on her program, magazine or next Twitter post.

Take a page out of many retailers’ handbooks – spend your advertising dollars and energy wisely. If your customers expect to see your ads in traditional print media, keep placing your ads there and create an online presence to help increase your market share. Is your presence mostly online? Keep your website up to date and make sure your home and product pages look fresh and exciting. Launching a new brand or product line? Figure out whom to target first and how best to reach them. Just don’t expect your product to sell itself if you’re not out there selling to the right audience in the right place.

As for my colleague, she realized her customers probably didn’t know what Twitter was, let alone how to use it. If Oprah was Tweeting about her product, most of her target audience would miss out on Oprah’s wisdom. Her office remodel would have to wait. Her traditional advertising works for a reason, that’s where her customers find her products.

Jill Mazur is an independent apparel business and technology consultant working with Fashion Business, Incorporated. Email: jill@fashionbizinc.org

Results from a Recent Twitter User Survey:

Alex Cheng and Mark Evans of Sysomos Inc. created a survey on how much (or how little) Twitter is currently being utilized.  Before placing all of your viral marketing eggs in the Twitter basket, think about this - after analyzing information from 11.5 million Twitters accounts, they discovered:

• Just 5% of Twitter users account for 75% of all activity
• 85.3% of all Twitter users post less than one update per day
• 21% of users have never posted a Tweet
• 93.6% of users have less than 100 followers, while 92.4% follow less than 100 people

Read the full survey results on their blog.

What sets you apart from all of the other people out there searching for jobs?  Is it who you know?  Is it your winning personality?  Is it your past experience?  The answer is “Yes” to all of the above.  But you already knew that.  What else can you do to set yourself apart?  I’d say it’s “What You Know,” at least as far as it relates to software.  Yes, software.  “But I’m a DESIGNER!” Or “MERCHANDISER!” Or “SALES REP!” Or “Fill in the Blank.”  “What do I need to know about software?”  As much as you can.  A talented designer should always be able to sketch.  But can you scan the sketch into Adobe Illustrator© or a similar tool – add colorways, create an inspiration board or portfolio?  Merchandisers, can you create a line sheet or look book to knock a buyer’s socks off?   Sales reps, how are you analyzing your business these days?  Are you able to look up your customer’s information and create your own reports and queries from your manufacturing system or reporting tools or are you relying on some else to do the heavy lifting?  Skills like these that set you apart from your peers and open up new doors. 

These days it’s not enough to know basic Microsoft Office© tools like Outlook©, Word© and Excel©.  Keep adding to your repertoire.  It never hurts to list the software applications you’ve used on your resume.  Employers may have resume scanning software that looks for key words such as Illustrator©, PLM, Excel© or more, since those are the skills they require.  If you don’t have those skills listed, your resume might get passed over even though you’re highly qualified for the job. Think about the tools you currently (or previously) used at work.  Think about how you can improve your knowledge, and then do it.  Does your company offer system training or tuition re-imbursement? Are there classes you can take at night or on the weekends?  Is there a “Super user” in your department who’s willing to give you some extra training sessions during lunch?  Is your company installing a new software application?  Can you volunteer to work on the project?  Update your resume with your technical skills and don’t be surprised if more companies start showing interest in YOU.

Jill Mazur is an independent apparel business and technology consultant working with Fashion Business, Incorporated.  Email:  jill@fashionbizinc.org