REVIEW: LA Fashion Market Week Fall16, March 14-17, 2016

Where it all happens

Last Tuesday saw me strolling down Los Angeles Street in the downtown Los Angeles 

Fashion District heading for the Fall 2016 Los Angeles Fashion Market Week.

What is Market Week? Its a four day affair of seasonal wholesale buying in the showrooms and trade shows of the main wholesale centers: the California Market Center, the New Mart, the Cooper Design Space, and other venues in the Fashion District.

Five times a year, US and international wholesale buyers roam the showrooms and booth shows determined to stay within their budgets as they buy what’s hot, pass on what’s not, and perhaps gamble on what's next.  Most buyers who want to stay in business or keep their jobs have a good idea what is working for their customers, and what to take a punt on to freshen up their floors.

By the time I get to the crossroads of contemporary apparel wholesaling at Los Angeles and 9th, I can usually tell how the day is progressing. The telltale signs are everywhere. What is the foot traffic like on the sidewalks and filing in and out of the buildings? How many people are sitting in the cafes? How many are waiting at the traffic signals to get across to the adjacent buildings? How full are the parking lots?

First impressions were that this was going to be the average Fall market week that it turned out to be. You can muse over the full California Apparel News review of the week.

Fall market week in LA is the second busiest behind the October Spring edition. Despite Los Angeles having the largest apparel infrastructure and being the second largest city and metro area in the US, the LA market week is not as consequential as you would think. By the time buyers have been to the massive Las Vegas trade shows and the marquee New York showcases, LA is left to mainly service west coast and some international buyers.

Last week, I focused my time on walking the temporary booth trade shows - Brand Assembly in the Cooper Design Space, Designers and Agents in the New Mart, and the accessories showcase Coeur and the activewear and lifestyle grouping ALT in the California Market Center.

Brand Assembly Emerging Designers Showcase

Brand Assembly has expanded to 125 brands and now takes up the entire bright, white 13th floor event space of the Cooper Design Space. The carefully curated premier contemporary women's showcase, "gathers designers with similar price points while avoiding direct brand competition", as it was explained to me by co-founder, Hilary France. There is a well written profile of Hilary on Fashionista.com.

"Due to exhibitor demand, we could be much bigger but we are committed to a selective, curated approach that optimizes the Brand Assembly experience for our brands and buyers", professed the other co-founder, Alex Repola.

We Are Kindred from one of my favorites cities, Sydney at the busy SYDNY showroom booth

I was delighted to see We Are Kindred hanging beautifully in the busy The SYNDY Showroom booth. I introduced the label to The SYDNY. The SYDNY does an excellent job representing Australian designers and brands in the US market.

Brand Assembly was by far the busiest space of the week. Maybe buyers are taking the advice of one of the exhibitor brands, Monrow who have declared that "Brand Assembly Los Angeles is an incredibly well-curated assortment of brands & categories. If I was a boutique, I would only shop there."

The advanced contemporary Designers and Agents on the 3rd floor event space at the New Mart was close to full but a bit light on buyer traffic when I was there. D&A is known as an independent, international show that attracts brands from the US, Europe and Japan. D&A New York is a much larger, busier show.

Ben De Luca of Brooklyn Hat Company told me he had a busy Monday but Tuesday was slower.

Brooklyn Hat Co felts selling strongly for Fall16

Coeur and ALT were stranded on the buyer desert that is the huge penthouse event space of the California Market Center. It was very quiet up there. The penthouse space is only ever full for the LA Textile Show. The space is massive which tends to diffuse whatever energy is created. I think they should switch the smaller showcases to the more cozy and attractive 10th floor, 10B Loft. 10B Loft is about a third the size of the Penthouse and would create a significantly more intimate setting.

Coeur has suffered over the past two or three seasons from a lack of a permanent home (it was at the Alexandria Hotel last season) and most significantly from no longer sharing the 13th floor space with Brand Assembly. Coeur's accessories and Brand Assembly contemporary apparel complimented each other nicely and fed buyers from one to the other. Coeur was squeezed out by Brand Assembly's expansion.

The only eye catcher for me at Coeur was Mansi Shah, the namesake brand of New York artist, you guessed it, Mansi Shah. The print focused accessories and caps fuse the subtly innovative prints with a clean, hip mix of color and style, and are well priced.

Mansi Shah from New York

We are told that the economy is doing better. The unemployment rate is down and there is even talk that there is sustainable wages growth on the horizon. Retail should be doing significantly better. But it isn't. The Census Bureau's Advance Retail Sales Report released March 15 reported that seasonally adjusted sales in February contracted month-over-month with January revised downward.

Continued softness in the retail sector is naturally reaching back to the wholesale market. I am hearing that business at the Fall16 trade shows has been choppy. In my February article, US Economy in 2016 – Steady As She Goes?, I detailed the reasons why I thought 2016 would be a steady year. I still think that a year with some positive momentum is how we will look back on 2016.

It is four months until the swimwear and resort trade shows in Miami and five months until the breaking of Spring17 collections in Las Vegas. I am looking forward to seeing where we are at as an industry should our current slow but steady economic momentum continue or even pick up.

Paul Brindley
Principal Adviser
paul brindley consults

US Economy in 2016 - Steady As She Goes?

About this time last year, I wrote an article cautioning against the then prevailing over-optimistic posture of most of the financial and apparel industry press that 2015 was going to be the bumper year leading us all to prosperity.

You can read here: http://paulbrindleyconsults.com/full-steam-ahead-us-economy-2015-just-hold-horses/

The broad insistence of the enthusiasm was alarming. The fundamentals of the US economy didn't jibe with the predicted boom. Jobs growth was slow and of questionable quality, wages growth non-existent, consumer confidence was lagging, the financial market was manic depressive. Where was this supposed surge going to come from? How was it going to be paid for? Was there to be another credit bubble?  Not again. Not another cycle of boom and bust. I could hear the words of the Credit Manager of the bank I once worked for echoing down from the barren post-1987 crash years, "This will never happen again". Well, he has been at least 5 times wrong since. And the last one nearly saw the whole place circle the drain.

Twelve months on, we are thankfully getting a much more sober appraisal of the economic year ahead. The party line this year is that the economic trends of 2016 should mirror those of 2015. The US will see steady progress up an easy gradient of an estimated 2% growth while the rest of the world at best staggers along a flat path.

What can we expect during 2016?

1. Weak Retail Sales - U.S. retail sales declined in December to ensure the weakest retail year since 2009. I bored everyone with the obvious in last year's article (and ad nauseum elsewhere) by reiterating that the most significant driver of retail sales is disposable income. Right now, if people have it, they aren't spending it. Rising healthcare and housing costs are exacerbating the continued weak wages growth for those who have decent paying jobs. Many people are scraping by. The jobs growth figures appear strong with an official unemployment rate of 5% which is technically full employment. No-one believes this number. But even if this were true, wages growth is lagging badly. If you are thinking of opening a bricks and mortar store, you better be a 1000% sure that you have the right product(s) at the right price for the right market and that you have a good quality, well targeted online presence, otherwise, don't do it. I have retail clients and friends with retail stores in popular shopping districts in the greater Los Angeles area. Things are not good, and haven't been for a while. The holiday season was a bust with a low year on year increase of 2-3% (below the National Retail Federation prediction, as usual), with early discounting, and with no last minute boost as experienced in previous years. We are waiting on January's figures.
2. E-commerce keeps clicking - web retail totalled more than $350B in the US for 2015. The US Commerce Department reports that internet retail accounted for 7.5% of total retail sales in 2015, up from 6.5% in 2014. For 2016, expect improvements in the functions of mobile online shopping such as slicker browsing and check-out processes, expect more relevant content coming your way than ever before through a more personalized online experience, expect more video content, and expect to see more social co-creation in 2016, especially in the apparel and accessory e-commerce sector where shoppers can drop their templates into existing designs and actually alter the designs of existing products and come up with personalized one-of-a-kinds.
3. Careful with the plastic - there have been disquieting reports of the levels of household debt recently. a December 2015, Time.com article states, "Even after accounting for inflation, household debt has jumped 15% faster than income over the past dozen years." They quote a new study by NerdWallet, “After the significant dip following the recession, there was a lot of talk that Americans were using their credit cards better,” says NerdWallet credit expert Sean McQuay. “The numbers aren’t showing that. Americans are taking on more debt.” After the near meltdown of 2008 due to the overloading of debt, this news beggars belief.
4. Continued social and political dysfunction - with a general election in November and with the delibitating influence of crazed nativists and religious militants both at home and abroad, we can expect continued social discord and political gridlock in the US. There is much handwringing in the US about the absence of legislation expected out of Congress this year as the Republican majority ensures no good and all bad for the White House and Democrats. There is not much to be done about this. With our rigged and corrupt political system and our polarized, irreconcilable social values, the best we can hope for is a Democrat to win the November election and at least keep the inmates from running the asylum.
5. Which way the US housing market - most analysts believe the only way is up. Southern California saw a price increase of about 15% in 2015. The Real Deal website reports, "San Francisco prices are up 79.2 percent since 2009. Atlanta is up 53 percent. Phoenix, up 47.1 percent. Denver, 42.6 percent. Los Angeles, 49.7 percent. The magnitude of these gains rivals what we saw during the nuttiest portions of the 2000s bubble."  The article goes on to state that "Don’t call this a bubble — mortgage borrowing is still low by historic standards — but things are changing. Consider a new type of mortgage San Francisco Federal Credit Union recently promoted. In response to “skyrocketing home prices” hampering affordability, the bank is offering a no-money-down mortgage with an adjustable interest rate and without requiring private mortgage insurance. Even 2005’s mortgage market would blush at those terms." Prices will have to cool at some stage. Many analysts believe we are reaching that point.
6. All eyes on China - some analysts believe that the China Syndrome the world caught in the last half of 2015 has passed while others are still concerned that a full blown contagion is still in the air. All agree that the Chinese economy will continue to slow. The positive take is that as China transitions both from a manufacturing-led to a consumer-led economy, and from a state-directed to a free market, it's economic growth is hopefully slowing to a slower and more sustainable rate. A crash would be disastrous. China is such a big force in the global economy that the so-called "hard landing" that some predict would have a severe affect. Just last week, George Soros told an economic forum in Sri Lanka: "China has a major adjustment problem. I would say it amounts to a crisis. When I look at the financial markets there is a serious challenge which reminds me of the crisis we had in 2008." Eek.

Soros isn't the only doom and gloom merchant abroad. Some think the housing market in the US is overvalued by at least 25%. Others are, like Soros, think China's convulsions are more serious than growing pains. Many think the US stock market is grossly overvalued. The Royal Bank of Scotland recently told their clients to “sell everything” because “in a crowded hall, the exit doors are small.”

Any one of these could occur. Who knows? For now, steady, sustainable growth is fine by me. The most important component of the "sustainable" is cash funded, not debt funded. We are in desperate need of more living wage paying jobs, and for more jobs with some wages growth. Until the population feels it has that bit extra to spare, it will not be shared around and the economy will continue to inch along.

My deepest concern is the outcome of the US presidential election. While I think Obama has been too lenient with Wall Street and the banks after their disgraceful and criminal activities leading up to the 2008 crash. And we don't have a single payer health care or an expanded Medicare system, despite Obama explicitly campaigning and winning a strong mandate for health care for all. I believe he has done a remarkable job. Severely restricted by a bought and paid for Congress, he has run a pretty tight economic ship while paying for and winding down wars, keeping a gutted economy upright and ensuring the weakest and poorest aren't completely forgotten.

He has also repaired some of the damage done by Bush and Cheney and their outlaws abroad. Obama's "lead from behind" strategy in geo-politics is ridiculed in the US as weak but praised almost universally around the world as a relief. The world is done with the US bursting into the joint and blasting away like a drunken cowboy (or dry-drunk in George W's case).

We are slowly gathering some positive momentum. A lurge to the right now by would be a disaster economically, socially and diplomatically.

Paul Brindley
Principal Adviser
paul brindley consults

Agenda Long Beach, January 2016 - More Partying Than Purchasing?

Last Thursday and Friday saw Agenda Long Beach open the US apparel trade show circuit for 2016 at the concrete cavern that is the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California.

Agenda Long Beach has been on a steady surge in size, popularity, diversity and activity since it's inception in 2012. The show has expanded from a skate, surf and streetwear focus to include contemporary men's and women's apparel and accessories, outdoor, swim and lifestyle collections and industry services. I raved about the show in my review of the July 2015 show.

Last week's show seemed off the boil to me when it came to foot traffic and overall energy. I didn't feel the same buzz that usually runs through the rows of booths and on the open center concourse.

That said, there are some mitigating arguments for what I thought was a slower show.

By all accounts, the holiday season was slow for the majority of retailers. Many stores may not have had the buying dollars available for immediate goods to warrant attending the show.

It rained in Southern California last week. While most of the country would welcome our last week's weather this time of year, locals could have taken the precipitation as a sign of the apocalyse, and thought that there wouldn't be a season to buy for.

Agenda LB may be getting too diverse. The Long Beach show is by far the largest and broadest Agenda iteration. For instance, the Agenda Las Vegas is truer to the original core constituency with distilled street, skate and surf brand offerings. Long Beach attempts to be many things to many people. With contemporary apparel and swim trade shows spread solidly on the calendar in the first quarter, Agenda may have overreached by expanding to so many categories.

I had one industry veteran (who asked to remain nameless) opine that Agenda LB is becoming too much like the now defunct Action Sports Retailer (ASR) trade shows that had a 30 year run in San Diego until 2010. Why did ASR fail? Many reasons. One is thought to be declining clarity as to just what the show's market was. As ASR diversified, did it cause confusion as to just what the show was about and who should attend? My contact thought that this could be happening to Agenda LB.

He also said that the show feels more like a party that a trade event. He noted how much drinking was going on in the booths. He also pointed to the skateboard ramp that made it's debut at last week's show, and said "it feels like just what happened at ASR". By the way, I was nearly taken out by a skater flying off the ramp. 

I don't know about the drinking and partying bit. Agenda has always had a loose and fun atmosphere. I have seen many a 11AM beer being downed as buyers have been shown around the racks. Also I don't know about the comparison to ASR because I never attended.

I didn't see much that caught my eye. I did notice that some long time participants weren't in attendance such as JanSport. The Australian women's contemporary labels, Tiger Mist and Rise of Dawn also gave it a miss.

The contemporary men's and women's apparel and the accessories booths seemed quiet on both days.

There was one new brand that was fascinating. Cooperative of Photography (aka COOPH) from Austria has created it's own category - Photography Wear or Photog Wear or Snap Wear or whatever someone cleverer than I can come up with.

COOPH from Austria at Agenda LB

They design and produce excellent quality and very stylish gloves, headwear, hoodies, jackets, shirts and t-shirts with clever, innovative extras for photographers. For example, the underside of the bucket hat brim and the cap brim are grey cards, the shirts have a lens cleaning cloth sewn into the inside of the bottom hem, the hoodies have a lens cleaning cloth in hidden, zippable pocket and buttons for folding the jacket into a camera wrap or pillow.

So that was Agenda Long Beach for January 2016. A bit quieter than usual. Not a lot that was outstanding. I am going to reserve judgement on whether the show has grown too diverse until after the July edition. 

Up next is LA Fashion Market Week next week. See you there.

Paul Brindley
Principal Adviser
paulbrindleyconsults.com

2015 In Review: The Year in Trade Shows

Here’s a useful primer on the US apparel trade show landscape as at the end of 2015 from Apparel News.

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TRADE SHOWS

2015 In Review: The Year in Trade Shows

By Alison A. Nieder | Wednesday, December 23, 2015

This was a big year of change for apparel and textile trade shows as new players entered the market, new partnerships were formed and new categories opened.

The ink was still drying on the late-2014 acquisition of Advanstar—owners of the MAGIC, Projectand ENK trade shows—by London-based events producer UBM PLC when the now-renamed UBM Advanstar struck its first new deal. In February, the trade-show giant announced it had reached a deal with Eurovet, organizers of the Curvexpo lingerie and swimwear trade show, to launch a jointly owned event called CurveNV @ MAGIC in August during the Las Vegas trade shows.

But that wasn’t the only change in store for the Las Vegas trade-show lineup. In August, Urban Expositions, which organizes gift trade shows, acquired WomensWear in Nevada from Specialty Trade Shows. Shortly after, British company Clarion Events acquired a majority share in Urban Expositions, and Urban Expositions announced a new name for the California Gift Show. Going forward it will be called LAMKT.

Meanwhile, in Southern California, 2-year-old streetwear trade show Venue moved to a new, larger location at The Reef (formerly called the LA Mart) in downtown Los Angeles in May, then partnered with Los Angeles Fashion Week show organizer Style Fashion Week for its October run, also held at The Reef.

Southern California swimwear trade show Swim Collective expanded into the athletic and athleisure market with the launch of a new show called Active Collective. Initially held alongside the January Swim Collective Show in Huntington Beach, by June Active Collective was held as a standalone show. And in July, Swim Collective launched a premium beachwear show calledBeach Collective alongside the Swim Collective show. Swim Collective Executive Show Director Shannon Leggett announced plans to launch a swim and active week featuring the three shows in 2016.

It was a busy summer for Southern California’s swim market. After two years in Miami Beach, contemporary swim show Cabana launched a West Coast show in Newport Beach, Calif., running concurrently with Swim Collective in Newport Beach, Calif.

There were several other new shows launched in 2015, including Shape, a new athletic apparel and athleisure trade show launched by the California Market Center in Los Angeles. New sourcing trade show Factory Direct held its first two shows at The New Mart in March and September.

The New Mart was also the site of the first Moda 360 show in Los Angeles, where apparel and accessories showed in a gallery-like setting alongside fashion films and runway shows. In September, the building also hosted a new fashion and technology event called MélangeLive.

American Events Inc., organizers of the NW Materials Show in Portland, Ore., and the NE Materials Show in Boston, brought its footwear sourcing exhibition to Southern California with the launch of the SoCal Materials Show, held in January and July in Los Angeles.

Miami men’s and women’s contemporary trade show Coast added a Nashville show in October and announced plans to move its July 2016 Miami date to coincide with Miami Swim Week.

After hosting its textile show for 10 years in Milan, Italian fabric show Milano Unica expanded to include a New York show in July at the Javits Center. The textile show joined an existing lineup of trade shows that includes Texworld USA, Première Vision Preview, Kingpins, DG Expo andSpin Expo.

Several New York textile and apparel trade show organizers—including Texworld USA, Kingpins and MRket— joined forces to launch NYC Textile Week, a collaborative marketing effort designed to make the trade-show trips more convenient, productive and fun for buyers and exhibitors.

Shortly after the official launch of NYC Textile Week, however, denim-sourcing trade show Kingpins announced plans to shift the schedule for its New York show from January and July to November and May starting in November 2015. Kingpins founder Andrew Olah said the shift came at the request of attendees who asked for an earlier schedule. The show also moved its location in New York from Skylight Clarkson Square to Basketball City at Pier 36.

There were several other venue changes in 2015.

CALA San Francisco held its last show at the Westin St. Francis hotel in San Francisco in January before moving to a new open-booth venue at the Fort Mason Center in March, where attendance more than doubled from March’s turnout of 569 buyers, organizers said.

For its fourth edition, Los Angeles Mens Market moved to the CMC’s penthouse from its previous location on the building’s fourth floor. In the new location it switched from a showroom event to an open-booth format.

In August, bridal trade show Couture Los Angeles Bridal Market returned to Los Angeles for a second annual run, moving from Siren Studios in Hollywood to The Reef in downtown Los Angeles.

Upscale accessories and lifestyle show Coeur tried out a new location at the Alexandria Ballrooms in downtown Los Angeles after four years at the Cooper Design Space. In December, Coeur announced plans to relocate to the CMC in 2016.

Business Journals Inc. shifted the dates for its Fall/Winter womenwear and accessories shows in New York from May to April in a move that allowed retailers to be in their stores in the days leading up to Mother’s Day, a holiday “second only to Christmas,” according to Britton Jones, BJI president and chief executive officer. The shows—Moda, Accessories the Show and Fame—co-located at the Javits Center with ENK’s Intermezzo and Accessories Circuit.

This year also saw a new name for swimwear show Salon Allure. Now celebrating its fifth year in Miami Beach, the trade show rebranded itself as Hammock in July. But that wasn’t the only change for Miami Swim Week. This year, IMG, producers of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Miami, took a break from hosting runway shows during the July swim trade shows, which included the Miami SwimShow, Hammock and Cabana. Other event organizers—including Funkshion, Hammock and LDJ Productions—stepped up to fill the void with runway shows of their own.

New York’s fashion week landscape also saw a shift with the launch of New York Fashion Week: Mens in July. After years of hosting menswear shows as an adjunct to the women’s runway shows of New York Fashion Week, the Council of Fashion Designers of America decided to launch the first standalone for menswear.

In Los Angeles, the fashion-week scene saw a few organizers drop out in October, including LA Fashion Council and Concept Fashion Week, while new players, including LA Fashion Week and Fashion Week Los Angeles, joined a lineup that included Style Fashion Week and Art Hearts Fashion.

Nonprofits: On the Go with Heads in the Cloud

Following is the unedited version of my article for the October 13-26 edition of the Long Beach Business Journal.

A PDF of the published article is included underneath.

———-
Nonprofits: On the Go with Heads in the Cloud 

Most nonprofits are constantly striving to do more with the same level of resources – if they are lucky. Studies show that in many cases they are having to do more with less.

New technologies and the rise of social media have provided low-cost tools for nonprofits to outreach, spread their message and cultivate stakeholders and supporters. The latest in cost saving innovations are mobile technology and cloud computing.

In April of this year, the Pew Research Center reported that … 64% of Americans adults own a smartphone of some kind, up from 35% in the spring of 2011.

The worldwide usage of mobile devices outstripped desktop and laptop computer usage during 2014. All the statistics reveal that mobile search, shopping, customer engagement and communication continue to trend past static device usage.

We have been told for a while now that the future is mobile. Welcome to the future.

So there you have it, the vast majority of your customers, clients, partners, funding sources, influencers, mavens, and the public at large are walking around and using their tiny computers as they go about their day, and keeping them close when they are not. The portal to the whole spectrum of your audience is open and accessible whenever and wherever. Your audience is mobile so should you be.

What are some strategies for “going mobile”?

• Make sure you have a mobile responsive website. When a website is responsive, the layout and content responds or adapts based on the size of the screen it’s presented on. A responsive website automatically changes to fit the device you’re reading it on.
• Provide a way for your clients to sign up for courses and events or to donate through their mobile devices via a mobile optimized online form or third party service like Eventbrite.
• Design your emails and marketing collateral with the mobile viewer in mind. Will people be reading it on the phone, or is it something to be sent via email as a mobile download? Don’t try and do too much. Keep fonts large, sentences short, use single columns and get the recipient to click to your website for more information.
• Try a text message fundraising drive. An article on the Nonprofit Hub website states that the Human Rights Campaign found that text message subscribers are 2.5 times more likely to donate than a non-text message subscriber. The Humane Society of the United States found that members who received a text message reminding them to donate were more likely to give online by 77 percent. I have no experience with SMS fundraising campaigns so do your due diligence on infrastructure, security and practices.
• In managing your nonprofit, mobile technology is allowing team members to remain connected wherever they are. This results in more time servicing with clients and networking with donors and less time stuck behind a desk. Depending on the sensitivity of the organization’s information, put in place policies and practices for mobile communication by voice, text or email.
• Ensuring that your communications, systems and practices are mobile friendly sends the message (excuse the pun) to your stakeholders and supporters that your nonprofit is a professional organization that is responsive and sensitive to current trends.

What is cloud computing? What does it mean that “something is in the cloud’?

Cloud computing means that instead of housing software, applications and files on your computer or your own server, they are hosted by someone else online or “in the cloud”. You gain access from anywhere using the internet. Gmail is a good example. Office 365 is another program that offered as a cloud based subscription. You don’t need your own servers or storage.

So what are the advantages?

• Portability and convenience – you can access your files and programs from anywhere using an internet connection. Team members can access files from home, on the road or in the office. Work flow is increased by easy file sharing. Team communication is sped up with secure messaging programs.
• Cost savings – this is a big selling point for the nonprofit world. There is little IT cost when using the cloud. There is no server. Installs, upgrades, back-ups and other maintenance are done for you. You are not paying to power your own network infrastructure.
• Security – all your files and programs are saved off site. If there is a system crash at the office or one of your computers fails, everything is safely stored and ready to be downloaded.
• Environmentally friendly – with cloud computing, you only use the server space you need which decreases your carbon footprint and can result in at least 30% less energy consumption and carbon emissions than using on-site servers.
• Low cost options – there are many low cost, no-cost solutions like OneDrive, Dropbox, Hightail, Gmail, Office 365 subscription service, VaultPress.

How about the disadvantages:

• No internet connection, no access – this is a problem. Make sure you have a proven and reliable internet provider.
• Security and privacy – many people are frightened that their information is not secure. Cloud services providers have made security their top priority. Make sure you have strong password protection.
• Incompatibility of some programs – some applications that don’t run well in the cloud or need significant conversion to migrate. For example, certain systems might rely on local file storage. Fortunately, many cloud providers assist with migration.

If you are a little jumpy about this new amorphous cloud universe, don’t go all in. Pick and choose which cloud based solutions you are comfortable with. That’s what I have done. The more I have used cloud services, the more comfortable I have become with giving up important emails and documents that I used to hold tight on my laptop.

Cloud computing solutions are maturing and improving all the time. As the technology continues to evolve, costs will continue to fall and reliability and security standards will improve. I am certain that in the future, operating in the cloud will be as routine as all the other technological advances that used to bamboozle many of us.

There is an old Latin saying, Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis, which translates to “Times change, and we change with them”. We have changed a lot with the technological advances of the past 20 years.

The portability, flexibility and cost savings of mobile technology and cloud computing will ensure they are two of the most profound and lasting changes so far. They have the potential to relieve nonprofits of the time, energy and costs that can be redirected towards their irreplaceable missions that assist so many in need in our communities.

Paul Brindley
paul brindley consults
paulbrindleyconsults.com

PDF: Nonprofits: On the Go with Heads in the Cloud – NonprofitPageOct13

Los Angeles Market Week Spring16 – Some Like It Hot

Barry O at Venue Tradeshow at The REEF

The relentless tropical heat beat down on LA for last week’s Spring 2016 Los Angeles Fashion Market, which set up shop in the downtown Los Angeles Fashion District from October 12–15.

The hot weather must have kept some buyers away because there was a distinct drop in the usual activity and energy this time of year. Business was as sluggish as sales of Fall merchandise must be at present. I can’t imagine buyers have much spare cash to be throwing down for their Spring orders. Apparel News reported that “… some buyers had less money available for Spring orders and others were scrambling to fill inventories with warm-weather apparel.”

It doesn’t help local sales agents that the LA Spring Market is at the tail end of the Spring selling season. Vegas was 2 months ago. The NY shows were last month. With any semblance of Fall yet to materialize, buying budgets must be drying up like a Californian river.

The show must go on and it did in the showrooms of the California Market Center, The New Mart, the Cooper Design Space, the Gerry Building and the Lady Liberty building — as well as at temporary trade shows Designers and Agents (New Mart), Coeur (at a new location at the Alexandria Ballrooms at 5th & Spring), Brand Assembly (Cooper), L.A. Men’s Market, Shape and Select (all at the CMC).

Designers and Agents was a bit light on exhibitors. They usually completely fill the 3rd Floor event space. Friend and generous bestower of complimentary hats, Ben De Luca of Brooklyn Hat Co. thought Monday was solid but the Tuesday I was there was significantly slower. He wasn’t holding out hope for much better on Wednesday.

The classy Brand Assembly filled the bright, white 11th floor event space of the Cooper. Brand Assembly has swelled to 112 brands. The contemporary women’s showcase has doubled in size over the past 12 months.

The SYDNY Showroom showing their all Australian roster at Brand Assembly

The LA Men’s Market show at the 10th floor event space in the CMC has grown into a mini Agenda. This is a show to keep an eye on. It was the only space of the entire week that had some real consistent buzz going.

The new Shape show for contemporary active and lifestyle brands had some good quality labels like NUX and Bhujang Style but very little foot traffic. There is definitely scope for a showcase like Shape but they need to get it off the 13th floor of the CMC and put it somewhere that buyers will actually visit.

I did spot a gem at Select on the ground floor of the CMC. LA’s own Lesebi was showing waterproof handmade nylon ankle bracelets produced by women in Mayan communities in Cancun, Mexico. Lesebi has partnered with Mayan Ook (ook is the Maya word for ‘foot’) which commissions and sells hand woven and embroidered garments made by local women from the state of Quintana Roo’s Mayan Zone. The Mayan Zone is formed by small rural communities located in the municipalities of Felipe Carrillo Puerto and José María Morelos near the Tulum region.

Lesebi ankle bracelets – $12 wholesale, minimum order of 5

On Thursday and Friday of last week, Venue Tradeshow tried to eke out the last of the buyers’ seasonal budgets at The REEF space in the LA Mart on Broadway and Washington.

Venue Tradeshow

Venue is a showcase for emerging young contemporary, street and lifestyle labels. I like the concept. I like the artwork that decorates the space. But the space is too cavernous for the thin spreading of brands. Miles Canares, the owner/producer is a young and enthusiastic impressario who is genuinely supportive of his exhibitors. I would recommend he find a tighter spce closer to the heart of the fashion district to concentrate the energy of the show and maximize the opportunities of attracting buyers.

more Venue artwork

Paul Brindley
Principal Adviser
paul brindley consults