The Alexander Report / Trends in Fashion and Beauty!

Trade fairs and events are mainstay for the textile machinery companies market promotion. Various trade fairs and events are organized every year by organizers like ACIMIT, TMMA, CSMA, JASMA, CITME etc. Some fairs like ITMA, JIAM exclusively focuses on textile machinery sector while some other includes machinery as an integral part of textile industry. Such fairs have become potential hub of meeting for buyers and sellers. Unique Selling Preposition of such fairs is that manufacturers can display their machinery to the buyers directly and buyer can examine and negotiate on the spot for different parameters. Buyers can also compare different machines at the same place for their prices, applications and technologies used.Trade fairs and events are mainstay for the textile machinery companies market promotion. Various trade fairs and events are organized every year by organizers like ACIMIT, TMMA, CSMA, JASMA, CITME etc. Some fairs like ITMA, JIAM exclusively focuses on textile machinery sector while some other includes machinery as an integral part of textile industry. Such fairs have become potential hub of meeting for buyers and sellers. Unique Selling Preposition of such fairs is that manufacturers can display their machinery to the buyers directly and buyer can examine and negotiate on the spot for different parameters. Buyers can also compare different machines at the same place for their prices, applications and technologies used.

Textile machinery manufacturers and visitors attend such fairs with different expectations and perceptions. Decision to visit fairs/event depends on many factors like geographical location of the fair, visitors profile, past experience with the fair, reputation of the fair within industry etc.

Amongst Machinery manufacturers fraternity, for companies like Dalal Engineering, ITMA is the most preferable trade fair. For ITMA, Mr. Rainer Thum (Head Marketing – Spindelfabrik Suessen GmbH) quotes Infrastructure in Munich was better than anything they had seen before, including Singapore! We had very good customer attendance, much more than we had anticipated. A major problem for many of our customers was the difficulty in getting visas. Overall it was a very good show. Weiterlesen »

With spring around the corner, what are the fashion trends in accessories for 2008? There are lots of fun, chic looks to choose from.

The best part is that you can update your accessories for very little money, and still project a polished image for work or evening.

1. Flower power is back, in everything from print blouses to dresses and skirts. But you don’t have to fall into the flower power pit, especially for business wear.

How to wear it: Look for small accents in your accessories. Flower jewelry such as brooches are a fun way to perk up a simple jacket. Scarves are big, and a flower scarf can jazz up a simple outfit. Keep the look simple by adding one flower piece, not a riot of flowers, especially for the workplace.

2. Shoes: this year you’ll see everything from gladiator sandals to platform wedges.

How to wear them: For the office, stay away from the extremes. High platforms or extreme gladiators are great for weekend wear, but detract from a business like look by day.

Look for the more moderate versions of each style. And always tailor the look to your industry and company culture.

3. Colored bags and shoes: Crayon colors in bags and shoes are popping up everywhere, in bright yellow, pink, green, blue and grape. Colorful bags jump off the shelves in bold clutches or large totes.
Weiterlesen »

There is a huge untouched potential in non-metros

Producers of women’s pajama sets are increasing R&D capability to raise the range and functions of designs. Companies are also making efforts to enhance product quality and decrease operating costs through vertical integration. With the elimination of export taxes and import limitations on China-made sleepwear to the EU and the US, suppliers from China and India find themselves in a strong competition for market share. In the Indian market, the sleepwear and lingerie market is emerging quickly as a fashion segment, and has, over the last decade, observed the existence of organised players such as Juliet, Sleep-ins, etc

What was Kashmira Nightwear Company started with a single standalone store in Pune many years ago is today the Sleep-ins brand of complete nighrwear solutions possessing a chain of many exclusive Sleep-ins stores and existence in many of the country’s major retail chains. This change has been promising on account of the single-handed effort by only one person, Kishor Chhabria, who is managing director of the Pune-based Kashmira Nighrwear Company -¬ Sleep-ins today is a brand with a national manifestation. Chhabria experienced that Indian consumers have awareness of about selecting of occasion-wear and sleeping dresses were as important as office, casual, party or sports wear, and commence to offer consumers what they required.

Sleep-ins is among the leading players in the segment, and has been beholding considerable growth in its market share over the last few years. This market even today is largely in the unorganised sector where price is the only its consideration. Organised players are not contending with products that are being traded on the streets. The growth in retailing, the rising level of fashion consciousness has supported sleepwear and lingerie move into a higher market step.

Sleep-ins has increased by almost 150 per cent over the two-three decades, they were highly focused in the western market, but this year the brand performed well locally. They have appointed distributors in Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, UP, MP, Punjab, etc. and possessed more than 20 exclusive outlets in the country, and will add to this by another six. Besides the exclusive outlets, the brand retails from a many large departmental stores too. Weiterlesen »

One might not able to locate where Manipur lies! Intellectuals even confused on several occasions on the where about of this state as a foreign nation. Their assumptions seem a dream comes true today! The youths and teenagers are fashion cognisant and that too not Indian apparel, but foreign lifestyles. The business of fashion in Manipur is more advanced than other cities of India, leaving those metropolitans.

Manipur is an extraordinary place, full of charm, beauty and creativity. It lies in the North-Eastern region of Indian Sub-continent, between 23.5 oN-25.3 oN Latitude and 93.4 oE-95.3 oE Longitudes, bordering Myanmar in the east, Nagaland state in the north, Assam and Mizoram in the west. Encircled by nine hill ranges, Manipur is marked out by a picturesque valley in the midst. The total area of Manipur is 22,327 sq. km. Out of this only 2,238 sq. Km are valley while the remaining areas are covered with hilly tracts.

Manipur, a small state which lies on a melting pot of culture is regarded as one of the world’s beauty spots. The Rasa Lila, a classical dance of Manipur is world famous for its gentleness and serenity. Modern day polo was first played here as royal sport. Thus, the world credited the state as the home for polo game.

The place of surpassing attractions include superb panorama of evergreen hill ranges, the soil of Khongjom soaked with sacred blood of martyrs, the first battle of Anglo-Manipur war of 1891 at Kangla, the erstwhile capital of Manipur Kingdom. The Loktak lake-the largest freshwater lake in the North East, natural habitat of Brow-antlered deer at the Keibul Lamjao National Park-the only floating National Park in the world, the I.N.A. Memorial at Moirang where the first tricolour flag of Indian Independence was hoisted by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, the Siroi Lily found only on the Siroi Hills, the symmertical two Second World War cemeteries, exquisite handloom and handicraft products of world fame.

Manipur is famous for the ‘Ema Keithel’ – women’s market at Khwairamband bazaar- the only and the largest market in the world run by women, the gold-domed Shri Govindajee Temple, the Saheed Minar, the Khonghampat Orchid Yard, the Tharon Cave at Tamenglong, the Khanghui Cave at Ukhrul, the Kangla Park and the Moat surrounding the old historical palace of the Maharajas of ore-British period. Weiterlesen »

India among top jeanswear market Jeanswear trends started in India truly in the eighties, with the establishment and the movement of brands like Avis, Wings, Flying Machine, UFO, along with international brands like FU’s. With the realistic pricing and a “Good jeans for less” proposition, Newport entered into the mass psyche in the mid-nineties. The growth in the domestic jeans and casualwear market is attracting an increasing number of multinationals into the segment.

With the Indian youth becoming increasingly fashion conscious and with spending power being consistently on the rise, making life easier for the fast-growing ‘premium’ category of jeanswear brands. On the other hand, it has been tough times for other segments of the business – one of the underperformers being a mass-market jeanswear brand.

Denim consumption boost up in India Various apparel categories, excluding innerwear, jeanswear too is connected to brand tags in India. A label tag is a must now on the back waist panel of even tailored garments. As regards to contribution of the branded section in each category percentages may vary, approximately 79 percent of the jeans sold in India tagged with label, the rest of jeans are supplied by tailors and localised manufacturers with no-name.

Daily in India, there are number of small stores where customised jeans are stitched for as little as Rs 200. And their customers are not only Indians, but Westerners too, and you can find a long queue of Westerners, waiting to purchase customised jeanswear to be used as wear and throw and it is because of the reality for the Westerners that the availability of a customised piece of clothing at very low pricing. On the other hand, the more and more affluent middle class is amazingly responsive about the charm of branding.

Denim wear consumption in India and the business is itself changes almost everyday with new modification and new brands, it is also becoming a part of its action by determining the size, character and make up and it also requires a profound market research study.

According to a survey report, by considering the aspects of socio-economic, cultural, emotional and functional backgrounds and its applications there are four type of branded jeanswear market available in India.

India among top jeanswear market Jeanswear trends started in India truly in the eighties, with the establishment and the movement of brands like Avis, Wings, Flying Machine, UFO, along with international brands like FU’s. With the realistic pricing and a “Good jeans for less” proposition, Newport entered into the mass psyche in the mid-nineties. The growth in the domestic jeans and casualwear market is attracting an increasing number of multinationals into the segment. Weiterlesen »

Meet the Young Affluents. The generation of 40-and-under consumers – roughly corresponding to the Generation X and Millennial generations – is the “Want-It-All” generation that is coming into affluence with a ravenous appetite for the ‘good life.’ The fresh, unexpected needs and desires of the young affluents will be the most important trend to impact the global luxury market over the next decade and beyond. And savvy marketers need to be poised to meet the demands of this unique new force in the luxury marketplace.

Young affluents – consumers born after 1966 with rapidly rising incomes – will play an increasingly important role in the target market for global luxury marketers over the next ten to twenty years. This is true not just in the United States (with a median age of 36.5 years) or in the European countries (where the median age ranges around 40 years old), but in the developing luxury markets, like Brazil (median age 28.2 years), India (24.9 years) and China (32.7 years), where the population as a whole is more youthful.

Luxury marketers and retailers must ‘think young’ in order to understand the young affluents and to position their brands for the future in the developed and the developing markets. Luxury marketers must understand the unique desires of the young affluents, how they express luxury in their lifestyles today and how they will do so in the future.

What Do the Young Affluents Want and How Does It Differ from the Over 40 Crowd? Weiterlesen »

Ok marketing the iphone is not the exact same as marketing fashion. But I admit but do have to take a second to tip my hat to the amazing marketing job those folks have done over there at Apple. Our industry, for the most part isn’t about week long lines and switching networks or the general fiasco that preceded the iphone launch. However one thing that fashion can take from this nifty little gadget and the Apple company in general is the lengths people will go to once they are inspired.

I thought about it a while ago when I was working with one client on how they could gain more business from their existing retailers. I sat there dreaming up incentives, planning a media calendar, magazines they could advertise in, even an itemized budget…. then it occurred to me that for the most part customers don’t really don’t really need all that. People don’t really need a $500 dress, a designer yoga mat or a handbag that is equivalent to the down payment of a Midwestern home.

People just want to be happy…they want to be inspired to find the necessity to buy your product. This is not to say they don’t appreciate quality or a designer’s style acumen and attention to detail. It’s just to say that people are typically looking for a return on investment that is much more emotional than financial.

So no you definitely don’t have to be a self help guru to know you can’t buy happiness…however the average company who aspires for long term success needs to pay attention to the psychological focus of their customers. Weiterlesen »

We have compiled a list of resources and business assistance programs for clothing designers to start their own business. However, since this is a blog, they get buried under newer postings. So here is a post of different resources (by Location) to help you get started!

For Fashion Business Assistance in New York

http://thealexanderreport.com/fashion-business-centers-and-incubators-in-new-york

For London Fashion Business Assistance and Resources for Designers

http://thealexanderreport.com/london-fashion-business-assistance-and-resources-for-designers

For Los Angeles Fashion Resources and Business Assistance

http://thealexanderreport.com/los-angeles-fashion-resources-and-business-assistance

And for India Fashion Resources and Business Assistance for Designers

http://thealexanderreport.com/india-fashion-resources-and-business-assistance-for-designers

By Isha Edwards

It has been 35 years since its founding and hip-hop continues to thrive in urban America. Once a block party fad that started in the Bronx, New York, hip-hop is now a $4 billion-a-year-music industry that spans the globe. Although it has always been the voice of inner city youth and young adults, hip-hop has evolved to include the 25 to 34 year-old demographic segment. Proving its staying power, for the past five years hip-hop remains the top-selling genre over country music and is second only to rock music. Formerly known as rap, hip-hop is a moving cultural force that first garnered the attention of corporate America in the early 90’s. When hip-hop made its debut into mainstream, corporate heads began to turn. Enterprising brand managers embraced the culture and soon realized substantial results.

In an effort to be a hip drink of choice, Coca-Cola’s Sprite brand began using rap music in commercial ads in 1994. Sprite Brand manager, Pina Sciarra affirmed that Sprite’s appeal as a favorite soda quadrupled as a result of the ads. Taking notice of Coke’s commercial success, Burger King and several restaurant chains followed suit with similar advertising approaches. By bringing the edgy styles Weiterlesen »

By Emma Drosy

Find out more on how to open a clothing boutique

A boutique is a small retail shop that generally offers specialized products and services. The most common boutiques sell crafts, gifts, accessories and apparel. Boutiques have always been popular for the variety that they bring to a mall or shopping center and that popularity has increased as the number of small business owners has likewise increased. Customers come to boutiques in search of unique merchandise at reasonable prices with a quality service experience.

In order to open a boutique a potential owner must start with a desire to work in the retail industry and enjoy interacting with the public. Most boutique owners are those that choose to break away from the day-to-day grind of working for someone else and take the plunge into small business ownership. These owners are looking for flexibility in their schedules and to have control over their lives as well as financial stability. Boutique ownership can be a major step on this path. Making the decision that you want to open your own boutique is the first step and one that should be applauded. You will want to start by putting a business plan and financial plan on paper before you physically lease a space or buy your inventory. This paper version will not only help you to focus your efforts, but as you look for financial assistance you will be asked for your business plan by just about everyone you deal with.

Before anyone wants to put money into your efforts they want to see that you’ve thought about where you’re going and how you’re going to get there.

As you create your business plan you will need to consider such factors as:

What niche will my boutique fill? Where will I get my merchandise? Weiterlesen »