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USA Sales Contact: Tel: Email: Web:

Angelique Thompson +1 310 406 2109 angelique@coangelique.com www.struttcouture.com

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Global Sales Contact: Tel: Email: Web:

Jade Park +44 0207 127 0007 jade@lxybrands.com www.struttcouture.com

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“When the Way comes to an end, then change - having changed, you pass through.” In memory of Jim McAdams. 06.03.1970 - 04.21.2010 BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR SHOE, APPAREL & ACCESSORIES STORES

Editor’s Letter “He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.” (Confucius) During my last trip to the fashion show in Spain, an event which is covered in the feature article in this issue, I met a guy named Kenny, a buyer from New York City. As we sat at the same table and introduced ourselves, I responded to his question, “So, what do you do?” by handing him a copy of Focus.

He seemed interested, and after flipping through its pages and studying their content, he handed it back to me with the following observations: “Alex! How come your magazine is so heartless?

All the editorials here have the same bottom line—about being greedy, how to make money, how to become rich. This is so not nice!” On hearing his comments, I was eager to respond. I said, “Kenny, you have just made my day! I am so happy to hear that!

That is exactly what I want for Focus! This magazine is not about fun, not about entertainment. It’s all about business!

FASHION RETAIL EDITOR: Alex Geyman GENERAL MANAGER: Dmitry Nelipovich ART DIRECTOR: Allison Moryl GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Pay Fan GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Jim McAdams GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Laurie McAdams FASHION EDITOR: Francesca Trippoli SUBSCRIPTION: Sandra DaSilva RESEARCH: Shawn Lancaster SALES: Claudia Perez COVER PHOTO: Nicolas Vaudelet runway Castilla y Leon Fashion Week

The last time I checked the statistics, they indicated that 7 out of 10 retail establishments close within their first 3 years. The reasons? I don’t have the exact answer to this question, but it’s safe to assume that whatever the specific event that precipitates the closure, most of these retail establishments close due to failure to perform as a business on a level that guarantees survival and prosperity.

One can blame the economy, one’s mother-in-law, or flying saucers if one needs a scapegoat; but the fact remains that as long as the remaining 30% of stores still function and prosper under the very same conditions, those excuses are nothing more than child’s talk! Finding excuses is easy; finding solutions is hard. That’s why I see our primary function, as the business magazine for fashion retailers, to be providing our readership with professional editorial content which, being read on a continuous basis, offers responsible and hard-tofind information about how to succeed in this business.

Here’s an example of what I mean: I once asked a friend about her ambitious plan to open a 5,000 square-foot store in Los Angeles and about her experience and/or education in fashion retail. Her answer was, “None of the above.” She certainly is a very motivated and confident young woman, very talented and charismatic, very practical and resourceful. Those are very important qualities, to be sure. Yet, a successful business cannot be run on the wings of luck and talent. These qualities, though helpful, are simply not enough!

The answer, “I know everything I need to know,” doesn’t comfort me. It’s a recipe for disaster. Just look at the statistics! To me, the famous Socrates’ quote, “Ouk imae idenai, ah mae oido” (The more I know, the more I know I don’t now) makes perfect sense and has a definite application here.

All the reputable experts whose works we publish in Focus, who have succeeded in their various fields of business, agree on one point: the more knowledge you have at your disposal, the better your chances for survival. In today’s extremely tough business environment, it’s hard, or more accurately, impossible, to survive, much less thrive, without a working knowledge of basic merchandising, pricing, accounting, marketing, etc. This is, after all, business and not a hobby. And yes, Kenny, business is all about the money— your money!

That’s the whole reason Focus exists: to provide the critical knowledge base you need to make your business thrive (a.k.a. become more profitable). When you treat your business like a business instead of a hobby—by learning everything you can and applying that knowledge—you’ll very likely find that you have more time left to devote to your real hobbies, not to mention more money to enjoy them.

Focus is here to help your business succeed. Please feel free to contact me at editor@focusonshoes.com with questions, comments, suggestions, or topics you’d like to see covered in future issues. Serving you better is our goal and privilege.

Sincerely,

Alex Geyman Editor

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FEAUTURED ARTICLES: Sales Lessons: The 5 Steps To Successful Retail Selling. Part 3 of 5

By Michael Tidmore www.successfulstore.com

Management: Capitalizing on the Coming Recovery to Become an Employer of Choice

By Joyce Gioia www.employerofchoice.com

Luxury Marketing: The 6 Myths Of Luxury Marketing. How To Build A New Luxury Brand. Part 2 of 2

By Pamela N. Danziger www.unitymarketingonline.com

Human Resources: Writing a Policy & Procedures Manual.

Will It Ever Get Done?

By Harry J. Friedman www.thefriedmangroup.com

Retail Report: 2010 Retail Trends And Opportunities Part 1 of 2

By Garrick H. S. Brown www.colliers.com

Motivation: Engaging Employees During Times of Uncertainty

By Dale Carnegie & Associates www.dalecarnegie.com

All editorial pages are intellectual property of FFR and/or featured authors.

No portion of this issue may be reproduced without the express permission of FFR and/or featured authors.

FOCUS ON FASHION RETAIL 25924 Viana Avenue, Suite 19 Lomita, CA 90717 USA Tel. (310) 784-0790 fax (310) 202-6027 General E-Mail: info@focusonshoes.com Web: www.focusonshoes.com

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The Castilla y Leon Fashion Week was very well organized and planned. Its guests— fashion buyers, media, designers, stylists, etc—were taken excellent care of 24/7, receiving everything they needed to conduct business comfortably and productively. A typical day began by meeting with designers and manufacturers, who presented a wide array of fashion products, including clothing, footwear, and accessories for every possible occasion and for every age group from infant to adult.

Interpreters were provided, which made it possible for all visitors to communicate with vendors in a casual, relaxed atmosphere—a definite plus. After lunch, visitors were transported to a luxurious hotel where the catwalk took place. The first day’s festivities began with childrens’ fashions for the upcoming Fall-Winter season, and it was a great joy to watch the somewhat choreographed yet superbly natural behavior of these little ones walking (and sometimes crawling) down the runway, where styles presented by Rosalita Senoritas and Pamela provided a fascinating spectacle. Then, the adults took center stage with the most memorable presentation by Imelda— absolutely gorgeous and luxurious proposals for furs and leathers—though I equally appreciated the fashion proposals of Lady Bug and Marta Valdespino.

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One lesson I’ve learned through this incredibly positive experience is that the lessknown the city, the greater the surprise—or more precisely, the amazement—when one discovers the little-known secrets of the region.

This is exactly how I discovered San Sebastian, Bilbao, Valencia—and now, Burgos. Oh boy, was I right about this one—a super-cute, cozy little town with charming medieval castles and churches pleasantly contrasting with its modern hotels and shops, restaurants and clubs. This area is rich in history and, as the fashion show proved, a town that looks fearlessly and brightly into the future.

In the end, the Castilla y Leon in Burgos was a successful show. To be honest, I cannot compare it to or put it in the same category as similar fashion events in London, Paris, or New York. However I must note that as far as original and sellable fashions are concerned, the Burgos show delivered the goods. I personally watched international buyers placing orders and inspired fashionistas and designers taking notes and drawing sketches. I truly enjoyed the show, as well as the incredible warmth and hospitality of the Spanish people, and I would love to return, no question about that!

Admirably, the Ade International Excal, the Foreign Trade Agency of Castilla y Leon, undertakes serious initiatives to promote and support both the domestic fashion industry and international trade. In addition to being a generous financial donor of the show, the organization has developed a program sponsoring (i.e. paying for) the trip to the next edition of Castilla y Leon, which it offers to qualified buyers, distributors, multi-label boutiques, and fashion agents who are interested in exploring the trade opportunities in Spain firsthand.

If you believe you may qualify for this fabulous opportunity, please visit www. modacyl.es and www.pasarelacyl.com for further information or call (310) 229-5945 for answers to your questions.

Trasluz

Spain again…What a beautiful country…

What a fantastic, friendly, warm people! When I first received the invitation to attend a Castilla y Leon Fashion Week in Burgos, my initial reaction was, Wheeere? Yet, now that I’ve had the incredible good fortune to experience it, I can unequivocally say that Spain is simply overflowing with pleasant surprises.

All in all, my experience at Castilla y Leon in Burgos was an overwhelmingly positive one, and I look forward with great anticipation to the next edition!

Paula Caballero

Yet, the real Wow! came only (from the entire audience) on the third day, and that was a true parade of wonderfully elegant and creative fashions by Fely Campo, Pablo y Mayaya, Maria Lafuente, Nicolas Vaudelet and Amaya Arzuaga.

Luis Manteiga

The following day I enjoyed watching a fabulous bridal presentation by Nalia Novias, creative fashions by Rosalita McGee, Anton & Moda, and Javier Vicente, and a very artistic presentation by Santiago Garcia.

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HUMAN RESOURCES

By HaRRy J. FRiEdman

Writing a Policy & Procedures Manual.

Will it ever get done? ave you ever driven by an enormous building and wondered, “How did that company get so big?” The only way a large corporation can survive and grow is to have a sys¬tem or way of doing everything. When your business was just starting out, you proba¬bly knew every employee’s middle name. Now you can’t remember your own! It is only natural that as your business grows, you lose efficiency.

There is only one way to gain control again and that is to smack in policies and procedures so that each em¬ployee is performing according to the same rules. It’s no different than a medical school teaching all of the students how to take out tonsils the “same” way.

A policy and procedures manual is a compilation of all of the policies and procedures that a new employee may need to know or a current employee may need to review. People often say that no one ever reads policy and procedure manuals. They are not written for the purpose of providing reading material to the employees. They are, however, designed to explain and illustrate any type of policy that the employee must be aware of or any type of task that the employee must be able to demonstrate.

When there is no policy and procedure manual in a store, you run the risk of things being done randomly. If a policy is not written down somewhere, there is no way of holding people accountable for their actions.

For example, Mary handles an exchange improperly and when you reprimand her for it, she says, “No one ever told me that,” or “I never knew that was the way to do it.” If you have a manual that covers the policy and procedure of handling an exchange, you can hold Mary accountable for knowing the information contained therein.

A major flaw in some manuals is the clarity and completeness of the material itself. For a manual to be most effective, it must be written so that a new employee 16

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could read a section and be able to explain and/or demonstrate the material on their own just from reading about it. This can be accomplished by using a variety of actual examples so that no stone is left unturned.

For example, any type of transaction that occurs in your store, no matter how infrequently, should be covered in the manual.

If it happened once, it may happen again, so each salesperson must be aware of how to handle it or where to refer to in order to handle it.

Every store should have a policy and procedure manual. However, putting together a manual is a tedious task that requires patience and thoroughness. To begin with, you need a list of everything that should be covered. A list of chapter titles as well as an example of the subjects to be covered under a particular title is provided in Figure A. You may not realize it, but much of the policies and procedures you will need may be already written down in the form of company memo’s, inter-office memo’s, manuals, etc. Compile all of these documents and begin sorting them into sections and sub-sections using Figure A to guide you. You will find some sections are missing all to¬gether, that’s OK, you just need to make a note that you actually need to come up with these policies and/or procedures. Some of the memo’s may have outdated policies and procedures, keep track of those areas where you need to update company poli¬cies and procedures.

You can assign these sections that need work to as many people as possible to not only collect the necessary information faster, but to involve everyone in its birth. Set deadlines for everyone to have their information compiled. While the people you re¬cruited for this project begin to work on their assignments, you can begin to enter all the data you organized which was current and accurate from the documents you compiled. As you collect

the sections from every person, you can simply add them to the manual you’ve already started.

Now, each section must be reviewed for clarity and missing details. After making notes on what additions or revisions need to be made, go back to the people respon¬sible for each section and have them make the necessary changes. If you discover varying perceptions of just what a certain policy is or just how a certain procedure should be completed, it becomes evident that there might not have ever been a policy or procedure on a particular subject. Now is the time to make a decision one way or the other so there is a standard guideline for all people to follow. Re-compile the infor¬mation and make any final changes on your own or with a team of people designated to work on the project.

When the first draft is ready to be proofread, it may be a good idea to have someone not employed in the store (perhaps a spouse) read it through once. It sometimes be¬comes hard to realize when a point is not clearly stated if you are already accustomed to doing it correctly. An outsider reading the manual is like a new employee reading it for the first time. If the outsider can understand the information, it is likely that a new hire will as well.

Once the manual is official, it is extremely important that you keep the content current and accurate. When a policy is changed, the page in the manual is changed as well. Rewrite the appropriate pages and make two copies of the revised version.

Replace the pages currently in the manual with one of the copies and post the second copy on a communication board in the store.

Have each employee initial the revised copy on the board and you can rest assured that everyone has been notified of the change.

If you have more than one store, have the stores send in the outdated page in their manual before you send them two copies of the new page. This assures that everyone has filed the most current policy and/ or procedure. When they receive the copies of the new page of the policy manual, one is placed in the policy manual and the other is put on the communication board for everyone in the store to initial. © FFR- Focus On Fashion Retail

HUMAN RESOURCES The whole goal of creating a Policy will be a minimum delay of at least one payand Procedure Manual is simply to outline roll cycle in this instance.) and clearly explain the rules for all employIn the above explanation of time card ees to follow while working within your policies, unnecessary explanations and organi¬zation.

Oftentimes, Figure A the best intentions of a thorPOLICY AND PROCEDURES MANUAL ough manual are defeated with INFORMATION RETRIEVAL FORM over¬whelmingly complicated TOPICS Assigned To Due By text. If too much emphasis is Section I. - The Company spent on carefully choosing Introduction and welcome to company le¬gal, yet lengthy explanaHistory of the company tions of a policy or procedure, Organization chart months, or even years can Store locations pass before the manual will Manual revisions reach completion. In addition Equal opportunity statement to this delay, a policy with Sexual harassment policy com¬plicated text will often Section II. - Employee Benefits be lost in the translation by Eligibility for company benefits a new employee. Use simple Group insurance terms, cut out any unnecessary Disability insurance “why’s” behind a policy and clearly state the bottom line so Workers' compensation that ALL employees can underEmployee discounts stand and comply with the rule.

Vacations Here is an example of an unnecSick leave essarily lengthy explanation of Maternity leave a time card policy: Bereavement leave A new time card is to be started the first work day of each week and the individual’s name and store are to be written thereon immediately. (Time cards without names are not to be in the rack. Any time card found in the rack without a name will be subject to removal by management personnel. Any time thereon will not be paid until the em¬ployee has certified their time, their manager or supervisor has verified the time and forwarded the card and certification to the office. There

Jury duty Leaves of absence Military leave Unemployment insurance Company holidays Profit sharing Employee recruiting bonus Section III - Personnel Policies and Regulations Section IV - Operations Policies and Regulations Section V. - Sales and Customer Service Section VI. - Writing Sales Section VII. - Refunds Section VIII. - Exchanges Section IX. - Payment Methods Section X. - Inventory Control Section XI. - Job Descriptions

conse¬quences were stated that not only confused the issue of having names on all time cards, but created a very negative tone.

The same information can be simply stated as follows:

Completed

A new time card is to be started the first work day of each week. To prevent a delay in payroll, be sure that your name and store is filled out immediately on the first work day.

After making up your first policy and procedures manual, it is likely that you will dis¬cover areas that you have missed.

What is important is that you took the steps to de¬velop a manual at all. During the first year of its life, you may find yourself revising and adding quite a bit. That is perfectly all right. Just keep going until you at last have a manual that you can be proud of.

Editor’s Note: For retailers interested in short cutting some of the work involved in creating their own policies manual, The Friedman Group offers a Retail Policies Manual that covers the most commonly used store policies in retail, along with points to consider in establishing the exact right policy for your business. The Retail Policies Manual comes with a deluxe manual and computer disk for easily customizing, revising and updating your own store policies manual. For more information, call 800-351-8040 or go to www.thefriedmangroup.com.

Harry J. Friedman is an internationally acclaimed retail consultant and CEO of The Friedman Group. Since 1980, his retail sales and management techniques have been used by over 500,000 retailers worldwide. He is retail’s most heavily attended speaker and widely read author, with articles published over 500 times in national trade magazines and his best selling book No Thanks, I’m Just Looking! now in it’s 9th printing. He has also developed scores of retail training programs, retail’s most popular management seminars, and has contributed to the success of many of retail’s best-in-class organizations. For a FREE subscription to his monthly On The Floor Journal enewsletter, information on upcoming retail seminars, training programs, or on-site consulting, call 800-351-8040 or visit www.thefriedmangroup.com.

© FFR- Focus On Fashion Retail

May 2010

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Luxury Marketing Myth #4 Luxury brands are something to own and to have.

REALITY: Brands must perform – Luxury brands must satisfy luxury consumers’ performance expectations.

The way a luxury brand performs for the consumer, (i.e., how it delivers a superior experience), is how ‘old’ luxury is transformed into ‘new’ luxury. Luxury is no longer about having and owning as in the ‘old’ materialistic luxury world, but it is the experience and feeling that the luxury delivers in the ‘new’ experiential luxury paradigm. Performance then is the new key word that we should use today when talking about luxury brands. It is performance not only in the sense of mechanical execution (e.g. cars, watches, electronics), but also performance as it relates to how the product delivers or performs experientially, i.e. how it makes the consumer feel.

The concept of luxury brand performance connects both the intrinsic definitions of luxury (i.e. quality performance, design performance, uniqueness performance) with the experiential dimensions about how the luxury brand makes the consumer feel and the way they experience luxury.

The concept of luxury brand performance connects both the intrinsic definitions of luxury (i.e. quality performance, design performance, uniqueness performance) with the experiential about how the luxury brand

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makes the consumer feel and the way they experience luxury. It is through performance that ‘old luxury,’ encompassing the noun or the thing, is transformed into ‘new luxury’ that delivers the experience, the feeling, the emotion to the consumer.

Luxury brand marketers must make sure the brand has all the superior intrinsic features that the brand promises, and that it delivers the experiential values that touch the consumer emotionally.

It is in the dimension of performance in all its many aspects that luxury branding must focus.

Luxury Marketing Myth #5 Luxury brand awareness means marketing success REALITY: Brand loyalty, not awareness, measures meaningful consumer connection with the brand Brand awareness, that is where the consumer recognizes the name of a particular brand, measures only one thing: brand awareness, not marketing success or branding success. Just to be aware of a brand, and this applies especially in the luxury arena where many brands have upwards of 80% brand awareness in the general population, does not mean that one will buy a brand or even consider buying a brand.

How then do you measure the effectiveness of those efforts, if brand awareness won’t do it?

Brand loyalty is the metric that Robert

Passikoff, founder of Brand Keys, a marketing and branding consultancy, proposes as the way the success or failure of corporate strategy to connect with the luxury consumer is measured.

By taking the percentage of luxury consumers who rate brand very or somewhat important in their purchase decision and doing a few more calculations, we can stack up the key luxury product categories in order to show how consumer brand loyalty operates within and between luxury product categories based upon an index average of 100.

For example, the index of brand loyalty reveals that in home luxuries, the brand is 67% more important to consumers in the purchase of electronics and photography equipment (167 index). Within the personal luxuries categories, luxury consumers rate brand 68% more important when buying automobiles (index 168) than the norm. As we have seen, brand loyalty is highest in categories that are mechanical in nature (e.g. gears, movements, wheels and motion) or highly personal (e.g. cosmetics, beauty products).

High brand loyalty categories are characterized by intense competition among marketers with the top brands being those that forge the strongest connection with the luxury consumer.

Low brand loyalty categories, such as jewelry (index of 40), or home decorating fabrics, window or wall coverings (59 index), signify luxury categories where opportunities abound for new luxury branding strategies because the competitive playing field for brand is virtually nil.

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Luxury brand is about the product REALITY: Luxury brands connect corporate strategy with consumer psychology The role of the luxury brand is to connect corporate strategy, which controls the design and manufacture of the object and develops the branding messages, with the consumer psychology, which gets people to buy. It’s through the performance of the brand, both in tangible and intangible emotional ways, that the company delivers an experience of luxury satisfaction to the consumer. Luxury marketers, while they must design and manufacture the ultimate ‘best of the best’ products, also need to realize that the product, the thing itself is secondary to the experience of the thing by the consumer.

opportunity to deepen their connection with the consumer in the emotional realm. Fine quality things are nice, but they don’t necessarily motivate the consumer at the experiential or emotional level. Luxuries that perform only at the intrinsic level are missing the most important dimension of luxury and that is the emotional, experiential realm.

That is why it is imperative for every single luxury marketer selling things to fully and completely embrace the experiential dimension of luxury. They not only need to design and produce the ‘best of the best’ thing, but they need to make sure that their ‘best of best’ product also performs and delivers the emotional, experiential satisfactions that the luxury consumer most desires and craves.

In conclusion, the keys to building a ‘new’ luxury brand boils down to a few key ideas • A luxury brand must be expansive: It must be a big idea that gives the marketer new places to venture and new opportunities to meet in the consumers’ personal life.

• A luxury brand must tell a story: Story telling is a fundamental way human’s transmit and process information. Brand recognition is no substitute for brand connection and it’s through brand stories where consumers can connect. It through brand story telling that corporate strategy connects with the consumer.

• A luxury brand must be relevant to the consumers’ needs: A luxury brand must be relevant to consumers needs, meeting their passions and desires emotionally and physically. And a luxury brand must stay relevant as luxury consumers’ needs change, thus the necessity to have an expansive brand that gives marketers room to grow.

The brands are the embodiment of corporate strategy, designed, created and directed by the company. The brands connect with the consumers’ psychology and encourage them to buy.

• A luxury brand must align with consumers’ values: Consumers are bringing a new sensibility into the marketplace that is about more than having and getting. They want their consumerism to provide a greater meaning and they are looking to ‘do good’ when they shop.

The essential role of brands and branding in the luxury market is to influence the consumer in their purchase decision, which ultimately is the only thing that really matters. Our luxury brands become the medium through which we influence the consumer to buy. The brands are the embodiment of corporate strategy, designed, created and directed by the company.

The brands connect with the consumers’ psychology and encourage them to buy. The luxury brands don’t work alone, but they are a critical aspect of justifying the consumers’ luxury purchase.

A luxury marketer that focuses solely on the product or the thing and designs the ultimate ‘best of the best’ product is missing a huge

Keys to Building a ‘New’ Luxury Brand

exHibitiNg brANDS

Luxury Marketing Myth #6

Versace Sera Evening Bag

• A luxury brand must perform for the consumer: The experience of a luxury brand all comes down to how well the brand performs its experiential duties for the customer. If it makes him or her feel wonderful, special, unique, as well as performing its specific material role or purpose wonderfully, whether it be a cooking pan, an evening dress, a set of sheets, or a new PDA, then it meets the consumers’ performance expectations. It is luxury.

Pamela N. Danziger is a nationally recognized expert in undertanding the mind of the consumer. She founded Unity Marketing in 1992 as a marketing consulting firm for marketers and retailers that sell luxury goods and experiences. A highly sought after keynote speaker, Danziger has addressed large conference audiences, including Global Luxury Forum, Global Shop, National Retail Federation, etc.

She has appeared on NBC, CBS, Fox News and CNN and is frequently called upon by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Businessweek, Forbes, USA Today, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Women’s Wear Daily and other business and consumer publications for commentary and analysis. She holds a B.A. Degree in English Literature and a Master of Library Science degree.

In recognition of her ground- breaking work in the luxury consumer market, Pam received the Global Luxury Award presented by Harper’s Bazaar for top luxury industry achievers in 2007. She is also the author of three books on consumer psychology and behavior. For more information, go to www.unitymarketingonline.com or email her at pam@unitymarketingonline.com

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June 8-10, 2010 Tuesday – Thursday

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June 8 | Opening Night Industry Party

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Celebrate FFANY at 30 and recognize Two Ten’s Annual Giving supporters

EXHIBITORS AT HILTON : * 1883 by Lucchese * 1999 by ZiGi * 80%20 * A. Marinelli * A. Series by Auri * ACL * Aetrex * Alan Taylor * Alegria * All Black * Andrea Carrano * Antelope * Arcopedico * Ardiente * Athena Alexander * ATR * Attilio Giusti Leombruni * Attitudes / Paul Mayer * Aurelio Garcia * Auri * Azura * BC * Be Comfortable

by Blondo * Bearpaw * BED:STU * Bensimon * Bernardo * Bernie Mev * Berries by Aetrex * Bestfit * Beverly Feldman * Birkenstock * Birki’s * Blackstone * Blondo * Blossom * Blue Suede Shoes * Bolaro * Boot-ique * Bronx * Bumper * Butter * Cafeina * Callisto of California * Caribbean Soul * Carla D by Dezario * Carlos by

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Carlos Santana Cavort Celeste Chalkie White Charles Albert Charles by Charles David Charles David Charlie 1 Horse Chelsea Crew Chocolat Blu Ciao Bella City Snappers Coconuts Cordani Corso Como Crescent Street Cri de Coeur DPN Dana Davis Dansko Danssara DBDK De Blossom Delicacy Demand Demfon Denali Designs by Nancy Katz Dezario Diba Diego Torreblanca Diva by Lucchese Dizzy Dreams Dulce Dulce Handbags E & R Generation East Lion Eastland Ed Hardy Eddie Marc & Co Eddie Marc Kids Elaine Turner Elegance Elegant Elizabeth Brady Encanto Encore by Fiesso English Laundry Enigma ER Generation Essence Everybody

* Extreme

by Eddie Marc * Fahrenheit * Faryl Robin * Felipe Rivera * Fergie * Fiesso * Fioranno * Flirt * Fly Flot * Focus on Fashion Retail * Footprints * Footwear Insight * Footwear News * Footwear Plus * Footzyrolls * Forever * Frederic’s * French Sole * FS/NY * Generation * Gentle Souls * Gentle Souls

by Kenneth Cole * Gia * Gianni Rich * Glaze * Golden West * Good Choice * Gramercy * Grazie * Grizzleez by ZiGi * Groove * Guadalajara Finest * Hearts of Darkness * Henry Ferrera * Holden & Brands * Hot Gossip * I.P.C * Ildiko Gal * Inblu * Inter-Pacific * istep * Italina * J&A * J&L * J. Kuo * J75 By Jump * Jack Schwartz * Jacobies * Jean-Michel Cazabat * Jeffrey Campbell

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Jelly Beans Jelly Belly Jesco Jon Josef Jump Jump For The People K•Swiss Karen Carson Kaza Kelsi Dagger LA Gear Lauren Jones Left & Right Legend Levi’s Lia Bijou Lifestyle Archives Lilita Link Little Diva Little Mangos Lollipop Lovely People Lucchese Lucita Lucky Top Lugz Luichiny Luna Rosa Lyncos Maliks Marc Joseph Margaritaville Margaux Marichimani Marinelli Marlboro Footworks Martina Riley Martinez Valero Matiko Matisse Matt Bernson Maui & Sons ME Mea Shadow Medici Menbur Messéca Milano Mode Miss Me Miss Me a Little Miss Me Leather Missoni

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Miucha Miz Mooz Mosaicon MTNG Mustang N.Y.L.A. Nancy Katz Nancy Li Naot Navid O Nadia New Edition Nomad Old Gringo Olivia Rose Tal Oppo Opposites Attract Original Dr. Scholl’s Orly Pacific Casuals Paco Mena Palladium Papillio Pas de Rouge Paul Green Paul Mayer / Attitudes Pazzo Penguin Peppergate Perlina Luxury Comfort Perry Ellis Pilar Abril Pink Duchess Pink Studio Pink Studio Handbags Pinoso’s Pour La Victoire Prevata Private Label Promise Qupid Ra!nsplats Ramarim Ramon Tenza Rebels Red Cirlce Reed Evins Restricted Riplay Robert Wayne Robert Zur Rock & Candy

by ZiGi

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Rollashoe Ronay Salpy Sandalistas Schutz Seduce Me Seeu Seychelles Shaq Shoe Accents

by Nancy Shoe Republic LA Shuella Shuella Your Shoe Umbrella!

Simco Simply Petals SixtySeven SMAC Smartty Sneaux Something Bleu Sorel Splash Spring Spring Step Spring Step Professional SRO Stefani Studio Flexx Summer Rio Susan Mango Susan Mango Bags Sweet Seventeen Tatami TCK Team Roselli The Flexx the Mix The Original Muck Boot Company Thierry Rabotin Tibi Toe Jyo Togast Top Guy Top Moda US Army Shoes & Bag Underfoot Vasavia Viamara Velika Velvet Angels

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Velvet Lounge Very Volatile Volatile Volatile Girl Volatile Kids Vybe Wild Diva Wild Rose Yaleet Yellow Box Zalo ziggies ZiGi girl ZiGi Handbags ZiGi Mens ZiGi New York ZiGi ny ZiGi ny black label

* Brand Headquarters * Brown Shoe * Buster Brown * Calvin Klein Collection * Camuto Group * Caparros * Capelli New York * Capelli New York Kids * Carlos by Carlos Santana * CAT * Chaco * Chainson * Charles Jourdan * Chilis * Chinese Laundry * Chinese Laundry ELISE SHOWROOMS: * Chinese * 2 Lips Too Laundry WASH * 9 & Company * Adesso Madden * Circa Joan * Adrienne Vittadini & David * CL by Laundry * Ahnu * Claudio * AK Anne Klein De Lorena * Amalfi by * Cliffs Rangoni * Coach * André Assous * Cole Haan * Ann Marino * Collective Brands * Anne Michelle Performance + * Apepazza Lifestyle Group * ara * Consolidated * ara Handbags * Creative Interna* ara Mens tional * Arche * Cushe * Arturo Chiang * Cynthia Vincent * Ash * Daniblack * B. Makowsky * Deer Stags * Badgley Mischka * DeLaRentis * Bamboo * Delman * Banana Blues * Dereon * Bandolino * Diane von Furs* Barefoot Originals tenberg * BCBGeneration * Dirty Laundry * BCBGMaxazria * DKNY * bebe * Dockers * Betsey Johnson * Dockers Boys * Bettye Muller * Donald J Pliner * Big Buddha * Easy Spirit * Blowfish * El Padrino * Blowfish Kids * Elizabeth and James * Boss Black * Envy * Boss Orange * Enzo Angiolini * Boutique 9

* Eric Javits * Etienne Aigner * Evolution Design Lab * Fergalicious * Fergie * Foot Petals * Fossil * Franco Sarto * Frye * Gomax * Guppy Love Kids * Harley-Davidson * Highline United * Hot Kiss * Hugo * Hugo Boss * Hunter Boot * Hush Puppies * Impo * International * Irregular Choice * J.P. Original * Jellypop * Jenny by ara * Jessica Simpson * Jimlar * Joan & David * Joe Jazz * Juicy Couture * Kate Spade * Kathy Van Zeeland * Keds * Kenneth Cole NY * Kenneth Cole Productions * Kenneth Cole Reaction * Kensie Girl * Kickers USA * KORS Michael Kors * L.A.M.B. * La Canadienne * Lacoste * LeSportsac * Libby Edelman * LifeStride * Little Laundry * Loeffler Randall * Lucky Brand * Luxury Rebel * Madden Girl * Madeline * Mark Tucker

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Mauro Bassini Max Studio Me Too Merrell MIA MIA 2 MIA Amore MIA Girl MIA KIDS MIA Limited Edition MIA Shoes First Cost Division Michael Antonio MICHAEL Michael Kors Mike Konos MINI MIA Miss Robertson Miss Sixty Moda Spana Mootsies Tootsies Mountrek Natural Soul Natural Sport Naturalizer Naughty Monkey Naya New York Transit Nickels Nicole Nina Nina Kids Nine West Nine West Vintage Not Rated One Love Original Dr. Scholl’s OTBT Patagonia Pedro Garcia Pelle Moda Penny Loves Kenny Plenty by Tracy Reese Poetic Licence Principe Di Kent Projectart R.J. Colt Ragazza Ralph Lauren Report Rialto Rocawear

* * * * * * * *

ROCKadelic Rocket Dog Rockport Sacha London Sachelle Sam & Libby Sam Edelman Schwartz and Benjamin * Sebago * Sesto Golf * Sesto Meucci * Seven for All Mankind * Skechers * Sonata * Sperry Top-Sider * Steve Madden * Steve Madden Kids * Steve Madden Mens * Steven by Steve Madden * Stride Rite * Stuart Weitzman * Stuart Weitzman Handbags * Stuart Weitzman Kids * Sunny Feet * Ted Baker * Titan * Tory Burch * Tsubo * Two Lips * UES * UGG Australia * United Nude * Unlisted, a Kenneth Cole Production * Vaneli * Vaneli Sport * Vera Wang Lavender * Via Spiga * Vigoss * Vince Camuto * Wanted * White Mountain * Wolff * Wolverine * XOXO * Zodiac USA As of April 21

> Save the dates August 3-5 / December 1-3 FASHION FOOTWEAR ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK 212.751.6422 INFO@FFANY.ORG

FFANY_Liberty_Brands_FM.indd 1

22/04/10 19:44:10 5/10/10 3:01 PM

TRADE SHOWS CALENDAR APRIL TO JUNE 2010

JUNE

May

APRIL

DATE

22

May 2010

1518 FOS May 20100509.indd 22-23

S IE R R A O L E W ARE ESS T PHONE C O PP AC A FO • • • (323) 466-9645

EVENT

LOCATION

M

W

C

1-4

BIFF&BIL

Bangkok, Thailand

•

•

•

6-7

Kansas City Apparel & Accessory Market

Kansas City, MO

•

•

•

8-12

Atlanta Apparel Market

Atlanta, GA

•

•

•

9-12

Denver Apparel & Accessory Market

Denver, CO

•

•

•

10-13

Oroarezzo

Arezzo, Italy

•

•

17-19

Hawaii Market Merchandise Expo

Honolulu, HI

•

•

•

•

22-25

Sapica

Leon, Mexico

•

•

•

•

24-25

Manhattan Vintage Clothing Show

Albany, NY

•

•

24-26

Mid-South Jewelry & Accessories Fair

Memphis, TN

•

•

26-28

Modama

Guadalajara, Mexico

•

•

•

•

28-30

PERUMODA

Lima, Peru

•

•

•

•

2-4

Fame

New York, NY

2-4

AccessoriesTheShow

New York, NY

2-4

Moda Manhattan

New York, NY

2-5

IFJAG The International Fashion Jewelry & Accessory Market

New York, NY

3-5

Accessorie Circuit

New York, NY

•

3-5

Intermezzo Collections

New York, NY

•

3-7

Rosemount Australian Fashion Week

Sydney, Australia

6-9

MADRID NOVIAS International Bridal Fashion Exhibition

Madrid, Spain

•

•

11-13

Fair of Shoes, Leather & Leather Goods

Poznan, Poland

•

•

•

•

18-20

LeShow International Leather and Fur Fashion Fair

Moscow, Russia

•

•

•

•

18-20

Matrix Apparel Market.

Schaumburg, IL

•

19-21

China International Textile Apparel Trade Fair

Shanghai, China

•

•

•

•

•

2-5

Dallas Apparel and Accessories Market

Dallas, TX

•

•

•

•

•

4-6

Southwest Shoe Expo

Dallas, TX

•

•

•

8-10

The New York Shoe Expo (FFANY)

New York, NY

•

•

10-13

Atlanta Apparel Market

Atlanta, GA

•

•

14-16

Brighte

Los Angeles, CA

•

14-17

The New Mart

Los Angeles, CA

•

14-17

the LA KIDS MARKET

Los Angeles, CA

15-17

Focus

Los Angeles, CA

•

•

15-17

Transit- The Los Angeles Shoe Show

Los Angeles, CA

•

•

15-18

Pitti_W Woman Pre-collections

Florence, Italy

15-18

Pitti Immagine Uomo

Florence, Italy

•

24-25

The Chicago Shoe Expo

Chicago, IL

•

24-26

Pitti Bimbo

Florence, Italy

25-27

(capsule) Paris- Men's

Paris, France

•

26-29

the Fashion Market Northern California

San Francisco, CA

•

•

27-29

SMOTA Shoe Market Of The Americas

Miami, FL

•

•

N/A N/A

(816) 231-6446

N/A

•

•

•

(800) ATL-MART

www.americasmart.com

•

•

•

(800) 289-6278

www.denvermart.com

★★

•

39-0575-9361

www.arezzofiere.it

N/A

•

(800) 525-5275

www.douglastradeshows.com

N/A

•

(477) 152-9000

www.sapica.com

(518) 859-6223

www.mahattanvintage.com

N/A

•

(630) 241-9865

www.gift2jewelry.com

N/A

•

(52) 33-3824-6040

www.modama.com.mx

★★

•

•

(511) 574-8000

www.promperu.gob.pe

N/A

•

•

(212) 686-4412

www.fameshows.com

N/A

•

(212) 686-4412

www.accessoriestheshow.com

(212) 686-4412

www.modamanhattan.com

•

(401) 295-4564

www.jewelrytradeshows.com

N/A

•

(212) 759-8055

www.enkshows.com

★★

(212) 759-8055

www.enkshows.com

★★

(212) 489-8300

www.mafw.com.au

N/A

•

N/A

www.ifema.es

N/A

•

48-61-869-2000

www.mtp.pl

N/A

•

0212-284-2300

www.leshow.ru

★★

(630) 584-9513

www.matrixapparelmarket.com

N/A

•

(86-21)2325-5281

www.shmart.pnxchina.com

N/A

•

(800) DAL-MKTS

www.dallasmarketsenter.com

★★

•

•

(214) 675-2176

www.southwestshoeexpo.com

★★

•

•

•

(212) 751-6422

www.ffany.org

★★★

•

•

•

•

(404) 220-2384

www.atlantasmart.com

★★★

•

•

•

•

(212) 759-8055

www.enkshows.com

★★

•

•

•

•

(213) 627-0671

www.newmart.net

N/A

•

•

•

(213) 630-3683

www.californiamarketcenter.com

N/A

•

•

(213) 630-3616

www.californiamarketcenter.com

★

•

(213) 630-3616

www.californiamarketcenter.com

★★

39 05536931

www.pittimmagine.com

★ Awful

★★★

★ ★ OK

•

39 05536931

www.pittimmagine.com

★★★

★ ★ ★ GOOD

•

(312) 943-3800

www.chicagoshoeexpo.com

★★

• •

• •

•

• •

• • • fashion show •

• • •

• •

•

•

© FFR- Focus On Fashion Retail

www.biffandbil.com

•

• •

FOCUS' RATING

•

• •

WEB SITE

This issue is brought to you by:

• •

•

★★★★

★★★

★★★★ ★★★

•

•

•

•

•

•

39 05536931

www.pittimmagine.com

★★

•

•

•

(212) 206-8310

www.capsuleshow.com

N/A

•

•

•

•

(415) 328-1221

www.fashionmarketnorcal.com

N/A

•

•

•

(786) 331-9000

www.smota.com

© FFR- Focus On Fashion Retail

★★★

LEGEND

★ ★ ★ ★ Awesome

Show dates and locations were accurate at the time of printing and subject to change without notice. Please contact venues directly for the latest information.

FFR’s ratings are based on reports from our correspondents, contributors, vendors and retailers who attended these events.

Ratings reflect people’s opinion of show organization, traffic, convenience and value for attending /participating businesses.

May 2010

23

5/9/10 10:50 AM

SALES LESSONS

SALES LESSONS

Part 3 of 5

by Michael Tidmore

Lesson 3 A. People, Product, Presentation and Price!

In Lesson 2, “The Approach”, I tried to make the point that if your aspirations are to be a successful, professional retail salesperson then you are just going to have to be a

The Presentation little different. That’s why “People” is listed number 1 in my version of the 4 P’s of professional selling. Not always, but sometimes, people will buy from you just because they like you.

When I was young single man, I discovered that the best “first” dates I ever had

happened when I remembered to not talk so much and just be an attentive listener.

All I needed to do was just ask a few questions such as “Tell me about where you’re from” or “Tell me about your family”. That would pretty much fill the entire dinner with plenty of conversation to make

it all the way through dessert. After all; what is almost anyone’s favorite subject to talk about? That’s right…themselves! I don’t mean to sound demeaning when I say that, but it’s just human nature. The best part of being a good listener is that the one doing all the talking will give you much more information on their own compared to what you would get by asking them a lot of specific questions.

If a customer can tell that you are listening to them attentively, they will just naturally like and trust you more. A good way to confirm to them that you are listening is to even paraphrase back to them what they just said so they know that you understand.

Top line When speaking about the other 3 “P’s” we can pretty much group them together into one subject. Knowing your product is key to success during the “Presentation”. Salespeople that have considerable amounts of product knowledge are just more confident. That confidence is exuded to the customer during the “Presentation” process. It is also a determining factor in whether the third “P” (Price) becomes an important issue or not.

Ok… Get ready.

Coming up next is going to be a lot of information that you really need in order to perfect your craft as professional salesperson.

However; it is entirely possible that it might not be necessary to use much of it.

When a customer asks the question; “Why is this shoe so expensive?” Your standard answer should be “It’s the high quality of the materials in this shoe”. Or; you can use the exact same sentence; just replace the word “materials” with the word “construction”. Sometimes, that will be all of the explanation the customer needs and they will be perfectly satisfied.

Insole Lining

Heel

Quarter Vamp Outsole Welt

B. Product Knowledge If you think about it, the only reason you really need any product knowledge, is for the situation where a customer says “A HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS!!!! Why is this shoe so expensive???”

Constructions Materials

First… Again, let’s talk about how you should never answer the question above.

NEVER, ever, say “Oh, just because of the brand name”. I actually hear salespeople say this to customers… unbelievable. Trust me, this not the answer the customer wants to here.

24

May 2010

1518 FOS May 20100509.indd 24-25

© FFR- Focus On Fashion Retail

© FFR- Focus On Fashion Retail

Basic Construction Types

Cement: If you work in a store that carries Women’s dress pumps, it’s a good bet that most of them, if not all, are made with a cement construction. When you look at the bottom of a dress shoe, you will notice that the sole is usually completely smooth all the way out to the edges. Very seldom will you see stitching on the sole that is attaching the sole to the “upper” of the shoe. If you see no stitching, you can usually assume that the sole is attached using cement (or in other words, glue). This particular method of conThroat line struction is very common because it is Toe cap one of the least expensive methods of shoe construction. That’s not to say that cement construction shoes are bad, it’s just that it’s not one you should brag about. You actually should not even mention it to the customer; you should just know how to recognize it.

Stiffener

In order to answer that question, you should know that in footwear and in many other clothing and textile products for that matter, there are 2 main categories of attributes that we must educate our customer about: • •

Tongue

Disclaimer: The following information is just a general outline of product knowledge and should not be taken as “all encompassing” by any means. I could write 50 pages of detailed information about this subject, but I’ve probably already tested your patience enough in this setting. It’s just a place to start and there will always be exceptions to the information below.

Stitched: The opposite of what I just described above. When you look at the bottom of a shoe and notice that there is row of stitching that travels around the outer edge of the sole, this obviously shows you that the sole is stitched on.

Toe puff This is a construction that you might boast about to the customer. Shoes with Shank stitched on soles are generally going to be more flexible than shoes made Outsole with cement constructions. Normally, but not always, shoes with stitched-on soles will generally have a leather sole.

What if the customer asks; “What do Leather soles are more comfortable because you mean, the quality of the materials?” they actually breathe (Leather is skin. Skin Uh, oh…That’s when you better sound has pores. Pores breathe). Leather soles will like you know what you’re talking about, also, to a certain extent, actually mold to your right? foot. Cement construction shoes with man made soles will not do this. Do you know The product dictates which one of the how to tell if a shoe has genuine leather sole? attributes you are going talk about when it comes to materials or constructions and There is a universal symbol that shoe sometimes you will even talk about both. manufactures use to signify a leather sole.

May 2010

25

5/9/10 10:50 AM

SALES LESSONS

SALES LESSONS

Part 3 of 5

by Michael Tidmore

Lesson 3 A. People, Product, Presentation and Price!

In Lesson 2, “The Approach”, I tried to make the point that if your aspirations are to be a successful, professional retail salesperson then you are just going to have to be a

The Presentation little different. That’s why “People” is listed number 1 in my version of the 4 P’s of professional selling. Not always, but sometimes, people will buy from you just because they like you.

When I was young single man, I discovered that the best “first” dates I ever had

happened when I remembered to not talk so much and just be an attentive listener.

All I needed to do was just ask a few questions such as “Tell me about where you’re from” or “Tell me about your family”. That would pretty much fill the entire dinner with plenty of conversation to make

it all the way through dessert. After all; what is almost anyone’s favorite subject to talk about? That’s right…themselves! I don’t mean to sound demeaning when I say that, but it’s just human nature. The best part of being a good listener is that the one doing all the talking will give you much more information on their own compared to what you would get by asking them a lot of specific questions.

If a customer can tell that you are listening to them attentively, they will just naturally like and trust you more. A good way to confirm to them that you are listening is to even paraphrase back to them what they just said so they know that you understand.

Top line When speaking about the other 3 “P’s” we can pretty much group them together into one subject. Knowing your product is key to success during the “Presentation”. Salespeople that have considerable amounts of product knowledge are just more confident. That confidence is exuded to the customer during the “Presentation” process. It is also a determining factor in whether the third “P” (Price) becomes an important issue or not.

Ok… Get ready.

Coming up next is going to be a lot of information that you really need in order to perfect your craft as professional salesperson.

However; it is entirely possible that it might not be necessary to use much of it.

When a customer asks the question; “Why is this shoe so expensive?” Your standard answer should be “It’s the high quality of the materials in this shoe”. Or; you can use the exact same sentence; just replace the word “materials” with the word “construction”. Sometimes, that will be all of the explanation the customer needs and they will be perfectly satisfied.

Insole Lining

Heel

Quarter Vamp Outsole Welt

B. Product Knowledge If you think about it, the only reason you really need any product knowledge, is for the situation where a customer says “A HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS!!!! Why is this shoe so expensive???”

Constructions Materials

First… Again, let’s talk about how you should never answer the question above.

NEVER, ever, say “Oh, just because of the brand name”. I actually hear salespeople say this to customers… unbelievable. Trust me, this not the answer the customer wants to here.

24

May 2010

1518 FOS May 20100509.indd 24-25

© FFR- Focus On Fashion Retail

© FFR- Focus On Fashion Retail

Basic Construction Types

Cement: If you work in a store that carries Women’s dress pumps, it’s a good bet that most of them, if not all, are made with a cement construction. When you look at the bottom of a dress shoe, you will notice that the sole is usually completely smooth all the way out to the edges. Very seldom will you see stitching on the sole that is attaching the sole to the “upper” of the shoe. If you see no stitching, you can usually assume that the sole is attached using cement (or in other words, glue). This particular method of conThroat line struction is very common because it is Toe cap one of the least expensive methods of shoe construction. That’s not to say that cement construction shoes are bad, it’s just that it’s not one you should brag about. You actually should not even mention it to the customer; you should just know how to recognize it.

Stiffener

In order to answer that question, you should know that in footwear and in many other clothing and textile products for that matter, there are 2 main categories of attributes that we must educate our customer about: • •

Tongue

Disclaimer: The following information is just a general outline of product knowledge and should not be taken as “all encompassing” by any means. I could write 50 pages of detailed information about this subject, but I’ve probably already tested your patience enough in this setting. It’s just a place to start and there will always be exceptions to the information below.

Stitched: The opposite of what I just described above. When you look at the bottom of a shoe and notice that there is row of stitching that travels around the outer edge of the sole, this obviously shows you that the sole is stitched on.

Toe puff This is a construction that you might boast about to the customer. Shoes with Shank stitched on soles are generally going to be more flexible than shoes made Outsole with cement constructions. Normally, but not always, shoes with stitched-on soles will generally have a leather sole.

What if the customer asks; “What do Leather soles are more comfortable because you mean, the quality of the materials?” they actually breathe (Leather is skin. Skin Uh, oh…That’s when you better sound has pores. Pores breathe). Leather soles will like you know what you’re talking about, also, to a certain extent, actually mold to your right? foot. Cement construction shoes with man made soles will not do this. Do you know The product dictates which one of the how to tell if a shoe has genuine leather sole? attributes you are going talk about when it comes to materials or constructions and There is a universal symbol that shoe sometimes you will even talk about both. manufactures use to signify a leather sole.

May 2010

25

5/9/10 10:50 AM

SALES LESSONS It’s a symbol that is engraved into the sole that looks like a cowhide. Notice I said “engraved” into the sole. That is how you know for sure; you can see and feel that the symbol is actually an engraved stamp in the sole. Be careful though and don’t be fooled because some manufacturers will put a little adhesive sticker on the sole of the shoe that just looks like the little cowhide symbol to try make the customer think it is leather sole when it is not. For many people; hand sewn, “moccasin” construction, stitched shoes, such as the famous old Penny loafers are the most comfortable type of shoe to wear. In fact, the very first shoes ever made in our country were stitched moccasins made by Native Americans.

Injection Molded: This is one of the most durable and popular constructions in footwear today. There are many variations of this construction. This construction was originally designed for athletic shoes but now has expanded and spawned many variations that are used in comfort footwear of all types. It is a very complicated construction process but here is a summary. Construction starts with the sole. Hot liquid rubber, EVA, latex, Polyurethane, or even a combination of these materials are poured into a mold and shaped into sole or even a sole/midsole combination. The upper of the shoe, under a combination of heat and pressure, is then dropped into this molded sole and attached. In some cases the sole is even stitched on in addition to being attached with heat and pressure.

The equipment and process for this type of construction is very expensive but makes an extremely supportive and durable shoe.

Most of the better comfort shoes are made in new variations of this type of construction and have different names depending on the manufacturer such as “Opanka” which combines hand sewing and molded soles.

Old school versions of this construction we called “Vulcanized” where the sole of the shoe was actually melted to the upper under extreme heat. Canvas oxfords such as the traditional Keds were and still are made this way.

Welted: The “Cadillac” of all shoe constructions. Most of the time you will hear of this referred to as a Goodyear Welted construction. Goodyear Tire Company originally designed the machines used to make shoes 26

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in this manner. The welted shoe is a strip of leather, rubber, or plastic that is stitched to the upper and insole of a shoe, as an attachpoint for the sole. The space enclosed by the welt is then filled with cork or some other filler material (usually either porous or perforated, for breathability), and the outsole is both cemented and stitched to the welt. The easiest way to recognize this construction is to look for a row of stiching around the top edge of the sole of a shoe. The best example is to think of a Dr. Marten boot. The bright yellow stitiching is a signature look for that company and the reason they use it is to bring attention to the fact that they use the finest of shoe constructions in their footwear. Welted constructions are the most expensive type of construction, but it lends itself to being just about the most durable as well. Welted shoes are really the only type of construction that can be re-soled.

Materials If you are reading this, you are probably affiliated with a retail store that carries moderate to better quality footwear. This means that most of the shoes in your assortment will most likely be made of leather, so there is no reason to say much about man-made materials.

Leather has always been and will most likely continue to be most people’s material of choice for footwear. This is not to say that there is no such thing as good manmade materials, because they definitely have their place, especially in athletic shoes. Even though leather may not have the durability of man-made materials, people will probably

choose it for these reasons: It molds to your feet, it breathes and is just overall healthier for your feet. There are now newer “vegan” materials that are becoming popular that are actually very good products and have the same attributes of genuine leather. Many of these “Vegan” materials are even up to 80% biodegradable.

Leather is a by-product of the beef industry; therefore it is “graded” similar to the way meat is graded. Just as in when you buy steaks at the grocery store, tanneries like butchers can produce “Prime” leathers, Grade A leathers etc. The grade of the leather refers to the thickness and the specific part of the hide that it is cut from. Most types of leather can have different grades within them. The most common leathers are: Cowhide: The most common type of leather, therefore in general, the least expensive.

Cowhides are very thick and are very easily recognizable because of their thickness.

They also have inconsistencies in the grain and tend to have visible flaws and imperfections. These imperfections are not necessarily undesirable; most would say that they add character to the material. Most of the leather shoes in your assortment will be made of cowhide. The United States provides quite a large percentage of the hides used to produce footwear because we are such large consumers of beef. Not so in other types of leathers.

Kidskin: The hide of a young goat. A very thin, but very perfect leather with an extremely high tensile strength. This is the leather of choice for many manufacturers that produce women’s dress pumps. The thin leather with © FFR- Focus On Fashion Retail

SALES LESSONS small pores holds a glossy finish better than most leathers and has very few flaws. Flaws in leathers occur frequently in cowhides due to scratches from barbed wire fences, insect bites and other natural elements. Goat hides are much less likely to have as many flaws.

Calfskin: One of the most sought after leathers. Because the hides are from young animals, they are softer. Cattle spend almost 100% of their lives outdoors in the sun. Even though they are covered with thick hair, the sun still weathers the skin underneath and dries out the natural oils contained in the skin much like what happens to human skin when we get sunburned. Calfskin obviously harbors much less of these effects compared to full grown animals. Calfskin has much more elasticity than other leathers so it is much better at molding to your feet. Like kidskin there are many less imperfections in calfskin.

Exotics: Snake, eel, ostrich, alligator, lizard etc. are all examples of exotic skins. These are obviously the most expensive leathers because of a limited supply. In some cases these types of leathers are actually more durable than traditional cowhides and calfskins but in some instances it is just the opposite.

Generally shoes made of these materials are purchased as a fashion forward luxury item and not so much for function.

Leather Finishes: All of the leather types listed above can have different kinds of finishes and treatments for visual or functional impact. Many people think that “suede” is a type of leather but actually it is a finish. You

can have a suede cowhide, a suede kidskin, a suede calfskin etc. Suede is the underside of the leather that is put through a machine that evens out and buffs the nap. Thin leathers like kidskin make the most luxurious suede because the pores in the leather are smaller, thus creating deeper colors and a more even nap. “Patent” is a shiny finish that can be applied to any type of leather. Metallic finishes are also very popular. “Nubuck” is an interesting finish. It is somewhat similar to suede except it is the topside of the leather that is buffed by a machine that has metal sandpa-

Example: A customer has a pump in her hand that is a typical cement construction.

A cement construction is nothing special, so you are not going to boast about that at all. As a matter of fact, you shouldn’t even bring it up. What you can talk about though is the high grade of calfskin the shoe is made from.

Example 2: You have a welted oxford on your customer. The shoe is made of a typical cowhide but there is still plenty to talk about because the shoe is made with a Goodyear welt construction that is stitched together in 4 different places. It also can be resoled and has an extra layer of extruded cork for cushioning in the midsole and could very well be one of the most durable constructions the customer has ever owned.

per in it. This brings up a little bit of nap on the topside of the leather for a soft finish.

I think you see my point.

You will usually pick one of the two. You will either talk about the construction of the shoe or the materials. In a few cases, maybe even both.

You might think it would be overwhelming to try to learn this information about every single shoe in your assortment but you really don’t have to. After just a little experience you will learn to recognize these attributes pretty easily.

Product Knowledge Summary: Ok…. You just got a ton of information. So let’s put it into practical application. It’s quite obvious that you couldn’t possibly use all of it with one customer. Whichever shoe you happen to be discussing with the customer will dictate the necessary product knowledge.

Today, people want to know that they are getting value in whatever they buy.

It is definitely worth using some product knowledge whether the customer asks or not. Validating a customer’s decision to buy is extremely important and helps to close a sale.

Michael Tidmore, President Successful Online Stores, LLC In the retail business for more than 30 years. Beginning in high school and all through college I worked in department stores selling Men’s clothing.

After college (Texas Tech University-Marketing) I worked as a wholesale sales representative for Miller Shoe Co. Through that position, I was offered an opportunity through one of my clients to manage a group of independent shoe stores (S&J Shoe Company) in South and West Texas. I went on to become a Regional Manager over footwear for Dillard’s department stores for almost 15 years, where under my tenure my area went from 23M in sales to more than 120M. Please feel free to send me an e-mail with any questions or comments at mike@successfulstore.com

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Continues in next issue 5/9/10 10:50 AM 5/10/10 3:01 PM

ManageMent

Capitalizing on the Coming ReCoveRy to BeCome an employeR of ChoiCe®

By Joyce Gioia

s a retailer, a strong bottom line is vital and you know that committed, engaged employees are the most important factor in driving profits. That understanding may have fueled your desire to become an Employer of Choice®. This article will give you a roadmap for how you can support your desired transformation.

Despite the recent economic contraction, 2010 will greet employers like you with a host of challenges. Recruiting, retaining, and engaging talented people will become much more difficult. Despite rapidly rising unemployment levels, research shows that employers are already facing a scarcity of skilled talent. Most people would not think of retail sales help as “skilled”, but you know better. Employees who know your lines, know how your garments fit, and know your customers are worth their weight in gold.

As a recent issue of The Herman Trend Alert (www.HermanTrendAlert.com) pointed out, the late 2009 Employment Dynamics and Growth Expectations (EDGE) Report reveals some fascinating insights into the current hiring environment.

Nearly half (47 percent) of managers surveyed cited “a shortage of qualified applicants” as their top hiring challenge. At the same time, 55 percent of employees plan to change “jobs, careers, or industries” when the economy recovers. all

As futurists, we forecast an oversignificant increase in voluntary

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challenges. As a business leader, your role in this process is pivotal.

(worker-generated) employee turnover. To stop this coming unprecedented churning from affecting you, you need to resolve to take proactive steps now to ensure you will have the talent you need to be profitable.

Seven Strategies for a Successful 2010 Enlightened retailers will heed this warning and take steps now to engage their valued employees and avoid this unwanted turnover. Here are eight strategies your company would do well to adopt for 2010 to keep it profitable in the face of these

Resolve to train all of your people before you promote them. There is an epidemic in corporations around the world of “Promotion by Anointment”. Companies mistakenly believe that they can choose the new supervisor or assistant manager, sprinkle some fairy dust over the person, and instantly, have a trained leader.

Unfortunately, this lack of training causes problems for everyone: the individual feels ill-prepared, because s/he truly is, the people reporting to the new manager do not feel taken care of, and the company often loses because people leave. When organizations train people before moving them into new positions, everybody wins: levels of engagement increase, employee turnover is averted, and sales go up.

Commit to investing five to ten percent of gross receipts on training―a major driver of retention. Around the globe, when you ask people what they are looking for in an employer, often at the top of their list is training and development. People want to be better tomorrow, than they are today.

A significant investment in training is one © FFR- Focus On Fashion Retail

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MANAgEMENt of the initiatives we look for when evaluating whether an organization deserves the Employer of Choice® Award. When companies invest in their people at these levels, everybody and everything benefits―even your customers. . .and especially your bottom line.

In the retail realm, too many people believe that training is “unnecessary”. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Whether they are learning how to deal with difficult customers or how to maximize sales or for your back of the house people, the newest compliance regulations, training is important to retail employees.

throughout the community. Help your store to be the leader in your community that other stores seek to imitate. People want to work for employers that “make a difference” for the environment and the community. The findings from the IBM Global Business Services’ Study on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reflect that both customers and workers are attracted to companies that place a high value on CSR.

Develop and implement an effective employee suggestion program. Typically, an Employer of Choice® is open to employees’ ideas for improvement. One way to capitalize on this process is to implement the I-Power program, a systematic method for mining the collective intelligence of employees that motivates people to think about improvement.

Using I-Power, one retailer in Denver, Colorado realized some amazing results: employee turnover dropped from 35 to 15 percent and sales more than doubled... while adding only 25 percent more space and 20 percent more staff. I-Power It literally makes continuous improvement part of an organization’s culture. For more information, visit http://www.i-power.com/.

Invest time and effort in crafting an excellent onboarding program for new recruits. Contrary to popular belief, onboarding does not begin on the first day of employment; it actually begins with their first contact with your organization and ends at the end of the first year of employment. This onboarding period is your opportunity to bond with suspects, prospects, and candidates, to really connect them to the organization. Retailers small and large need to be aware of the power of the bonding process and take full advantage of it.

Begin now to provide a re-orientation (and onboarding) for all of your long-term employees. Your organization may believe it is safe from turnover among long-tenured employees. However, those senior, often highly trained, employees are vulnerable to being “poached”. Create a special re-orientation for your long-tenured people. When you think about how much has changed in the last few years, it just makes sense.

benefit themselves and the whole organization. Encourage this self-expression and your bottom line will grow.

Taking the Next Step: Becoming an Employer of Choice® Ignoring the importance of CSR will leave you at a competitive disadvantage.

Embrace diversity and capitalize on the bonus it provides. People want to buy from people who look and sound like them. If your staff does not reflect your customer base, resolve now to change that situation. As the United States has welcomed immigration, customer populations are more diverse. Embrace that diversity.

Commit to becoming “green” and pro- Every employee brings a unique set of moting your good corporate citizenship gifts; when people express those gifts, they

Though simply adopting these strategies will not insure recognition, stores that implement these ideas will be well on their way to becoming Employers of Choice®―distinctions earned only by companies whose leadership, culture, and best practices attract, optimize, and hold top talent. Employers of Choice® enjoy “a higher level of performance, greater workforce stability, and the level of continuity that assures preservation of the knowledge base, customer loyalty, employee satisfaction, and stronger profits”. (www.EmployerOfChoice. com) What are you waiting for?

Employer of Choice® is a registered certification mark of Employer of Choice, Inc. For more information about the award, visit www.EmployerOfChoice.com.

Joyce Gioia (joy-yah), a workforce futurist and CEO of Employer of Choice, Inc. is the author of five business books, including two business bestsellers. An internationally recognized speaker, Gioia has spoken in on six continents, in 46 states and is available for seminars, workshops, and keynote presentations. She may be reached directly at 336.210.3548; joyce@hermangroup.com.

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2010

Retail Trends &Opportunities

by Garrick H. S. Brown

• After reaching record lows in early 2009, consumer confidence levels have improved but will only grow if employment does the same.

• The U.S. lost 4 million jobs in 2009 on top of 3.1 million jobs lost in 2008. National unemployment stood at 10 percent as of the start of 2010. Job losses will likely bottom out sometime during the first quarter, but growth will be minimal.

• “The fear factor,” which reduced consumer spending in 2009, increased the personal savings rate and lowered household debt, will dissipate in 2010.The National Retail Federation (NRF) predicts retail sales will increase by 2.5 percent in 2010.

• Credit card companies pulled back, reducing the availability of consumer credit, a trend that will continue as credit card companies limit their exposure. The credit markets, nearly frozen at the beginning of the year, improved but remain tight. Many retailers “on the edge” will face challenges in refinancing. The accelerating rate of small bank failures remains a threat. Before the commercial real estate foreclosure crisis is over, we expect a minimum of 1,000 U.S. bank failures.

• Once hot growth areas like Arizona, California’s Central Valley, Florida, Las

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U.S. RETAIL MARKET INDICATORS Fall 2009

Transactional Activity

• In 2009, commercial real estate leasing and sales activity was off by as much as 70 percent in some U.S. markets. But in 2010 “deal paralysis” ends, decision makers are back, leasing market will improve and investment activity will increase steadily.

VACANCY OCCUPANCY ABSORPTION

Spring 2010*



• Sale pricing for retail properties has dropped roughly 40 percent from peak values due to the impact of distressed properties and weakened market fundamentals. Pricing for retail properties will take further hits, but there will be a clear separation between values for distressed assets and stabilized properties with strong occupancy. The strongest assets will likely see only minimal further price depreciation.

CONSTRUCTION

• More distressed properties will be brought to the marketplace in 2010, but the commercial real estate foreclosure crisis will not play out as a tsunami that further crashes real estate values in one giant wave.

Cap rates increased from the seven percent range to the eights and continue to rise, but many would-be buyers (especially vulture funds) were holding out for nine caps or greater. Look for cap rates to move from the eights to the nines and to stay there for stabilized core assets with strong occupancy.

Distressed properties may transact at ten caps and above.

• Investors holding out for fire sale pricing on distressed assets helped to increase the gulf between bids and asking prices. Vulture funds held out for a flood of distressed properties to hit the market and further crash values. Most REITs can now be classified as either bankrupt or “ready.” The “ready” REITs raised war chests through public offerings (over $18 billion in 2009) to both shore up balance sheets and prepare for acquisition sprees.

RENTAL RATE CONSUMER SPENDING

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   

The Economy

Vegas and a handful of other markets were suddenly both overbuilt with housing and under-demand on retail. Retail recovery will be tied to housing recovery in every market.



QUICK FACTS

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*Projected, relative to prior period

• Note sales, short sales, the return of CMBS, and moves by REITs will help mitigate the

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issue of distressed commercial properties, but only somewhat, and likely just at the top end of the scale.

Market Trends

• While retail vacancies will stabilize in many markets, we are not done with contraction. New retail construction has virtually disappeared—currently at a 25year low and will remain at record lows.

• Depending on the market, lease rates have dropped 25 to 40 percent from 2005/2006 peak levels of 2005/2006. Downward pressure will remain on lease rates. Urban storefront retail may begin to show signs of stabilization by year end.

• Rent relief, renegotiated leases and early renewal/ “blend & extend” deals will continue in 2010.

• Urban storefronts and regional malls were the beneficiary as “pop-up,” or temporary stores, became increasingly popular with retailers. Pop-ups allowed retailers to experiment with new concepts, possible permanent sites and to greater exploit seasonal sales at lower occupancy costs.

• Major retailers who had previously been priced out of space in top U.S. urban markets (e.g. Manhattan, Chicago) found deals on storefront rents in major downtown areas.

• Store closings were actually down slightly in 2009 from 2008. Though credit remains stringent, many retailers “on the edge” were able to refinance “lights out” debt. Meanwhile, “white knight buyers” also helped to mitigate retail failures/ closures in 2009.

• Retailers drastically cut costs and paid down debt in 2009. Landlords were the big loser here as one of the primary ways retailers cut costs was to aggressively renegotiate leases.

• Mom and pop retailers have been failing and the pipeline of new start-ups has virtually disappeared. Many of these businesses are reliant on virtually non-existent home equity and small business lending.

• Competition drove down retailer margins in 2009, especially in the grocery sector due to Walmart and warehouse stores. More retailers will look to grab a piece of the grocery pie, but price deflation has shrunk the slices. Look for grocery consolidation.

• Fast food and fast casual restaurants (concept burger, wings and yogurt stores) are doing well. Casual dining and upscale restaurants will feel the pain, though 2010 will be a year of improvement. Restaurant growth will be franchise-driven, but tight lending could hamper this.

• Regional malls and grocery or drug-store anchored neighborhood/community centers have fared best. Strip centers have been especially hard-hit due to the disappearance of mom-and-pop retailers (overly reliant on non-existent home equity and small business lending) and overbuilding in many markets.

USA RETAIL OUTLOOK

• Conditions are ripe for “flight to quality.”

With rents down on average at least a third, top retail locations are where the few active space users are looking for deals.

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Retailer Trends

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• The “New Frugality” is here for at least five years. Necessity and off-price retailers will continue to fare best.

, e

• Ethnic-themed retailers will continue to expand and drugstores will prosper as America’s demographics shift.

The ‘Not So Fast…’ Recovery

It is no secret that 2009 was one of the most challenging years for retailers in decades.

By third quarter 2009, the U.S. economy had recorded GDP growth of 2.2 percent. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis’ (BEA) fourth quarter 2009 GDP numbers indicated a growth rate of 5.9 percent—the highest growth rate since 2003. So clearly, this downturn is over, right? Not so fast… while “The Great Recession” may technically be over in terms of the standard economic measurements, recovery is an entirely different thing. Good economic news aside, we are entering into what will be, plain and simple, a “not so fast” recovery.

Dude, Where’s My Job?

Despite the encouraging economic news that marked the latter half of 2009, there has been little in the way of good news on the job front. The U.S. lost more than four million jobs in 2009, adding to the 3.1 million jobs lost in 2008. And though the hemorrhaging has slowed considerably, it is not over. In fact, as we entered 2010, the most recent announcements of job cuts have come from retailers.

In January, Walmart announced that they would be cutting approximately 11,200 jobs at Sam’s Club, Home Depot is slashing 1,000 positions—100 at three underperforming stores it is closing and another 900 corporate jobs. Macy’s also recently announced plans to cut up to 1,500 jobs at the store level.

Meanwhile, Borders also announced plans to cut 10 percent of its corporate staff, or about 124 employees.

U.S. ANNUAL GDP GROWTH RATE (%) 8 6 4 2 0 -2 -4 -6 -8

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Latest data available: 4th Qtr 2009

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The national unemployment rate currently stands in the ten percent range but underemployment —which includes the jobless, those who have given up looking for work and those who have taken part-time employment—could be as high as 18 percent.

Most of the reputable economic forecasts predict a return to unemployment rates below the seven percent mark around 2016.

Most of the pop-up deals that were transacted in 2009 were either within regional malls or in urban street front locations. For example, in December sports apparel retailer Under Armour recently opened a 3,300 square foot pop-up store (its first) in New York City. The site was not just geared towards Christmas shopping, but also to capitalize on the 2010 Winter Olympics.

clauses that allowed tenants to terminate their leases should occupancy fall beneath this mark. Rather than lose more tenants, the landlord was faced with a terrible dilemma.

Ultimately he chose to tear down the vacant Circuit City, reducing the center’s overall gross leasable area and keeping occupancy above the tipping point that would have almost certainly cost him more tenants.

r e r

So long as unemployment is above the eight percent range (and we expect this to be the case for at least the next three to four years), consumer spending will remain restrained.

Cheaper Rents Translate Into More Urban Activity

Another challenge is that most tenants signing shopping center leases today insist upon the inclusion of co-tenancy clauses to release tenants from their leases entirely should anchor space go dark. In other cases, co-tenancy clauses can specify reduced rent or other further landlord concessions.

Vacancy clauses, though less common, are just as problematic.

T v a b q p u j

Year of the Pop-Up

One of the bright spots in the current retail malaise has been the emergence of “popup” or temporary retail space. Pop-ups have always been a player in the holiday sales season—Hickory Farms stores have been mining this territory for decades. Though pop-ups used to carry a negative connotation for landlords, the entry of trendier retailers into the pop-up game has bolstered landlords’ willingness to do very short-term leases. While typical retail leases are usually for a minimum of five years and feature expense pass-throughs to the lessee—most of the pop-up leases that we have seen have been for flat fees.

While most of the pop-up deals done over the past year were still seasonal deals in nature (Toys R ‘Us opened more than 80 pop-ups in vacated mall space for the holiday), many other retailers experimented with pop-ups as a way to test run potential locations. For example, American Eagle was so pleased with its 77kids pop-up concept that it will be developing permanent brick and mortar sites in 2010.

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Now that urban storefront rents are down across the board, many retailers who had been priced out are finding plenty of opportunities, especially in New York City, where streetfront rents dropped by as much as 40 percent. JCPenney, Kohl’s, Michael’s, Costco and Aldi have all been acquiring new sites in the Big Apple. Walmart and Target have both been active in Chicago and both retailers are exploring a new small store format that will almost exclusively be used in urban settings. Walmart has also announced plans to explore smaller formats, as have a number of other chains. Look for this trend to continue in 2010 and to play a role in downtown retail markets being among the first to recover.

Ghost Boxes and Black Hole Space

The collapse of big box chains Circuit City, Linens N’ Things, Mervyn’s and Gottschalk’s in 2008/2009 helped send vacancy rates skyward in most U.S. markets and added some new terms to the real estate lexicon: “Ghost boxes” (vacant big box) and “black hole” space” (big box space for which demolition is the best option). At a center in Northern California where a vacated Circuit City location, combined with other big box vacancies, helped to bring occupancy levels below the 50 percent mark, most of the remaining leases in place had vacancy

Much has been made over the potential creative re-use of big-box space. In the upscale Sacramento suburb of Rocklin, California, an 80,000 square foot vacant Mervyn’s store is currently being converted to theater space. Meanwhile, vacated boxes in Rohnert Park, California (former Linens N’ Things), Austin, Minnesota (former K-Mart) and Round Rock, Texas (former Walmart) were all recently converted to indoor go-kart racing facilities. We also have heard of former K-Marts converted into libraries, a CompUSA converted into temporary museum space and have heard stories of boxes being used for indoor swap meets, churches or Department of Motor Vehicles offices.

These cases are rare because in nearly every case of a creative re-use scenario there is a requirement of capital for retrofits. And most owners are simply strapped. While we will certainly continue to see more creative re-use of vacant box space in the years to come, the best option for most landlords still

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remains finding a way to lease the space… even if that means at a steeply discounted rental rate.

Steeply discounted rates played a huge factor in bringing a new round of expansion from users looking for deals. Bed, Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, Dollar Tree, Forever 21, Kohl’s, Marshalls, Ross Dress for Less, and

for the chain. The same can be said of Dollar Tree, another user in the 8,000 to 12,000 square foot range. But as good as this news is, expansion from these players will not be enough to backfill all of the currently vacant big box space in the market. And we will likely see additional big box space returned to the marketplace in the coming year. More major U.S. chains could very well fail in the

‘Pretend & extend,’ a sharp increase in note sales, the return of the CMBS market and a gradual increase in refinances and workouts will help to prevent an even more painful correction.

TJ Maxx have all been aggressively pursuing vacant big boxes. A number of health clubs and grocery store chains are also signing big box deals. For example, during the third quarter of 2009 Kimco reported that 66 percent of all the new leases it signed (just under half a million square feet) were for junior anchor tenants using box space.

The deals have been enough to be the focal point of some retailers’ growth strategies.

One year ago, Indianapolis-based HHGregg was a regional electronics chain that few shoppers had heard of outside of the Midwest.

The chain saw the opportunity presented by the glut of big box space and has seized upon it to grow into a national player. HHGregg opened about 20 stores last year and will open as many as 45 in 2010 while expanding into new markets. With a typical footprint of about 30,000 square feet, former Circuit City stores are proving to be ideal locations

coming months and chains will continue to shutter underperforming stores.

2010: The Year When ‘Not As Bad’

Becomes the New GoodWith the arrival of 2010 came a slew of bad retail news.

Macy’s announced that it would be closing five underperforming stores. Sam’s Club announced the closure of ten warehouse stores. Foot Locker plans on shuttering at least 117 stores as it seeks to internally reorganize. And the challenges faced by video rental stores alone could easily translate into over 13 million square feet of additional vacancy in the marketplace over the next two years. Certainly there will be more retail failures, more bankruptcies and more store closures ahead. The good news is that against this challenging backdrop, consumer sentiment and spending will begin to improve. And deal activity will be on an upward trajectory in 2010—there

are more space users making moves in the market today than there were a year ago and we expect these numbers to increase going forward.

Dominated by Distress

With the arrival of 2010, it has become more apparent that the commercial real estate foreclosure crisis will not likely play out with a tidal wave of foreclosed commercial properties that will crash property values even further.

Instead, the ongoing banking strategy of “pretend & extend,” a sharp increase in note sales, the return of the CMBS market and a gradual increase in refinance activity and loan workouts will prevent the market from enduring a short, but extremely painful, correction. Instead, it appears that the market will likely face a period of years in which wave after wave of troubled assets will gradually be returned to the marketplace.

This will result in further pricing decreases, but commercial real estate values have already taken the lion’s share of the declines that can be expected. These waves are already starting to hit. Not surprisingly, this is due to the rapid acceleration of bank failures that is occurring.

Credit Key to Retail Failures in 2010

The rapid acceleration of U.S. bank failures holds a few other potentially negative implications for the marketplace. Most of the banks we expect to fail are small local or regional players. This will not have much of an impact on major retailers with large $50 million+ credit facilities through major financial institutions. But it could be potentially devastating to the types of small business lending that (along with home equity loans) have traditionally been the initial line of funding for mom-and-pop retailers.

Continues in next issue...

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Garrick H. S. Brown, National Retail Research Director, Colliers International Colliers International is a leading global real estate services firm that operates in 61 countries. For more information, please go to: http://www.colliers.com

5/10/10 3:01 PM

MOtIVAtION

By Dale Carnegie & assoCiates

engaging eMPloyees during tiMes of uncertainty As a manager, turbulent times can be unsettling.

Employees want to be upbeat, positive, and encouraged about the future, but news about the economy, conversations with some customers, and input from others in the organization can often leave them feeling uncomfortable and unsure. So how do you balance these conflicting ideas, maintain a positive environment, and keep employees focused on a positive future?

are excited about what the future may hold or about how their role may change and evolve in the future are more likely to stay engaged during this period of uncertainty.

Encourage Empowerment

Create Ongoing Dialogue

Employees typically like to believe that their efforts contribute to something bigger than themselves. To help employees feel like empowered, contributing members of the team, take time to help them focus on results that support mission achievement, grow their skills and abilities so they can continue to contribute in the future, and challenge them to find innovative ways of performing their role. This process will help them be productive today, plan for ways to continue being productive in the future, and help the organization find ways to improve effectiveness and efficiency and stay competitive.

Maintain open communication with all employees to build followership. You can do this with general conversation, by sharing organization level communications, and by spending time focusing employees on the work at hand. It is important that you spend time discussing expectations, the value of an employee’s role, and key measurements of success within each employee’s role. This will help employees stay on task (an important way to keep uncertainty from becoming a distraction) and open up meaningful discussion about how employee roles may change as new plans unfold. Employees who

While there are rarely easy answers to the unique issues that arise during times of turbulence, managers cannot retreat to the office and hope the situation will simply cure itself. Difficult times call for consistent leadership. Helping your team stay focused on the organization’s direction and their individual role in achieving that direction and encouraging them to develop new approaches for helping the organization succeed in these difficult times are just a couple of ways that managers can help create an environment that continues to engage employees in uncertain times.

Focus on Vision and Mission While it is important for you to clarify your organization’s overriding vision and mission during times of uncertainty, it is also vitally important that you consider how your team contributes to that overall vision and mission. An economic downturn is an opportune time for you to explain to your team how vital their role is in the department. As a manager, you must create an exciting picture of the future look of the department and team and share this vision with the team by explaining how each team member contributes to making the vision a reality. Employees will feel more engaged when they understand their vital roles in the organization, in their department, and in their team.

Develop Connections The key role of any leader is to develop supportive, loyal, and talented employees.

Leaders cannot accomplish this task from a distance. In times of turbulence and change, you must be increasingly visible and approachable. Employees want a manager who knows them (personally and professionally), 36

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who is willing to listen to them, and who is caring enough to take time to address their individual concerns. This is a critical time to walk around the office, make extra phone calls to off-site employees, and keep current with email. Employees who feel connected to you are more likely to feel engaged in the organization. Be sure to schedule time to foster connections with employees.

© FFR- Focus On Fashion Retail

MOtIVAtION

Motivation Leaders respect and value the differences in others. In times of uncertainty, you accept that your available human resources are your only sustainable competitive advantage. When the people you lead don’t perform at acceptable levels, you must sometimes exert your influence. Sometimes you don’t have authority to make them perform better. In those situations, you must often accept whatever they give you or try to find ways to influence or inspire them to improve their performance. There are five primary reasons people underperform. Understanding the reasons behind nonperformance is the first step to using your abilities to influence others effectively and without resorting to manipulation

Reason:

Reason:

Reason:

I don’t know what to do...

Solution: Educate — If people don’t know

I don’t believe I can...

Solution: Coach — This area reflects your

I don’t want to...

Solution: Motivate

Reason:

Reason:

I don’t know how to do it...

Solution: Train — When they don’t know

I don’t know why...

Solution: Vision — When other people don’t

what to do, you can get them what they need to get past this obstacle. Show people what they need to do by building a strong foundation for their performance during new employee orientation and the on-boarding process or later during education and development opportunities. Unless people clearly understand what they need to do, they will make mistakes or allocate their time to the tasks inappropriately.

how, you can get them the practice and skills they need to begin to perform better.

Training is the answer. Take people through the step-by-step process of performing tasks and explain how the correct execution of those steps creates success for them and the organization.

confidence in their ability to perform. It is important to show them that the job can be done and that they can do it. Coaching is not just a matter of cheering your employees on, but of helping them see why they have been selected to perform the task or why they have been appointed to the team. Instill in them a belief in themselves and the confidence to use past successes as a steppingstone to future opportunities.

see the reason behind your directions, you need to get their support to move forward.

This is often a trust issue. A senior leader’s vision for the organization is a good start, but employees also need to know how they fit into that vision and why their organizational processes are critical to accomplishing the vision.

— This is the most challenging reason people underperform — when people know what to do and how to do it, but they are not motivated enough to do it or they feel they have a better way.

Sometimes people even try to sabotage the process to slow down changes. In this situation, you must use your influence to get results. Motivation is the key. If people know what to do, how to do it, believe they can do it, and know why they should do it, non-performance must be due to some other barrier that may not be immediately discernable. Look at how the organization is inspiring its employees. Are they being kept busy without knowing how their activities relate to the organization’s mission or vision?

Inspired employees have the internal desire to achieve the vision.

This article is reprinted with permission from Global Services Team from Dale Carnegie & Associates www.dalecarnegie.com 38

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© FFR- Focus On Fashion Retail

t m w h . e t e y

r y e ? e

YOUR OPINION COUNTS! As a service to our worldwide audience, Focus on Fashion Retail regularly conducts surveys to determine satisfaction with the various footwear, apparel and accessories trade shows and to rank our readers’ favorites. Being an independent media outlet not affiliated with any trade show, we believe that peoples’ opinion must be heard, it adds up to the value of our services as well as serves the needs of the industry.

As always, in the closing issue of the year (November) we will be announcing and reviewing the TOP 10 TRADE SHOWS of 2010. For that purpose, we will be conducting this survey throughout the year, offering to rate performance of various shows. Events collected the maximum score will make it to the final list.

If you have attended any of the shows listed below and would like to submit your opinion, please do so according to these rules: • Rate the shows you have attended on the scale of 1 through 10, where 1 is awful and 10 is awesome; • You must identify yourself (see opposite side); • Your opinion must be fair and objective; • You must be an independent observer, not employed by not affiliated with any trade show;

Show

Organization, Planning, Promotion

• Please rate only those events that you have attended within last 6 months.

Upon completion, please send this form to FFR. Your personal information will not be disclosed, nor shared with anybody.

Thank you!

Attendance, Traffic

Convenience

Services offered at the show

Cost of attending/ exhibiting

Value for your business

Accessorie Circuit AccessoriesTheShow Atlanta Apparel Market BIFF&BIL Brighte (capsule) Paris- Men's China International Textile Apparel Trade Fair Dallas Apparel and Accessories Market Denver Apparel & Accessory Market Fair of Shoes, Leather & Leather Goods Fame Focus Hawaii Market Merchandise Expo IFJAG The International Fashion Jewelry & Accessory Market Intermezzo Collections Kansas City Apparel & Accessory Market LeShow International Leather and Fur Fashion Fair MADRID NOVIAS International Bridal Fashion Exhibition Manhattan Vintage Clothing Show Matrix Apparel Market.

Mid-South Jewelry & Accessories Fair Moda Manhattan Modama Oroarezzo PERUMODA Pitti Bimbo Pitti Immagine Uomo Pitti_W Woman Pre-collections Rosemount Australian Fashion Week Sapica SMOTA Shoe Market Of The Americas Southwest Shoe Expo The Chicago Shoe Expo the Fashion Market Northern California the LA KIDS MARKET The New Mart The New York Shoe Expo (FFANY) Transit- The Los Angeles Shoe Show © FFR- Focus On Fashion Retail

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If you wish to receive FFR regularly by subscription, filling out the Marketing Survey portion is optional

SUBSCRIPTION

Send a check/money order ($30 for USA subscribers) along with your address and contact information to our office.

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Advice for a FREE SUBSCRIPTION: Ask our advertisers or your vendors to pay for your subscription!

If your business is important to them, they may agree to by pay for your subscription from their marketing funds.

Business Name: _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Mailing Address: _______________________________________________________________________________________________ City: ___________________________________________________

State:______ Zip: _____________________________________

Phone: _________________________________________________

Fax: _______________________________________________

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E-Mail: _____________________________________________

MARKETING SURVEY

Please fill out this form completely, answering ALL questions. Incomplete or inaccurate entries will not be considered.

I certify that I am: oA Retailer__________________(signature) / oNot a Retailer If a retailer, please tell about your store: Specialty:

oMen oWomen oChildren

Age Group:

oInfants And Kids oTeens o20-30 o30-45 o45+

Retail Price Point: oDiscount oBudget ($20-40) oModerate ($40-70) oUpper Moderate ($70-120) oLower High End ($120-$200) oHigh-End ($200-$400) oLuxury ($400+) Store Type:

oIndependent oBoutique oDept. Store oChain Store 1-5 Locations oChain Store 5+ Locations

Merchandise:

oShoes Only oApparel Only oAccessories Only oAll

Type:

oDress oCasual oAthletic oComfort/Slippers oSpecial Occasions oWestern oDance oMedical oShoecare/Footcare oUrban oEthic oBeach oGothic/Alternative/Other ________________________________________________

Best Selling Brands _________________________________________________________________________________________ Notes About Your Store ______________________________________________________________________________________

•

Your Primary Business Sources (describe): o Trade Magazines ________________________________________________________________________________ o Consumer Magazines ____________________________________________________________________________ o Trade Shows ___________________________________________________________________________________ o Internet oCatalogs How Do You Find New Merchandise?: oAt Trade Shows oResponding To Ads oSellers Contact You At Trade Shows You: o Know Exactly What You Need And Who Sells It o Know Exactly What You Need But Don’t Know Who Sells It o Just Looking How Frequently Do You Purchase Merchandise For Your Store?: o Every Month oEvery 3 Months oEvery 6 Months Your Average Purchase Is: oLess Than $1,000 o$1-5k o$5-10k o$10k+ Your Priorities Are (Please RATE, 1 is most important): oPrice oFashion oBrand oQuality oOther________

• • • • • •

RETAILER: Please name your 3 biggest headaches to which you want to find a solution: 1. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. _____________________________________________________________________________________________

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What do you would like to see in trade magazine? ________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Any Suggestions/ Comments to help FFR to become more helpful to your business? ___________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 40 May 2010

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© FFR- Focus On Fashion Retail

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Focus on Fashion Retail is a direct mail business magazine, distributed ONLY to targeted audience. If you have received this copy of FFR with the mail, it’s because your business’ description matched the criteria set by our advertisers. Please fill out the marketing survey below to be included in our database for a chance to receive FFR occasionally, regularly (or never again) - depending on marketing preferences of our advertisers (US retailers only).

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CLASSIFIED ADS Store Manager, luxury at Mohegan Sun Casino in CT

Profitable Solutions Executive Search When what you need is the perfect fit, call us! We won’t send you just another pretty face. Contact: Susan Proffitt Susan@jobwish.net 847 -858 -8829 ”The Footwear Talent Specialists”

WANTED: BRAND PRESIDENT Footwear We need the

Perfect Fit for our client a well-known, well-established footwear brand. The perfect candidate is a personable visionary who can drive innovative initiatives through collaboration, mentoring & excellent communications. If this describes you I look forward to speaking with you about this opportunity.

You may send your resume and references to: Susan@jobwish.net

Senior Purchasing Manager for Europe (Fashion) lIt is great opportunity to be one of the key people of a growing business and growing company and a very good opportunity to work in a professional environment with the most important players in the Market.

The experience of 10 years in a similar position in Fashion Industry is the most important requirement of the company and also a very good knowledge of the market, brands, top producers.

If your experience and expectations match with the opportunity describes above please do not hesitate to contact me at abodea@antal.com

© FFR- Focus On Fashion Retail

Great opportunity to run a $2.5 million store at Mohegan Sun. Previous store management experience in an upscale or luxury setting is required.

Salary up to 65k plus bonus. Will relocate.

Resumes to retail@retailnetwork.com for immediate consideration.

Line Offered Experienced Independent Sales Representative wanted for established highly successful and motivated women’s fashion forward shoe company. Must have proven growth track with independent and regional retailers. Territories: Southwest, and Southeast.

Compensation based on highly motivated footwear experiences.

Send Resume to: info@josephgriffinshoes.com

The Footwear Industry Insiders Network Is FREE to footwear & related products professionals worldwide.

Already more than 1,800 have joined, making it one of the fastest-growing, industry specific groups to cover all areas of expertise from design, manufacturing, wholesale, retail and more. www.footwearpros.ning.com

BUYING! Let us help you clear out your closeouts, overstocks, returns and cancellations. Please email me at: info@richlan.net RICHLAN INTERNATIONAL SALES

“THE FOOTWEAR TALENT SPECIALISTS” “We won’t send another pretty face… when what you need is the perfect fit.”

We work with factories, wholesale & retail footwear clients worldwide.

Recent placements: DIRECTOR of SALES, DESIGNER, VP SOURCING, COO, CFO susan@jobwish.net, tel. 904- 215-3561

WANTED: New Fashion Designers Bloomingdale’s has instituted its first ever designer open-see for women’s ready-to-wear and accessories.

Burgeoning designers are encouraged to visit the flagship’s Fashion Office on the first Friday of each month, on a first-come, first-served basis. Please bring a maximum of ten apparel pieces.

We applaud the store’s effort to seek out new talent and promoting young designers, a smart move especially in this difficult economic climate.

Bloomingdale’s Fashion Office, 155 E 60th Street, 11th floor

212-705-3437 Expats Spa Managers from USA for Luxury Hotels in India Salary $3500-4000 per month + Benefits (fully furnished apartment, electricity, water, mobile, transportation, meals on duty).

Send resume to mohan@hrprovider.com tel. 312-527-3531

Fashion Buyer A startup company is looking for a Fashion Buyer for an innovative, global concept in fashion accessories. The buyer will be joining the core team that aims to create a unique brand in the world of jewellery. The buyer will drive sales and profitability while setting up all the systems and processes. If you can think creatively, move with the fast moving markets, work autonomously – in short, if you have an entrepreneur in you, then we need YOU! It will be great if you are from a premier institute and have good experience as a buyer.

evolveinlife@gmail.com

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