Resources Profile - Jacco

A total of 11 brands made their mark on Friday, leaving just two brands to unveil their garments today, the final day of Tokyo Collection Week.

Attention-grabbing brand "SOMARTA," by Tamae Hirokawa, presented a collection that was gentler than usual, with the help of blue gradation. The designer expressed a phantasmal story of people in a forest, closed in by ice and snow, with bluebirds that served as an omen of good fortune. The brand's signature full-body tights carried a plant pattern inspired by Indian tattoos. This fashion was paired with rough-hewn, hand-crafted coats that radiated warmth and lame-knit fashion with a pale luster. A new plastic material that glowed like a rainbow and silver decoration built on an image of snow crystals were eye-catching features of the show.

"THEATRE PRODUCTS" and "KINGLY THEATRE PRODUCTS," by Akira Takeuchi and Tayuka Nakanishi, who have a reputation for producing fun performances, evoked a studio photo shoot to unveil its new men's and women's creations. The ladies designs, which drew on the image of American singer Cyndi Lauper, had a pop-type, lively feel with an '80s feel. The coordination was gaudy, but each item - like the bustier and chiffon dresses - was classic.The theme of the men's line was "fruit." Dark brown and green tones were put together with lemon, orange and other fruit patterns, creating clothing with a simple, relaxed feeling.

"RITSUKO SHIRAHAMA," by the designer of the same name, presented a theme of coexistence between ecology with technology, based on Shirahama's desire to "preserve beautiful nature." The designer showcased prints made from scanned images of leaves that she picked up herself, along with the latest technology to recycle plastic bottles into material, putting the ideas to use in elegant '20s-style dresses and other fashion.

"YUKI TORII INTERNATIONAL," by Yuki Torii added original Tokyo designs to the new products she showed in her Paris collection. Her mix of materials, including chiffon matched with inner-cotton jackets, was a breath of fashionable fresh air.

Naoto Hirooka's brand "h.NAOTO," which has asserted itself at the forefront of gothic Lolita fashion, evoked a decadent, punkish world. "IZREEL," by Kazuhiro Takakura, combined a rider's jacket with a long vest to create an "elegant punk style." (By Tamaki Kokubo, Mariko Shibata and Miki Kawakubo)

**** Catwalk talk ****

Gothic Lolita, a high-profile Japanese-style street fashion that has been picked up by designers in overseas collections, has diffused its gothic taste throughout the Tokyo Collection this season. Hirooka Naoto of the brand "h.NAOTO," a driving force in the Gothic Lolita realm, gave a wry smile in acknowledgement of the rising profile of his fashion genre.

"When there's a boom, people get tired of it. Please don't venture into this dark, shadowy world," he said. "When gothic fashion becomes the mode, I think its freshness will disappear," he said, revealing his mixed feelings. He added that in the future, he wants to move into a style that is not restricted to gothic style.

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/culture/fashion/news/20080314p2g00m0et024000c.html

Just thought some people would find the macroeconomics forecasting useful when working on the Taiwan market.

2008.01.29

The Taiwanese Economy in December

Despite the burgeoning US economic slowdown, the Taiwanese export in December remains robust. Exports grew by 19.8% year on year (YoY) in December, reaching USD 23.48 billion. Although export figure remains upbeat, figure for trade surplus is overcastted by a surging import growth. With a 27.5% growth, trade surplus in December shrunk to USD 2.2 billions, or a 24.2% decline year on year. Cumulative data for 2007 saw a healthy 10.1% export growth and trade surplus growth of 28.4%.

Corresponding to a bullish external demand, industrial production also remains buoyant. The industrial production grew by 10.70% year on year in December, reaching 155.45 points. Manufacturing production led by the information technology output, expanded by 12.15%, at 160.5 points. For the service sector, the latest available data suggests the sector has expanded by 9.9% in October. The largest components in service sector: wholesale, retail, hotel and restaurants businesses have expanded by 12.2%, 5.1% and 2.1% respectively.

On the consumption front, factors that can affect growth in Taiwan remained favourable. Despite commodity price hikes in 2007, inflation remained dormant due to Government’s price-cap policy on utilities. However, this is now due for an upward adjustment. Consumer Price Index raised by 1.80% in 2007 with the Core Inflation averaged 1.35%. This presents little inflationary pressure in Taiwan. However, the international geopolitical factor that could lead to further oil price escalation remains a deciding factor for the price stability in Taiwan. The unemployment figure showed persistent improvement in 2007 with an average unemployment rate of 3.91%. Taken as a whole, job market prospect is still improving so we do not expect obvious consumption deterioration. The negative impact of consumer debt is expected to tail off in 2007; however, with no major drive to stimulate investments and consumption, it is difficult for consumption to leap forward. We expect to see the flat consumption growth to continue despite the improving job market and the stable price level.

In regard to the monetary policy, there is still excess liquidity in the Taiwanese financial system and the Central Bank’s role to managed capital flow is unlikely to shift. Despite a rising cost-pushed inflationary pressure, loosening of the US monetary position has reduced the urgency of further upward adjustments in Taiwan.

Outlooks

The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research Monthly Survey of the manufacturing sector saw a mixed outlook on its January survey. Whilst the proportion of manufacturing firms who perceived business were better than expected in December risen by 4.3%, and those who perceived business were getting worse shoot up by 8.1%. Outlooks for the next six month fashioned a more bullish outcome. Manufacturers who perceived business would be better in the next six months have increased from 22% in October to 31.3% in December. The numbers of firms who perceive the economic outlooks are worsening have decreased, from 20.4% in November to 14.1 % in December.

The mixed outlook can be attributed to the rising commodity prices - margin squeeze is still a concern for the businesses surveyed. Cyclical downturn for the manufacturing sector (post Christmas) has further compounded to the negative impact. However, businesses were optimistic for the second quarter of 2008. The composite indicator for December after adjusted for seasonal factors on moving average, dropped to 105.79 points from 110.81 points in November (see figure 1).

The full text can be found at http://www.tier.org.tw/11english/200801.asp

Retail Notes:

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, merchandising is the promotion of merchandise sales, as by coordinating production and marketing and developing advertising, display, and sales strategies: basically everything we do to sell a product to the consumer.

What we generally think of as merchandising is the way we present merchandise to attract the attention of consumers and sell the products. To be effective, merchandising needs to be closely connected and consistent with all other parts of the sales process.

When I address merchandising with a client, we look at the overall store image and atmosphere, as well as arrangement of merchandise and displays. Whether you are in a small store or a large one, and regardless of the type of product you sell, the basic concepts in merchandising are the same.

I'm going to start a short series of articles covering why merchandising is important, how to improve your customers' experience, and how to build on your strengths. In this article we are just going to begin discussing why effective merchandising is important in customer perceptions.

I was told once by a small business consultant that she considered merchandising and display to be frivolous extra expenses for the small business owner who is just starting up. Her assumption was that merchandising is just about making things "look nice."

On the contrary, merchandising has a crucial role to play in the selling process. The way I look at it, the role of merchandising begins before your customer even walks in the door.

Your merchandising will determine how consumers perceive your store. You need to think carefully about the first impression that you want customers to have.

Shoppers will form an idea or expectation about your store from what they see outside. When a shopper first sees your store, a part of their brain called the adaptive unconscious is at work.

Your brain makes an evaluation of your store in only 2-3 seconds. In that length of time, your storefront, displays and signage, as well as the individual's personal associations and preconceptions are all evaluated and judged.

Your storefront has a huge job to do in those couple of seconds!

It has to communicate the essence of what your store is all about. From that first impression, shoppers will make a judgment about whether your store meets their needs or not. The perception the customer has of your store may be entirely different than the image you are trying to project.

Think about your store.

* How have you seen the importance of effective merchandising in your store?
* How do you want customers to perceive your business?
* On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best), how well are you doing at quickly communicating your store image to shoppers?
* What do you need to improve to effectively communicate the image of your store from your storefront?

Retail Notes:

One of the best ways to boost your business is to focus on your current customer base. Business owners often spend so much time and money trying to bring in new customers instead of marketing to their 'warm' market – the people who have already spent money in their store.

Are you marketing to your current and past customers? Even if you are, there's probably more that you could be doing to boost your repeat business.

Some ideas to boost your repeat business and increase sales:

=> Get to know your customers personally. Talk to them in the store. Find out about who they are, what their lifestyle is like. Make your business all about them, not about you.

=> Keep customer information on file. Don't forget to get permission first! Get customers to offer their information in exchange for a valuable free gift. Remember, their info is valuable too. And let them know why you want their information - to send them special offers or a newsletter, to provide better, more personalized service, etc. Be honest.

=> Actually use your database or information file. Your resources are much better spent on following up current and past customers than on advertising to try to find new ones. Send out invitations to special events, birthday greetings, new product info, testimonials, refill reminders – whatever your customers will enjoy receiving and will get them to come back to see you again. Getting a customer to come back to the store again is much less expensive than the cost of getting a new customer.

=> Ask your customers for referrals. You can create a fancy referral program, or simply ask your customers to tell their friends. You can host a special VIP event for customers and their friends. Offer current customers a discount for referrals.

Retail Notes:

Who is your target market?

Independent retailers often have trouble stating who their target market is. They are afraid that creating a specific profile of who they want their customer to be will limit their market and be too narrow. On the contrary - if you don't know exactly who you are trying to attract to your store, you end up attracting nobody.

To help you figure out who your target market is, write down the description of your ideal customer. Make this as detailed as possible. This is easiest if you picture a real person in your mind. Who would you consider to be your best customer, or your top 10 customers? You want to attract more customers like them because they will be the most profitable for your business.

Making this description as specific as possible will help you to create the most effective marketing. While you will also attract customers who fall outside of this profile, the focus of your marketing and merchandising efforts and budget should be on the people who would be your ideal clients.

Your ideal customers are the ones who are repeat customers, who give you feedback on what they like or don't like, who tell their friends about your store, and you enjoy doing business with them. Create a profile based these great customers. Try to find more like them.

Retail Notes:

It can be hard to look at your own store objectively and notice the same things that shoppers notice. As retail owners or managers, we become so familiar with our own store that it is hard to pick out things that we could improve in our displays, merchandising or maintenance. Customers might be getting an entirely different perception of your store than what you intend.

To try and see your store through different eyes, take photos of your store exterior and interior. Photos are a great way to see your store from a new perspective.

Photos can help you to see:

- fixtures that block traffic
- signage that cover up displays
- fixtures in need of repair
- displays and merchandising that are too cluttered
- displays that lack a focal point
- displays that need to be tidied

On the other hand, photos can also give you a sense of what is working in your store, They provide a record of what displays and merchandising has been successful or effective in the past.

Retail Notes:

Here's a question I received from a website visitor recently: "How do I attract the customer into a middle market discount store without having to sacrifice appearance?"

The type of products being sold are not mentioned so it is hard to get into specifics, but here are a few general tips.

How to keep a discount store from looking bargain basement:

* know your target market and their needs
* make sure the store is well lit
* keep merchandising and displays very tidy
* use quality fixtures, even if they have an industrial look - cheap tables with folding legs are a definite NO
* keep store clean and well maintained
* use professionally produced signage - not handwritten
* set aside some spaces in the store for attractive, themed displays of complimentary merchandise
* keep the shelves full without becoming crowded or messy. Customers need to be able to touch and move merchandise without knocking things over
* use adequate signage - clear pricing on shelves and merchandise, directional signage to designate departments or product families.
* don't clutter windows with unnecessary posters and signs.
* create an overall appearance that is organized, easy to shop, well stocked and affordable

Retail Notes: Does your store offer something new and exciting each time your customer visits?

Your repeat customers are one of your best assets. Are you engaging them every time they enter your store?

Some shoppers will walk by your store several times, maybe on their daily way to work, before ever venturing inside the door. Do you have something to attract their attention each time they walk by?

If your store doesn't have something to new to offer customers on a regular basis, the impression they receive is that your store is stagnant and boring. It also encourages customers to put off a purchase of something they want 'until later', when they have more time, or it is more convenient. They assume that you will always have what they want available.

As a retailer, you can't afford to have stock just sitting on the shelves. Your business needs to be vibrant and dynamic. Of course, most independent retailers are not getting completely new stock every week. How do you keep your customer interested and offer them something different on a regular basis?

The answer is in your displays. Use your key display spaces to feature a small selection - 3 to 5 products - at a time. Maybe even just one strong item if you choose. Create an eye-catching display and change it weekly. Consider this your 'feature of the week' display. Make sure the display includes signage that will encourage sales.

Shoppers will be more attracted to a store that stimulates their interest with new displays of interesting merchandise.

Retail Notes:

A website visitor recently asked me for easy tips to increase retail sales:

Don't block the entrance to your store with fixtures. Leave some 'breathing room' inside the door so that shoppers can pause and get their bearings inside the store.

Improve directional or departmental signage to help shoppers find their way to what they need.

Improve price signage and labelling. Make it easy for shoppers to find the price for each item. Add signage to shelves or top of fixtures that indicate the price range of items in the area. This also helps shoppers find what they are looking for quickly and easily.

Add product information signage where appropriate. The more relevant information is available to the shopper, the more likely they are to buy.

Remove unrelated posters and signs in your window and on your door. They distract the viewer by drawing attention from your store and product. If you want to support community events, create a small bulletin board in an unobtrusive spot.

Encourage shoppers to get 'involved' with the merchandise. Shoppers want to touch fabrics to find out how soft they are, sample food, listen to music, try things out for themselves before they buy. Make every attempt to have the customer try your product.

Just about every airport I end up in has at least one or two Wi-Fi networks available in the concourse. They usually cost between $5 and $7 dollars for 24 hours of access (I'm there for 30-45 minutes), and $20/month for unlimited access. About half the time it's some sort of T-mobile hotspot, which is pretty good, but at least half the time the network is provided by a company named after some sort of exotic fruit.

Free Wi-Fi is what we all want. I'm sure that eventually that's where we'll end up. It'll just be expected airport infrastructure.

But in the meantime, I don't have a problem with paying for Wi-Fi access. It's a service provided by a company, and I don't want some weird frame in my window shoving ads down my face just so they can cover their costs. I'd pay somewhere between $10 and $20 a month if it meant I could get online at any airport in the country.

The problem is that nothing is everywhere. If I wanted to have Wi-Fi at every airport I might end up in (which I do), I'd probably have to subscribe to three or four different providers, at the least, and several of them would overlap in places. Boy does that sound like wasted money.

Someone should really make an effort to be everywhere. Because the value just isn't there if you cover 60% of the airports.