Lots of excitement here at the California Market Center, or as I will never stop referring to it – the Mart. For those of you looking to find new suppliers or just check out the latest trends in textiles, don’t miss the Los Angeles International Textile Show . And, for all of you technology fans, or those looking for hardware, machinery, software and all the latest gadgets you won’t want to miss Material World. Let’s hope for a big turnout this year. It’s great to be able to pull all of these activities into one great space.

While you’re here, come up to the FBI office – Suite 786 and say hello to our great team. Stick around for great seminars. Seriously, people, FREE SEMINARS for FBI Members and only $10 per seminar for non-members on all types of relevant topics. I’m presenting a seminar on the Importance of Networking Wednesday night. Even if you know how to network with the best of them, it will be a great opportunity to meet new and interesting people and maybe learn a thing or two.

FBI SEMINARS:
 

Wednesday Sept. 30Understanding Apparel Principles Using Software Applications

9:00am - 10:00am

EDI Made Simple; De-mystifying EDI & RFID
10:00 am - 11:30amQuickBooks for the Apparel Industry

12:00pm - 1:00pmRetailing Online

2:00pm - 3:00pmHong Kong Trade and Development Presents:  Export to China - (Hong Kong) World Boutique - Jan. 2010)

4:00pm - 5:00pmThe Importance of Networking!

6:30pm - 8:30pm 

9:00am - 10:00am
De-mystifying the Small Business Loan Application

11:30am - 12:30pmChoosing a Factor

1:00pm - 2:00pm

Friday Oct. 2Starting Your Own Apparel Business
10:00am - 11:00am Realities of the Investment World
11:30am - 12:30pmBrothers Digital Garment Printer Training
1:00pm -2:00pmIllustrator and Photoshop for Textile Designers
2:30pm - 3:30pmWhere & When

110 East 9th St., Ste C786
Los Angeles, California 90079
213.892.1669

When I say “Job Creation” I’m referring to new jobs or positions created in our industry, not the act of filling an existing position. For example, several years ago, it became a necessity for many companies to have an on-line presence. Whether it was a web site devoted to the company or brand or an actual on-line marketplace would be determined later. What most companies lacked was an existing employee with the knowledge and skills to create and maintain a website. There were a rash of jobs created specifically to support websites and ecommerce positions. Now these jobs exist or are outsourced at most apparel manufacturers. So I’m wondering what the next set of necessary jobs skills will be.

Many companies have moved away from internal or domestic production in favor of outsourced or full-package production. With the economy the way it’s been, retailers demanding lower stock levels and quick turnaround, are we headed back to a domestic cut and sew production model? If so, we’ll need to be able to ramp up domestic production. Sewing and cutting contractors, dye houses, trim and fabric suppliers may start filling long empty spaces in and around downtown. Production managers and assistants would be required to manage cut and sew operations. Marking, grading and patternmaking skills would be in demand. Wouldn’t that be nice? Instead of losing more jobs to off-shore manufacturing, we’d start creating new jobs to be able to support the retailers’ need for speed-to-market.

FBI is working hard to help create new jobs in the apparel, footwear and fashion industries in general. Specifically, we work with new and existing companies to help them grow by providing the resources and training they need to survive and thrive. Where else in Los Angeles or San Francisco can a designer with a great idea for a new product go to get help finding a qualified contractor, a respected accountant or business advice to create a profitable company? Where else can a business go to find seminars, classes, even certification programs on industry specific software and skills? I can’t think of any other place than the FBI. And yet, most fashion companies aren’t aware of the benefits of an FBI membership. At a starting price of just $200 per year it’s the best investment a company can make.

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

Fashion Business, Inc. is asking for your input to help us conduct a study of the apparel, footwear, textile and accessory industries. Specifically, how the recession has affected job opportunities within these industries over the past 12 months.

We’d like to know a few things about your business. This study is anonymous – any information you include about your business will be kept confidential and only used for data gathering purposes. We will be happy to provide you with the results of the study, should you so desire. Please indicate this on your response, along with your email address.

1: What is your sales volume today (in dollars)?

2: Over the past 12 months what percentage of your sales volume has increased or decreased?

3: In the past 12 months, have you had any layoffs or reductions in staff? If so, how many people or percentage of your work force.

4: In the past 12 months, have you hired staff for any existing positions?

5: In the past 12 months, have you hired staff for any newly created positions?

Thank you very much for your time today. Your help is greatly appreciated.

Jill Mazur

Independent Apparel and Business Consultant

Email: jill@fashionbizinc.org

There’s a great article in September’s edition of Vogue entitled “What Price Fashion” by Teri Agins. Sorry, no hyperlink available. In summary, the recession has caused some of today’s biggest designers to get even MORE creative in the way they develop styles and bring products to market. The article goes on to discuss how designer Philip Lim merchandises and designs his line simultaneously. He only produces enough product to fill his orders and even then, only about 50% of his line consists of new styles. “Of the 240 pieces he created for Fall 2009, he wound up manufacturing them all – a perfect batting average…” How many of us can say the same?

What is it about Philip Lim’s process that would allow such a fantastic feat to happen? Produce ALL the styles he designed and ONLY enough to fill his orders? Think about how little waste that is. No excess inventory? No excessive sampling? No excessive design or merchandising staff? He knows what we all need to remember, too many samples or iterations of samples and too much production eat away at the precious bottom line.

As I was reading this article, I kept thinking “I wonder if he’s using a PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) system, and if so – which one?” I’m sure that was the first thought that crossed you mind, as well. Why does PLM cross my mind while reading Vogue? Well, precisely for this reason – how do you improve the creative process? How do you streamline product development? How do you save money when developing design samples? How do you track or calendar the important events and due dates in the design, merchandising and sales process? How do you create the best possible presentation of styles or samples to your buyers with the least amount of stress? How do you know which vendor to partner with when developing new styles? Even more important, how do you track the actual cost of developing new styles and samples?

If you’re not using a PLM system, you may want to think long and hard about making this investment in your business. Let me say first, PLM is not for every company, especially small businesses or businesses with very few new styles per season. However, as your business and/or product line grows you need to incorporate tools to allow your company and capacity to grow as well. Using collaborative PLM tools to track costs, due dates, product development and more, in one place, helps keep your business on track. The benefits of PLM are innumerable: increased speed to market, decreased product development costs, collaborative planning and workflow tools, visibility to the design, patternmaking, sampling and merchandising process and more.

These days, consumers are willing to spend on luxury items if they are of true quality and value. Are manufacturers willing to spend on software if it is of true quality and value to their business? 

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

I’d rather use a “Top Chef” analogy here, rather than “Project Runway” but it doesn’t feel appropriate for this blog. Truth be told, there is no specific recipe for success in the world of fashion. Seems like some people have it and other, equally talented people don’t. Elusive, isn’t it? I was watching “Project Runway” this week as the contestants designed styles inspired by the California surf scene. Aside from the fact that only one team used Neoprene© in their design, I don’t think you’d want to go anywhere near the water in the rest of those styles. But I digress. The team with the best designs of the show won AND lost. They came up with two great designs – one of them was the one with Neoprene©. Turns out, however, that trying to get two ego driven designers to divide design, draping, sewing and fitting tasks doesn’t always work so well. One team member (Ra’mon) did the bulk of the design, sewing and other tasks while the other team member (Mitchell) seemed to crack a lot of jokes about getting kicked off the show. Sure enough, the team won the best design, Ra’mon won the contest and Mitchell was dismissed from the show with a fairly curt “Auf Wiedersehen.”

So getting back to a recipe for success, how do you assemble the right team for a fashion business? Let’s say you make enough samples to take to a show or at least around to some potential customers or showrooms. Let’s say you start taking orders for your products. Now what? Do you have the money or financing to purchase raw materials, cut, sew and fulfill your orders? Where do you find trustworthy contractors or vendors who will do justice to your designs? How do you ensure you’re shipping to credit-worthy customers? How will you begin to collect on your receivables? How do you know what needs to be done to keep your business moving forward and hopefully growing? Well, that’s what Fashion Business, Incorporated is all about. FBI has the tools and resources to take your business to the next level.

Most companies start with one or two people – hopefully one person has a knack for design, the other has a knack for business and/or sales. The two of you scramble around for months (or in the case of “Project Runway” two days) trying to produce wearable, saleable designs. Let’s hope there’s a natural division of labor within the business (on the “Project Runway” team the division of labor looked to be about 90/10). As the business grows, start adding part-time or full-time employees to fill in the blanks – order entry, shipping, inventory, bookkeeping, production, etc. But how do you make those important business decisions? Like when to start adding? Or how to start growing? Tim Gunn isn’t going to magically appear in your workroom to dispense sage advice. The seminars and workshops at FBI are designed to help you fill in the blanks – business knowledge, technical skills, design, sales and marketing and my favorite, using software to improve your business processes. No, I’m not kidding – I teach one of those seminars.

The business resources you get with your FBI membership are as valuable as the seminars and workshops. Where else do you meet many of the industry’s leaders? Accountants, bankers, factors, lawyers, industry consultants, heads of contractors and textile associations of Los Angeles? How else can you network and make the right connections to move your business to the next level? Come to FBI’s next networking event and meet our team of experts. You’ll be glad you did.

Some people have it and some people don’t. The lesson I took away from last night’s show is that you need to choose carefully when assembling a business team. How better to do that than by joining FBI and availing yourself of our seminars, workshops and experts? The recipe for success? Knowing how and when to ask for help.

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