Well, of course it does!  Especially if you were at the Neiman Marcus “Fashion Rules” event last week in Beverly Hills.  I’ll admit I’m not really a Neiman Marcus shopper.  My budget may allow for an occasion splurge at one of their very fine restaurants or bars, but that’s about it for me.  However, I have a great appreciation for the store, the merchandise and the value of the brand “Neiman Marcus.”  I was grateful to have the opportunity to attend the event and thoroughly enjoyed it.  The store was packed with NM’s loyal customers and a few curious onlookers (me included).  Events were staged throughout the store as well as food and beverage stations.  A makeshift runway was setup on the second level with models wearing the newest looks and accessories for summer.  There was a terrific display of NM’s photographer, Matthew Rolston’s, latest images and signed copies of his newly released coffee table book. 

My favorite part of the evening was Ken Downing’s presentation via video-conference, straight from the Paris runways.  The poor man was up at 4:30 a.m. in Europe to broadcast live to Beverly Hills with the latest, greatest trends for Fall, 2011.  No, I’m not going to reveal them here.  You’ll just have to wait and see, or better yet, subscribe to one of the Trend services available.

While walking around the store, I kept thinking about how well the Beverly Hills Neiman Marcus store is arranged and merchandised.  Aside from the fact that the merchandise is beautiful and of such great quality, there really is an art to creating a directional flow in a store and how the products are displayed.  The display cases, racks and shelves are never over crowded with product, allowing your eyes to take in the details of each item.  Nothing is crammed in or fighting for space. Yes, I realize they have multiple thousands of square feet to work with, but so do other department stores whose racks always seem to explode with product.  Boutiques are a different animal altogether, but the best ones follow the same principles.  Ever stopped by the Prada store in Beverly Hills?  The sleek, Rem Koolhaas designed store is an excellent statement in minimalism.  Each piece is given enough space to “speak for itself” and shines brightly among other jewels on Rodeo Drive. 

Don’t forget, FBI is doing a number of seminars next week at the Los Angeles International Textile show March 15 - 17 in the California Market Center.  Stop by our office at suite C786 for three days full of informative sessions as well as a mixer on Monday evening starting at 5:00 p.m.  Meet some of our great members, employees and contributors (including yours truly) and get to know us, if you don’t already. 

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

Let’s hope that what happens at MAGIC doesn’t just stay in Las Vegas. Let’s hope that the excitement, energy and dare I say it, enthusiasm I felt at last week’s MAGIC show is carried forward throughout the year. It was nice to see a lot of foot traffic, new faces, new brands and even orders being written. I know this isn’t a barometer for the economy, but it was encouraging none-the-less.

It’s a lot to see and do with all of the shows happening at the same time: POOLTradeshow, PROJECT, MAGIC, S. L. A. T. E., WWDMAGIC, STREET and more, it’s hard to keep track of everything and impossible to see everything unless you have a pair of rollerblades with you. I was excited to be a part of the SOURCING at MAGIC marketplace and seminars. FBI presented a number of seminars and panels on a variety of topics. Frances Harder and the FBI team presented seminars on “No Risk = No Sales: How to Plan, Merchandise and Brand your Product in a Global Market,” “Turning a Bad Economy Into a Profitable Business Opportunity” and “Retailing for Profit in a New Economy.” I’m not sure how Frances had any vocal chords left after four seminars, but she was still raring to go at the FBI cocktail event Wednesday night at the Hard Rock.

It’s exciting to be a part of these seminars. We met a lot of interesting people with great stories to tell and great products to bring to market. We even signed up a number of new members, excited to take advantage of a discounted FBI membership rate for the MAGIC seminars. I know how excited and eager people are when they have a great idea or design to develop and sell. The challenge becomes how to bring that product to market. MAGIC and all of the related tradeshows are a shining example of people and companies who were able to successfully launch their ideas and sell them to targeted consumers. FBI seminars, classes, consulting and training are all designed to support fashion businesses from inception to profitable multi-million dollar brands. I speak from personal experience when I say that it’s thrilling to see our members “fly the nest” and become the next great brand. It’s not without a lot of hard work and long hours, but by taking advantage of the FBI membership, our members benefit from our expertise, knowledge and know-how to help them navigate the pitfalls of this industry.

I’m looking forward to MAGIC in August, 2010. I hope to see more FBI members showing their lines and doing great business. I know if they take advantage of their memberships, they’ll be well on their way.

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

Speed to Market – Fast Turn – Rapid Response

What do these terms mean to the apparel industry in 2009? Good news and bad news!

New times = New methods of doing business = Rapid response to the demands of the retailer and consumer.

But, can the average apparel manufacturer respond rapidly? Well, for the small company who, due to their smaller orders are for the most part producing domestically it is good news. They can turn on a dime and produce faster than the larger companies who need a much longer lead time to produce their goods, usually in far off places. Smaller companies with small orders ship them to the retailer, then if the orders sell through they get reorders. This is the very best of new business news for new and smaller manufacturers. It is also good news for the retailer as they can plan for the demands of their customers, the weather, and the economy etc. This new type of selling and buying results in the manufacturer having a much better cash flow, as they will not be seeking funding for larger orders when selling through the traditional five seasons each year.

This tradition of selling at the four or five markets each year usually requires groups within each line that demands cash outlay for the expenses for patternmaking and sampling. Now, the manufacturer is constantly designing, which they really always have and then showing new products, and shipping weekly or monthly new merchandise. So now the manufacturer can get paid more often. They do not need to invest heavily in the five big lines a year as they are now producing and shipping new items to replenish sell through products. The retailer will also have less of a cash flow problem with this type of merchandise planning. The customer will see new items when ever they shop. A win win in a new economy! Well, we hope so.

So, it has at last been officially noted by many international economist that the small business owners are really the backbone of our economy, not only in the US but globally. The big branded companies are not fairing well and many have had to cut back or worse, close their doors. Small businesses can adjust and respond as they don’t have large overheads. For the most part they contract out all their work, including sewing, cutting, bookkeeping etc. and cut back on other expenses to respond to demands, or lack of demands of the economy.

Some for the negative results of this new economy is that bigger retailers are demanding, from branded manufacturers that they discount or allow markdown money. Additionally, major discount store, e.g. Marshals, TJ Maxx, Ross are producing more private label. This has resulted in much cheaper prices for the average clothing labels that are now being sold. The price of clothing today is the lowest we have seen in years. Due to the recession sewing factories around the world have all been forced to lay off workers. The ports in China and other locations are full of containers with cancelled orders. These goods may get discounted and sold or they will have to be destroyed.

However, much merchandise is still being produced domestically, especially in southern California where they produce premium denim, active sportswear and contemporary clothing. But sadly both the off shore and the domestic sewing contractors reluctantly have been forced to take cuts in their pricing so that they can keep their workers working. This rational is in the hopes that the economy will turn around and then the demand for new clothing will pick up. The alternative is to lay workers off and then when the economy turns around they will then need to reinvest time and money in finding good workers and training them.

Another change in business methods are that some of the higher end retailers are asking the smaller manufactures to sell on consignment and this is not a good idea. It was bad enough that traditionally the manufacturer has taken all the risks with development and production costs then have to wait to get paid. Now they are expected to take ALL the risk and maybe then get paid!

Talk about getting screwed!  - Consignment selling will be one of my next blog topics.

But, now onto a very different topic. It is the season to be merry! And I need to take a deep breath and keep my mouth shut when I see all those ugly heavy knitted sweaters decorated with Christmas trees adorned with lights and holly. Or, equally as offensive fashion trend, those cheaply mass produced red jackets lovely dragged out annually of the closets. Where, in my very opinionated opinion they should really remain for posterity. J

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES. I HAVE MUCH TO BE GRATEFUL FOR IN MY LIFE AND ALTHOUGH CLOTHING IS MY BUSINESS IT IS NOT MY LIFE.

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

What’s the Worst Thing About Twitter?…Was the first question on the topic posed by the moderator at a social media panel I attended earlier this week.

People tweeting about things like…” I just ate a taco,” the moderator laughed as did the audience full of PR and Media professionals who all knew exactly what she was talking about. We were on a mission looking for ways to use wildly popular mediums like Twitter for marketing purposes.

We want to Build our brands and Sell more goods.  Yes…we were shameless..and we did not care about other peoples tacos!

There is in fact, tweeting for business and tweeting for pleasure. In business you want to direct your tweets so although they may be fun and cutesy…they still work towards some particular goals.  Goals like… Building your brand, Aligning your company with special causes or simply communicating to your customers …It all goes back to the “Why” you’re actually taking the time to tweet..even if it is only 140 characters or less.

Besides Stella McCartney’s show above here are a few others that are using it well….

Designer Rachel Roy shares words of wisdom, style advice and forges a personal bond with her followers on her page.. http://twitter.com/rachel_roy

Designer Tory Burch gives her followers a sneak peek behind her stylish and fabulous life http://twitter.com/toryburch

Dior weaves together an intricate brand story on their twitter…filled with mystery, Parisian adventures and of course..handbags! http://twitter.com/Lady_Dior

Search Engine Optimization or your Google rankings strongly depend on the words you decide to use on your site.  For example if you are a retailer, you want to use the names of the products you sell in a text format as much as possible on your site.

Think about what your customers would search or “Google,” for in order to find a site like yours.  Those words will be your key words…. So attach a blog, sprinkle your key words in your descriptions, add page titles and ask your web designer to add meta tags with your key words to help you increase your world wide web exposure.

And remember….key words embedded in an image don’t count. Just a precaution….Search Engines hate SPAM.  Use natural sentences so you don’t jeopardize potentially good rankings because the search engine thinks you’re trying to out-smart it.

After you’ve spent months or even years slaving away on your new line you’re likely to just want to hand it off to a showroom to handle sales.

Well not so fast….

In this business as I’ve mentioned before, you don’t just go “get,” a sales rep….you partner with your sales rep(s).  And before you even get to that stage you need to be perfectly positioned acquire great sales representation that believes in your brand and in you.

Fashion Business Inc. now has a great new seminar where you can learn more about the sales rep/brand relationship,  merchandising, common commission rates, showroom/tradeshow participation and more….Directly from a showroom owner.

Join us at the FBI Resource Center, Tuesday December 8th from 4-6 pm.

Hosted by Showroom Owner:  Mirana Ojeda of Miriana Ojeda Showroom

Click Here Register

Scientific research suggests that when people are offered too many choices (even when a lot of them look good), they become paralyzed…and often lose the ability to make a choice at all.

In merchandising there is a fine line between “just enough,” and “too much.” As a merchant it is your job to make the big choices…so your customers don’t have to.

So before you print up your line sheets…instead of wondering what you’ve missed….you may want to take a closer look at what you may want to get rid of.

Like a good story your collection should have a central idea that reads well and keeps people interested.   People who just glance at your materials should see something eye-catching that intrigues them enough to want to see more.

Make it clear what designs you stand firmly behind and only present your customer with the best of the best.

If you’ve been in the U.S garment industry a while you’ll remember the days when the product life cycle took a year at best.  We were trained to think it took that much time to design, manufacture, ship and prepare quality product.

Then we saw inexpensive and super speedy manufacturers like Zara, H and M and Forever 21burst onto the scene.  Their speed to market left traditional companies in the dust.  Consumers got excited…and their demands for fast fashion upped the ante for all manufacturers.

Retailers like our cheap and Chic friends mentioned above somehow managed to take that year long design to point of sale cycle and chop it down to 4-6 weeks.

Technology, Company Culture and a Trump Tight infrastructure all add to a company’s ability to sprint their product into stores.

When’s the last time you took a look at your capability to turn trends around?

Even if you are a small manufacturer I’m sure you’d be surprised at what advanced software or a little extra organizational planning could do for your turn around time.

Big and Small manufactures are picking up speed…. and consumers are expecting trends to arrive as often as US Weekly.

Think about what you need to do so you don’t get left behind.