Charles River Apparel

Let's Go Bruins! Just Don't Rain On Our Parade.

By Barry Lipsett, President

After 16 months of planning, you’d think we thought of everything in the book as we prepared to open our first ever retail store at Charles River Apparel. However, we learned this past weekend that some things are just out of our hands. For the first time in almost 40 years, the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup. We were excited. We were proud. We were ready to celebrate…. then we heard the Bruins were planning their victory parade for Saturday, June 18^th, which just so happened to be the day The Store @ Charles River Apparel was holding its grand opening.  An estimated, 1 million people went into Boston to celebrate the victory and the buzz all over Boston was about the Bruins and the parade.  But what about us?

The Store @ Charles River Apparel took many months of planning and construction which included knocking down two offices, replacing floors, walls, and windows and many people pitching in to make it all come together. After countless hours were spent designing the space, figuring out which product to showcase, and marketing the grand opening to local customers, we were ready for the big day. Or were we? The major wall display in the store came in just three days before the opening and our register counter came in damaged. We pulled it together and were able to get everything in place just in time for Saturday’s Grand Opening.

We were so excited to open our doors to customers and even had our neighbors-some New England Patriots Cheerleaders join us for the event. They were on hand signing autographs and taking photos with visitors to the store.  We had many local fans of CRA stop in to pick up some of their favorite pieces and we were thrilled when some Bruins fans made the trip out of busy Boston to make it to Sharon for our big event.

Despite the unplanned Bruins Parade, we were hopeful for a big showing on Sunday. But in the midst of all our planning, we realized Sunday was Father’s Day -with the holiday and the beautiful weather, few were out shopping.   

It just goes to show, even if you’ve perfectly planned for an event, things can still go wrong.

Oh, well, there’s always next weekend.

Stay in Style this Spring with CRA!

Searching for the hottest trends this spring? Then look no further than to Charles River Apparel's Trendsetter- our quarterly update on all things trendy! Taking our que from the runway, we take a closer look at this season's hottest fashion and show just how easy it is to incorporate these style tips into your everyday wardrobe. Stay in style this spring with these go-to items from CRA!

 

The China Crunch

By Barry Lipsett, President & Owner

 

The big topic in the apparel industry right now are prices from overseas, especially China. Cotton prices alone surged nearly 10%, reaching their highest since records began back in 1870 with the creation of the New York Cotton Exchange. “I’ve seen a lot of big moves, and this exceeds everything,” said Sharon Johnson, Senior cotton analyst at First Capital Group. “It’s not something you’re going to see again in your lifetime.”

 

Floods have damaged the cotton crops in Pakistan and other cotton-producing countries reducing the supply and driving up the price. However the main issue behind the increase in cotton prices overseas remains with China. Increased labor costs in China, as well as a sky rocketing demand in China for cotton-based apparel are factors forcing costs up. “American consumers better get used to rising prices on the shelves of Wal-Mart and other retailers,” said Jessica Lo, Managing Director at the Chinese Market Research Group in Shanghai. “China’s manufacturers are getting squeezed not only by rising cotton costs but also soaring real estate and labor costs.”

 

Any retailer offering China made goods from toys to apparel, will be feeling the pressure to raise prices. According to Supplier Global Resource Magazine, executives from Kohl’s, Aeropostale and Guess have indicated cotton prices are exerting pressure on their product costs’. Analysts expect retail prices overall to steadily climb, with the most noticeable markups found in relatively low-cost items like T-shirts.  “It’s really a no-choice situation,” said Wesley R. Card, President and Chief Executive of the Jones Group, the company behind Anne Klein, Nine West and other brands. “Prices have to come up,” reports the Cleveland Palin Dealer.

 

In our industry, it doesn’t matter what you’re selling - if it is China-made you will be feeling the financial crunch. Many suppliers and manufacturers from bags to apparel have already raised pricing several times this year with others shortly following suit. I had Charles River Apparel hold our prices throughout the majority of 2010 (absorbing  the price increases), but with the most recent round  of price increases from overseas I was left with little choice but to increase prices effective December 31.

 

Our Vice President of Production, Rainer Friedrich, just returned from a lengthy trip to Asia and commented to me that in his thirty-five years in the apparel industry, he had never seen anything like these price increases. Again, it’s not just cotton that is going up as it is materials costs and labor costs overall out of China. With the New Year just days away, my wish for 2011 is for stabilization -- and some sanity -- to return to the prices coming from overseas.

Make the Bright Choice: When it's ok to add some color to your customer's palette!

By Barry Lipsett, President  & CEO

 

Distributors… you’ve had this happen before, you have a client who wants advice on picking the right color for their employees jackets. So what do you do? How do you know if a bright color or a more traditional dark color is best for them? Bright colors in apparel - from polos to jackets – have been popping up everywhere these days. Here are a few tips that can help guide you in recommending the right color.

 

The first question you should ask your customer is “What is the purpose of the garment?”

Really take into consideration how and where the items will be worn. I recently met with Bill Fine, the President of television station Channel 5 WCVB in Boston. Bill explained that in his line of work, reporters most definitely need to wear bright colored garments so they can stand out on TV. Reporters sometimes find themselves in the middle of crowded, chaotic scenes and the viewer needs to be able to focus in on the reporter. Channel 5 uses the color royal frequently in their newscast to catch the audience's attention. In this instance, a bright fun color works to their advantage as it reads better on camera.

 

 

 

Above: Navigator Jacket style 9934 shown in Royal

 

 

When Color Sends a Message

 

A bright color that has far-reaching applications is "hi-visibility" lime green. Once just thought of for police and construction workers, hi-vis colors have recently become fashion items for everyday wear among teenagers. It is now also considered an "energy" color and is associated with well known brands targeting teens from vitamins to energy drinks. If lime green is just too bright for your client, then try suggesting a yellow or bright teal as a slightly more subdued choice. Also consider the hot fashion colors at retail- especially if your end consumer is female. The latest colors such as teal and turquoise, raspberry and lavender are fashion forward colors women will enjoy wearing.

 

At Right: Women's Soft Shell Vest Style 5819 shown in Raspberry

 

 

But what if you are giving away shirts to employees as a gift and you expect that they will wear them out of the office? In that case, a bright yellow polo might not be the best choice to get the maximum wear on the weekends. This is a perfect opportunity for a more subtle, traditional color such as black or navy, or even a neutral such as white. These are more familiar "comfort" colors that employees can easily pair with khakis or jeans.

 

Consider the logo and the garment colors

 

Charles River's Designer, Gina Gaudet says you should always consider the "contrast in color between the garment and the logo. Some contrasts are more visible than others, like a black shirt and a red logo. By choosing a darker color garment and a lighter, brighter logo you make the company's logo really pop."

 

It’s important to be a good source for your client and be able to confidently guide them to great choices. On our website, you can create free virtual samples by dropping your client’s logo on to any style/color combination. This can help your client envision what the final product will look like and help aid them in their decisions about colors. And let our experience work for you! Gina, our in house designer, also regularly advises distributors on color combinations and what colors really work best together.

 

You want them to show off your logo

 

When the primary concern is to reward an employee or customer it may be best to offer a color that you know most people would prefer.  That is probably why black and navy are still the two most popular colors purchased.  Giving away a popular conservative color also ensures that the garment will get worn and your logo will be out on display more often.

 

Whether you have a client who is looking to try an energetic, bright color or if they choose a more traditional dark color, you can count on Charles River Apparel to have exactly what you’re looking for!

 

 

Happy Selling!

 

 

 

 

Starting from the Top Down: Another Way to Grow Your Company

By President & Owner Barry Lipsett

 

Looking for a new way to grow your company? Who isn’t in this economy. This tip for your company starts with the top down. Yes I am talking about you Mr. President & CEO.  To grow your company you may want to try your skills at all the key positions within your company.  I am sure you're often selling, but have you also taken the time to learn IT or called for Collections?  Who better to fill in if someone leaves or to learn a job before you hire someone new than the Owner?

 

In the book “Rework” by successful author and business owner Jason Fried, he writes of the value of doing the job first before hiring.  He even tells the story of how, at his company, they "didn't hire a system administrator until they set up a bunch of servers on their own." He is convinced that by doing it yourself first then you'll be "supervising people who are doing a job you've done before" and "you'll know when to criticize and when to support."

 

I can still remember my first week after I started at Charles River so many years ago. My Dad, who founded Charles River Apparel, had to let some of our warehouse workers go for substandard performance.  So began my first role at Charles River….a summer in a hot warehouse packing and shipping product. Though I didn’t appreciate it too much at the time, it was an invaluable experience that helped me years later when our sales jumped unexpectedly 35% and my warehouse couldn't keep up. Years later, I was called into the warehouse again to work and I helped put in some new processes and hires. I also helped strengthen the relationships with many of my warehouse workers – many who are still with us today.

 

One word of caution - be careful not to take on too many different responsibilities at once.  Take the challenge one job at a time.  When we first started we had one person as General Manager whose responsibilities included Importing, Design, Sales and Sales Management; it was simply too much. It's true that when you first start out you need to wear many hats, but once your growth is underway you need to let some of your responsibilities go.  We didn't start to grow until the General Manager left and we built a staff of four managers to replace him. Though we did it slowly...first I was forced into doing all the importing myself (and learning as I did it!).  Again, by being involved in the process I was able to develop special overseas relationships with vendors that we still use 20+ years later. As our growth continued, I was able to grow the importing/design department and knew exactly the right person I was looking for to fill the role (and I am pleased to say 15+ years later Stina (Persson) Shaw is still with us in Importing.)

 

 Looking back I have filled in or created positions in nearly every department. My laundry list of roles includes: Warehouse Manager, Customer Service Rep, Import Manager, Warehouse Picker/Shipper, Designer, Marketing Manager, Forecast and Planning Manager, Regional Sales Rep and Sales Manager.  The trick to success? Hire at the right time and hire people that can do it better than the job you just struggled with!