Saturday, February 21, 2009

A good week and I hope a good weekend.


Well we had a very good week for February, which was mostly a function of my wife and I both being in the store. We have been working towards getting unique pieces in small runs, 30 to 40 dresses in fabrics that no one else will have. Many of the major vendors have dropped their plus lines and are stopping production at around size 12 or so. Thus there will be a big demand for dresses that the major department stores won't meet because they didn't order any new product.

Plus one of our major competitors went out of business this week. They opened in Soho and were paying an enormous rent as well as another big store out on the island. You never want to see someone go out of business but there is a lesson there, don't try to grow too big too fast.

A famous TV personality came to the store to shop for his best girl friend from high school. He always helps her pick out stuff when she has an occasion. He said "I knew I had to come here. You make it so easy. I will always find something perfect." That was very satisfying to hear for my wife. With all the ups and downs, positive feedback is always great.

It has long been my contention that everybody does one thing well. I always put it in sports terms that drives my wife crazy. But I tell her if you have Charles Oakley on your team and he always gets 15 rebounds and ten points you can run your team based on that number. You just can't assume that he will get 20 rebounds and 20 points just because you want him to do so. You have to only count on what he does well, not some pie in the sky. Every company usually has one dress that is superb. The fit is right, the fabric is outstanding and the look is really really right. One of these dresses is the Bubble Dress pictured above. It is the perfect dress for a night out on the town. You can dress it up with fancy jewerly or dress it down with tights and boots. And they cut it with sleeves for the winter. I sold a ton of these dress and just got in a new shipment which might be the last plus that this company will cut for the year. I might sell five of them this weekend as the bubble dress with sleeves is a very popular party dress.

This dress just flys out of the store. It should be great.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Trooper,

I honestly just found out that you have a blog, thanks to Althouse's link on your Meatloaf posting. Your razor-sharp wit and command of pop culture are part of what drew me to her blog, and I'm glad you're in the game, too.

Also, it's great that you've had a good week and I also hope the weekend is kind to you. My business is way off, owing to several factors, but February looks more promising that January was.

Best wishes to you.

Trooper York said...

Thanks Windbag. We are kind of optimsitic. We think that everyone who is holding off in December and January are itching to spend money and will start spending for the spring. I hope your business picks up. You just have to have faith. Good luck. Us business owners have to stick together.

Darcy said...

Hey, nice to see you here, Windbag!

ricpic said...

I think the secret of the bubble dress is the combination of the empire waist and the fluting or pleating of the fabric below the waist. Very forgiving of figure shortfalls.