Author Archives pbc_admin

Posted by pbc_admin
on March 16, 2011
in Social Media

SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE BY THE NUMBERS

I have seen some startling statistics on social media usage recently. I have attended social media seminars full of small business owners palpably energized by hearing about the cascade of potential business in the social media universe. I can see them thinking “Is this as amazing as it sounds?” and/or “How do I do this?”

You may know the old saying, “There are lies, there are damned lies, and then there are statistics”.  It is also true that statistics can be manipulated to say almost anything. However, the beauty of social media is that there are a lot of third party measures available to mitigate the filters of proprietary statistical analysis. In other words – you can believe the hype.

Here are the highlights:

  • 2 billion people worldwide now have Internet access.
  • There are over 500 million Facebook users and 200 million Twitter users worldwide.
  • 70 billion minutes per month are spent on Facebook alone! 70 Billion! That is more than all the Google, Yahoo and Microsoft-related websites combined.
  • More than 70% of online Americans visit blogs, online communities, and social networks regularly. These sites influence the buying choices and preferences of 47% of users.
  • As you would expect, 20-45 year olds visit blogs, online communities, and social networks the most – at a rate of approximately 80%.
  • Over 50% of the 45+ crowd are visiting the same sites. This is the fastest growing demographic in the social media universe.
  • Nearly 4 out of 5 web users visit a social networking site on a monthly basis.
  • As detailed in the social media guidebook, TwittFaced, social media is not the place that people get away from businesses. According to research by Cone Inc., 93% of Americans believe that companies should be interacting in the social media space.
  • The same Cone Inc. study found that 85% of respondents think that a company should interact with its customers via social media. While 56% feel a closer rapport with companies using social media and feel better served. The study is now 3 years old and I would expect those rates are now higher.
  • From 2008 – 2012, the percentage of US companies using social media for marketing is expected to double (from 42% to 88%).
  • There are over 12 million small-business people on Linked In – roughly 20% of its total user base. The networking opportunities are enormous.

Retrevo, an online electronics retailer, conducted a survey of 1000 online individuals. While some of the results of the survey might seem irrelevant to the business world on first glance, I think these numbers reflect how our behaviors are changing with technology, and the direct impact they will have:

  • 48% of those surveyed check-in on Facebook and Twitter in the middle of the night, or as soon as they wake up in the morning. Most are under 25.
  • 56% of social media users check Facebook at least once a day. 12% use Facebook every couple of hours.
  • Of the under 25’s, 22% don’t mind being interrupted during a meeting, 49% are OK being interrupted during a meal, 11% don’t mind during sex, and 24% don’t mind interruptions while in the bathroom. For over 25’s, the numbers halve.

These stats make you sit up and ask “How can I make this work for me?” Unfortunately for many small business owners this is like stepping into the void. The unfamiliarity of the social media space for business, the massive initial time commitment, and the lack of knowledge of systems and applications loom large. You can see how the initial excitement easily dissipates into the realities of time and knowledge constraints.

But remember, social media is not a trend or a fad. It is the social component of the ever-quickening evolution of communication technology. It is being integrated into our daily lives at an elemental level.

Social media is not only the future but the NOW of advertising, promotion and customer relationship management. If you have a business, you must find the time, energy and resources to keep pace with the evolution.

There are social media professionals out there who can help you get started and stay the course. But don’t listen to people trying to sell you fairy dust. Building effective social media networks does take time. So let’s get movin’ …

 

Posted by pbc_admin
on March 02, 2011
in Fashion

THE MADNESS THAT IS THE MAGIC FASHION TRADE SHOWS – DAY 2 & SHOW REVIEW

So the rest of this makes sense, make sure you read my blog, THE MADNESS THAT IS THE MAGIC FASHION TRADE SHOWS – DAY 1.

workroom

We started Day 2 behind schedule at the workroom showcase at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. workroom self-describes as “an authentically raw environment that focuses on nurturing progressive directional collections and retailers.” I would agree. workroom is the true progressive contemporary section of the entire MAGIC fashion-a-rama. The clothing, accessories and shoe brands are carefully selected, juried, and well worth a close look.

The space has the look and feel of a working collective. At some booths, designers work at sewing machines in front of their collections, ready to engage as required. The almost 100 brands that were represented impressed with their handmade quality and diversity of textures with design ranging from thoughtful to inspired.

workroom reflected the imagination being shown by some designers in a universally tough economic market that has dictated the need to keep production costs and price points down.  The use of mixed media and texture to give dimension to the largely knit-driven world we currently inhabit, draping, asymmetrical and cropped silhouettes, more denim, and fringing and fur (faux, I hope!). Overall, I came away with the impression of an updated take on the late 70’s/early 80’s art school look – minus the overalls and cover-alls (more on these later).

I thought a great example is Stina Baaz, a high quality Swedish/American tailored sportswear line. With a classy look and feel, a great take on mixing fabrics (e.g. canvas and fur), and some eye-catching styling (particularly their cropped bomber jacket); Stina Baaz is what workroom is all about. The mixed media pieces have not made their website as yet – stinabaaz.com.

The color palette of workroom was very Fall; lots of black, grey, plum, and a dark green that Tracy thought ‘Hunter’, and I blurted out ‘Army’. I think Tracy was right. The green was the richer, more jewel-toned Hunter.

Project

Flowing from workroom are the hundreds of booths of Project. If workroom is the fashion epicenter of MAGIC, Project is where the contemporary creative explosion begins to diffuse into hard commerce. Project also showcases women’s and men’s clothing, accessories and shoe brands.

The collections, while contemporary, are largely derivative of near-term trends. This is what is ‘now’ commercially, or will be ‘now’ for Fall 2011. Knits were dominant, and color palettes muted and tonal with occasional orange providing pop.

Some of the highlights for me:

It was great to see the Australian swimwear and fashion collection, Tiger Lily – tigerlilyswimwear.com.au

Across the same aisle as Tiger Lily were two of my favorite people, Rick and Chelsea with the one of my favorite bag lines, George Gina & Lucy from Germany – george-gina-lucy.com

The denim powerhouses in full force – True Religion, AG, Joe’s, et al.

I liked the worn, scuffed shoe look for men that is in for Fall.

Wildfox had its models swanning about in brightly colored and printed coveralls. Wildfox has a strong following in the young contemporary world – wildfoxcouture.com

Fluxus designed by Jeffrey Sebelia, the Project Runway Season 3 winner – fluxusbrand.com

PoolTradeShow

Pool was fun this time around. Pool is an eclectic mix of emerging contemporary artists and designers in their own space away from the combined workroom and Project floor; though I would prefer to see the three connected to make sure the young Pool designers are not missed.

You name it, it’s at Pool. Clothing, shoes, bags, hats, jewelry, accessories of all kinds, and even the wonderful Kamibashi String Doll keyrings – kamibashi.com

Designs are bright and fun, with whimsical prints, edgy printed tees, vintage and re-purposed fabrics, beautiful lacquered and enameled purses and bags, hipster hats, caps and sunglasses, vintage and industrial inspired jewelry, and emerging contemporary designers that have real potential like Schwiing (“SCHWiiNG it up!” as their bio urges).

While Pool was worth the walk, I’m not sure I would put out the cash to exhibit here. Being separated from the workroom/Project space, a contemporary buyer could easily skip it if they were crunched for time or had preconceived ideas that couldn’t be conveniently dispelled.

After Pool, we jumped into one of the complimentary limos that ferry people to and from the Mandalay Bay and the WWD MAGIC shows at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Tracy wanted a quick look, and I needed to buy some jewelry for my fiend Nancy Scott, and her two Z Fabrique stores –zfabrique.com

We then decided on an 11th hour dash to the Venetian to check out the MODA and Curves shows, followed by a long march from the monorail to check out the ENK show and scout the spa shop the Wynn.  We got to both places late but not late enough not to bump into some sales reps that Tracy knows who told us that MODA was slow. I will definitely be walking and reporting on the ENK and MODA shows in August.

Day 2 of the Madness that is MAGIC ended with shoes off and well-deserved drinks in hand at the lounge bar at the Wynn … and they certainly weren’t the last of the evening!

Posted by pbc_admin
on February 16, 2011
in Fashion

THE MADNESS THAT IS THE MAGIC FASHION TRADE SHOWS – DAY 1

Up yesterday at 4.30am (after a refreshing three hour sleep), on the road by 5.30am to beat the brutal 30 mile radius of LA morning rush, four hours of mostly open highway while listening to my house music, and before you know it, I’m in the valley that contains the city of Las Vegas ready for eight hours of walking and talking at the madness that is the MAGIC fashion trade shows.

MAGIC is probably the most well-known trade show in the U.S. apparel industry. The show hosts global buyers and sellers of men’s, women’s and children’s apparel, footwear, accessories and sourcing resources. “MAGIC’, as it is ubiquitously known, is actually a series of distinctly focused trade shows under the umbrella brand. There is:
– WWD Magic
– MAGIC Menswear
– Project
– Pool
– Slate
– Street
– FN Platform
– Premium
– Sourcing at MAGIC
You can research away at magiconline.com

The show provides me with an invaluable opportunity to see a lot that is happening in fashion at one place, at one time, and to speak with people across the industry. How being here translates into sales for participating designers and manufacturers is open to question. It is very difficult to get a believable, quantifiable straight answer to the question – So how is the show going? Whatever the reality is, the answer is usually in the positive. As to gauging the buyer foot traffic, it is also difficult to know who is who amongst the throng.

My experience at MAGIC has been mixed. I was first there in 2000 when Wildlife Works was launching its tee line. We had little success but then again we were in the wrong section. Having attended the show for more than 10 years, I have collected lots of feedback from participants. Some designers I know will not come because they can’t get the order bang for their tradeshow buck. Others swear by the show, and are there every time.

As a buyer this time for Z Fabrique (zfabrique.com), I am also looking at jewelry and accessories. There is plenty on offer at a range of price points. I have already found three or four vendors that look promising. Will do some buying today.

Yesterday, I focused on the Las Vegas Convention Center portion of the trek – WWD MAGIC, PN Platform and Sourcing. One of the showcases at WWD MAGIC is ISAM Swimwear Show where I spotted two fabulous Australian collections – Lisa Blue (lisablue.com.au) and 2Chillies (2chillies.com.au). Both lines display the highly regarded Australian design flair, and use of color and fabrics. I will be following up with the collections after the show to get their feedback, which I will include in my coming show review blog.

In about two hours, I pick up my friend, pbc consultant and owner of Tracy Engelien Sales, the one and only Tracy Engelien, at the airport for Day 2 of the Madness that is MAGIC. Today, we will focus on The Mandalay Bay Hotel convention center showcases. The hip and happening Project and Workroom shows along with the emerging designers at the PoolTradeShow will take most of our time.

Keep an eye out for my coming review blog of MAGIC. We’ll breakdown what the trends were, what was selling, and get some feedback from participating designers and showrooms.

I’m glad these boots were made for walkin’ ….

Posted by pbc_admin
on February 03, 2011
in Social Media

WHO’S AFRAID OF SOCIAL MEDIA?

Judging by last week’s news that there are now 2 billion people worldwide with Internet access and that Facebook has 500 million members, the question, “Who’s afraid of Social Media?”, seems to answer itself.

Of course, there are those who still do not have Internet access, let alone enough food or a roof over their heads, so they don’t know about the social media revolution. There are others who have missed the quantum developments in personal and business digital communication for any number of reasons – age, desire, fear, tradition, etc. There are the neo-Luddites who are opposed for their own spiritual, philosophical or just plain oppositional reasons, just as their predecessors tried to hold back the tide of the industrial revolution.

You may even ask yourself, “If I am happy with my life as it is and I get all the information I need from my trusted sources, why should I spend my valuable time on nefarious activities like, Facebook, Twitter, etc?”

Future generations won’t have the option to ask that question. Even if you get all your information from a newspaper, buy your airline tickets from a travel agent, or find your bargains in the Penny Saver mailer? These will not survive in the long run. You will have to be digital or distant. Then again, the holdouts will probably die out, those left behind will have to catch up and become a part of in the digital universe.

Catching up isn’t too hard – keeping up is the issue. Just try and stay up with the almost daily changes to Facebook, the constellation of new apps, sifting through the ones that were hip yesterday but passé today, or know the latest and best tools with which to advertise or make purchases. It’s a daily dose of overload that can make one feel inept. But if I feel inept at times, perhaps I am not alone? Maybe…

Maybe the digital revolution is the closest we get to democracy. Sure, we don’t control the servers, or have full access to all information. But we do have the opportunity to manipulate, improve and use the system to connect with each other without being filtered. Just ask the protestors in Tunisia and Egypt. Whatever their motivations, whatever the outcomes of the uprisings, these movements came together because of the power of social media.

I heard recently that there are 70 Billion minutes per month spent on Facebook. 70 Billion! That is more than all of the Google, Yahoo and Microsoft-related websites combined.

So it doesn’t matter how much you know or don’t know about this thing called Social Media. Just know that it exists and it’s not going away. More and more, it will be how you find out about most things in the world. If you have a business and you aren’t on Facebook, well, you’re crazy. It really is nothing to be afraid of – and there’s always someone here to help.

Posted by pbc_admin
on February 02, 2011
in Fashion

U.S. FASHION – LOOKING BACK AT 2010 AND FORWARD TO 2011

Following up from THE US FASHION INDUSTRY: WHERE TO FROM HERE?, I want to look at what brought us here, where we are now and what to expect in 2011 – all from the perspective of an expert in the U.S. women’s contemporary fashion market. So I turned to my close friend and pbc colleague, Tracy Engelien.

Tracy is the owner of Tracy Engelien Sales in Los Angeles. Tracy has previously shined as a senior sales executive for both large and small apparel manufacturers in the U.S. including BCBGMaxAzria.  She spent years working with buyers in some of the most prestigious boutiques, specialty and high-end department stores in the U.S.  A true industry insider, Tracy knows the west coast and national players, understands regional market trends, economies, and fashion preferences. Knowing this – I decided to ask her a few questions:

Q:  Use one word to describe 2010 in the women’s contemporary fashion world?

A:  Mercurial

Q:  What was expected in 2010?

A:  We expected there to be more of an economic turn around than we experienced.  There was perhaps a naive perception that sales would grow and opportunities would become more prevalent.  Obviously, that did not happen.

Q:  What changed in the industry in 2010?

A:  The biggest change was a narrowing in the contemporary market.  Price points became extremely low as the consumer’s knowledge of competitive retail pricing advanced.  The customer has become really savvy.  With websites like Gilt Groupe and HauteLook, there is always a better deal to be had and brick and mortar retailers like H&M, Forever 21, and even Target, have completely altered the landscape of fashion. Although this happened over time, it became a fixed element in the fashion market in 2010.

Q:  What were the biggest trends of 2010?

A:  The biggest trend was the continued domination of jersey knits in the marketplace.  Trend inspiration was found in military motifs, safari inspiration, and lots and lots of fur for Holiday.

Q:  What do you think will continue?

A:  There has been a slight movement back into woven fabrics for Spring 2011 but it is small.  Knits will continue to be very important. Military will certainly linger a bit. The fur trimmings may still linger a bit for Fall 2011 but will naturally go away for Spring/Summer.

Q:  What is your trend outlook for 2011?

A:  There is going to be a big push with more fringing and corseting on all garments… tops, leggings, trousers, dresses, you name it and it will lace up.  Color will still be a bit tonal with some orange managing to peak through as a pop.  Minimalism will be strong in terms of styling and color choices … with that will come some color blocking reminiscent of Mondrian and the post-modern movement.

Q:  What is the industry outlook for 2011?

A:  Well, that is a difficult question to answer.  Until the U.S. is able to stabilize its economy for the middle class and unemployment begins to decline, the contemporary market will continue to experience major challenges with the customer base continuing to narrow.

So, 2011 looks like it will be another challenging year in women’s contemporary fashion. The tonal color trend is understandable given the challenging economic times. To me, color/pop means confidence and optimism and the U.S. just isn’t there yet. At the same time, we will be seeing a little more construction with the fringing and corseting. Could the small resurgence in wovens be a sign that a general “dress-up” in fashion is coming? Let’s hope so!

Tracy Engelien is the Consulting Sales Specialist at pbc and the owner of Tracy Engelien Sales, an independent sales rep company in Los Angeles, and currently represents: Emma&Emilie – www.emmaandemilie.com, Pure Karma – www.purekarma.com ,  Kalyx – www.gokalyx.com.

Posted by pbc_admin
on January 02, 2011
in Fashion

THE US FASHION INDUSTRY: WHERE TO FROM HERE?

I heard the owner of an independent sales showroom say recently that 2010 has been a challenging year in women’s contemporary fashion in the US – quite an understatement! The on-going recession has steadily crashed the entire industry deeper and deeper, forcing seismic changes – some resulting directly from the collision while others have been shaken loose by the impact.

Drained away is the disposable income that is the lifeblood of the fashion world. Sure, there are still those out there who will still only shop at the hippest boutiques; but the majority is now watching their pennies. In the words of a career garmento, “… the recession has allowed the Forever 21-ization of women’s contemporary fashion”. But it’s not limited to the fashion mega-store.

Price point is the priority for the majority of buyers, both wholesale and retail. They get discounts wherever they can – even if it means cruising fashion neighborhoods that no one would have dared to think about going years ago. One would never have been caught slinking around the discount manufacturers’ showrooms in broad daylight. When you needed to beef up the season’s orders with extra margin or have your own label made there to flog it off as another designer, you went there under the cover of darkness.

But these days the Santee Alley effect is in full flourish in Los Angeles. Buyers shop the contemporary showrooms in the downtown fashion district as they always have, but now are likely to stroll down Santee and cherry-pick the endless cut-price cornucopia.

This is having a disastrous effect on the traditional wholesale contemporary sales industry. 30-year veterans are losing showrooms, well-known brands can hire experienced sales reps for a fraction of the base salaries they could 5 years ago while requiring them to bring their customer base with them at reduced commissions, marquee retailers are naming their own payment terms, and no-one knows the way out.

Another big issue is that everything looks the same. While walking MAGIC last August, I thought I was seeing the same lines over and over. Same cut, same color, same focus – “no risk” designing. This is understandable in the current economic climate. Everyone is playing it safe.

So, where to from here? How about we step things up a bit? Where’s the next Betsy Johnson? If you are out there, and want to take the plunge into the US market, let me know.