A New Shade of Green

Earth Day (April 22) has come and gone, but not without some impact. In a belated celebration, I'm still thinking about "green."

Pantone, the international color authority, forecasts a new shade called “Apple Green,” as a predominate color in fashion and home furnishings. "Green has been the symbolic color for the past few years, and will stay that way; it reflects the usage of the moment. The mother color to green is blue, in homage to water, the most precious commodity we have," said Laurice Eisman, Pantone color expert.

The word “green” creeps like the swine flu into almost all our daily conversations these days, partly as a result of our interest in environmentalism, and in past of its association with the economy, as in “greenbacks,” i.e., dollar bills, our other preoccupation.

Like it or not, the ownership of our planet is exchanging hands. The “younger generation” is not pleased with the condition they are finding their inheritance. Retailers either get it or scratch their heads. Many retailers are so out of the loop, they aren’t even aware of Bill H.R. 6049, which would provide tax benefits and abatements for stores to remodel, this includes incentives for retailers to use solar energy in their stores and warehouses (See www.retaildesigndiva.com “Congress Rocks, June 16, 2008).

Here’s what we are seeing--same old thinking, slashed budgets, reducing expenditures and more heads lopped off than at the Queen of Hearts tea party. (Oh! Mighty Isis!)

Retailers order the same way they always do, always have, without any recognition to the new global weather/season patterns. They go from their air-conditioned stores, to their air-conditioned cars, to their air-conditioned homes, not aware of what the real temperature is (physically or emotionally). Many designers still design four collections, yet we live in a two-season climate, which arrives later every year. Can you tell a spring wrap-around, from a summer wrap-around? Designers still release a Cruise/pre-spring line (when was the last time you took a leisurely cruise aboard the QE2 to the Mediterranean?). Clothing is produced overseas (China) with a minimum 12-14 week delivery, it always runs late, so retailers order early, which is why winter coats arrive in store in June. By August, amid 90 degree temperatures, retailers are already taking their third markdown and seem angry at customers who still aren’t buying wool coats. Christmas comes in October and is down by November. What planet are we living on? Retailers, you’d better start listening to your customers, they are fed up--which is why consumers are making their purchases online, in season.

Retailers refuse to consider the notion of blending Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter--it isn’t factored into the shopping equation. Stores are not set up to accommodate the realities around us. The dictates of designers insisting that retailers have to buy full cruise lines for a customer base that no longer exists is wasteful. Many designers refuse to make a size 14 or larger, even though the average America starts at that size. The average designer doesn’t even wear a size 8 (the tail is wagging the store). The notion of purchasing locally, to support American jobs, reduce shipping costs, and reduce the carbon footprint is dismissed as not fiscally responsible, despite the fact that nearly every study demonstrates that consumers will dig more deeply into their pockets if the benefits of being “green” are identified.

But it’s just not about buying “green,” it’s about spending “green”--the days of wasteful acquisition are long over. Replacing last year's coat for this year's model is passé. Consumers want items of quality (not luxury). They shop differently. They insist on bang for their buck. “Buzz” (hype and slick marketing) is not bang.

There’s a new shade of green in town. It’s bright, familiar, enticing, healthy and optimistic.

--Ron Knoth, Guest Blogger

A Little Retail 101 Goes a Long Way…

After so much hand-wringing on the state of our industry and the sputtering attempts to spur consumers to part with their hard-earned dosh, I had the most delightful experience recently which reminded me of everything great retail is supposed to be about. And it happened in the most unexpected of places.

I was in the market for a new lawnmower and had decided after much internal debate to go with one you “push.” I’d like to tell you this was just the latest step on a greening-of-my-life type strategy, but in reality the timing was set when the kid down the street doing my lawn went to college in the fall and his mom didn’t think his 7-year-old sibling was up to the task. Although, admittedly, I did ask.

Having taken the plunge to do the job myself, I went the way of “push” during my research (read: stalling) for the upcoming endeavor. Apparently its better for the lawn, you get a better result and when I decide to do something, no matter how reluctantly, it’s at least partially important to me to try and get it right.

So, I find what’s considered to be the world’s best push mower according to all the online lawn geeks (a group I now am proudly a part of) and then set about what I anticipated would be a long, arduous journey to get one into my hands. Here’s the steps I went through.

1. Went to the manufacturer’s wonderful, beautifully designed, informative Web site to discover (surprise, surprise) the best push lawnmower in the world is made not hours from my house. Wow! My initial joy at buying a true heartland, American-made classic was then wholly deflated when I discovered they make them there but don’t actually sell them there. Arse.

2. Go to the Supplier Finder and, low and behold, there’s one in the next neighborhood--a big, national hardware store chain even. But still, I steeled myself that they wouldn’t have the one I wanted as I picked up the phone.

3. Called them. They had one in stock. What were their opening hours? Again ready for the inevitable “We close at 6,” only to find “We close at 10.”  10? Really? Wow again. Loving these guys.

4. Drove over after work. It’s a measure of how hit and miss things have been these past months (or perhaps just a measure of my rampant paranoia) that I spent the drive convinced when I got there they wouldn’t have it or would in fact be closed. But the sun was out and it was a beautiful evening drive--so what the hell.

5. Arrived at the store and wandered around a bit looking for my lawnmower. Well-lit, well-signed and there it was--perhaps surprisingly--in the lawnmower section.

6. And it was on sale.

7. Then of course I wondered, how does one actually buy a lawnmower? Does it come in a box? Do you need tools? As if by magic, at that very moment a chap shows up. “Can I help you?” “Um yes, I’d like to buy that.” He paused, and smiled. Here it comes, I thought, the inevitable up-sell, the admission that it wasn’t actually in stock. “Oh man, excellent choice, you are going to LOVE this!” he exclaimed. Imagine my surprise; someone who not only knows the product--he uses it himself. Someone who was just given the easiest sell in creation and yet took the time to share his enthusiasm regardless.

8. Still, I didn’t know how exactly to buy it. “Oh…I’ll just give you this one,” the associate says. “Isn’t that your floor model?” “Yeah, but you don’t want to worry about assembly, and it’s a beautiful day so you are going to want to use this tonight. I’ll just put another one together in the morning.” And with that, he picked it up and carried it to the front desk.”

9. As I was paying--still somewhat in shock at how easy this all was--he came over and gave me a free sharpening kit. Then he gave me his card and told me to call if I had any questions or problems. Then he carried it out to my car. Then he shook my hand and wished me luck.

I drove home slack jawed. It couldn’t have gone smoother. I couldn’t have been happier.  And the mower was a simple delight. What did I pay for this experience? $79. Where did I have it? Ace Hardware. What was it worth to me? To borrow the slogan from Mastercard--it was priceless.

--Christian Davies, Guest Blogger

Try A Little Tenderness

Have you noticed that the past is making a comeback? 1980s-inspired shoulder pads have been spotted on the runways, and are (I swear it’s true) this year’s newest fashion trend, despite “Designing Women.” And ad after ad in Vogue seems to reference Marilyn Monroe, Helmut Newton, the ’70s safari look and hippie chic. What’s going on? Let’s do the time warp again! I even fell for the hypothetical, outlandish “The Butterson’s.” No, it’s not a forgotten 1950s sit-com; it’s a commercial for “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter.”

Madison Avenue believes that nostalgia may be the antidote for consumers worried about the present and the future, and therefore are eager to beat a hasty retreat to the safety of the past--any recent past decade will do.

Remember the ’60s, when good mothers gave their kids Instant Tang and Strawberry Pop-Tarts for breakfast? Well, five Big G cereals from General Mills, among them Cheerios and Trix, (which as it turns out is not just for kids) are being sold in throwback boxes in Target stores, accompanied by a T-shirt offer. I guess eating cereal isn’t good enough, you have to wear it, too. Note to friends and family, if I get a Count Chocula T-shirt for my birthday, there will be trouble in paradise!

In a commercial promoting McDonald’s new sweet tea, a man walks home through an urban neighborhood reminiscent of the ’70s. Damn you ABC for canceling my favorite TV series of this decade, “Life On Mars,” which also happened to be set in the '70s. I swear I’ll get my revenge on you yet.

Pepsi just began an eight-week campaign for “throwback” versions for two of their soft drinks, Pepsi-Cola and Mountain Dew, which evoke the groovy ’60s and swinging ’70s, when life was “sweet.” Note to Pepsi: Vietnam and Watergate are notably absent. “It’s about yearning for the past, a simpler time, even though the ’60s and ’70s were not simple,” said Frank Cooper, chief marketing officer of Pepsi-Cola. “They just seem simple, looking back.”

Resuscitating vintage slogans and catchy jingles, as well as iconic package designs, combatant and competitor Diet Coke will not be undone. They’re re-promoting their classic “Just for the taste of it…Diet Coke!” campaign. First used by The Coca-Cola Co. to introduce their soda pop way back in 1982, when Reganonomics and the AIDS crisis added their wistful signature to the tenure of the times.

And as part their “back-to-our-roots” campaign for Nationwide Insurance, Eric Hargrove, a company spokesman in Columbus, Ohio, said there would be a prominent role for the “Nationwide is on your side” jingle to return to the airwaves. Truth be told, that jingle is as insidious as the Mr. Softee ice cream truck jingle that New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg outlawed recently. Thank you Mike, on bended knee…I thank you!

“In a time of anxiety, people are seeking out brands they’re comfortable with and they can trust,” said Ric Hendee, vice president for marketing services at Cotton Inc., which is reintroducing it’s ’90s jingle, “The Fabric of Our Lives.” Are we so lost that the ’90s are nostalgic too? Research found that women in their 20s and 30s, the intended audience for messages about cotton’s benefits, “remember the song and understand what it means,” Hendee says.“Even teenage girls had some memories of it.” Creepy and condescending assessment not withstanding, to make sure the cotton jingle “is relevant to a new audience,” said Cassandra Anderson, creative director at DDB New York, it is being performed by contemporary musicians like Zooey Deschanel, Miranda Lambert and Jazmine Sullivan rather than the previous cotton crooners, Richie Havens and Aaron Neville.

The best part of the past is that it’s over. I lived through the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. They were great, but I wouldn’t go back. I prefer the present, and look forward to the future, where we’ll all work for Spacely Sprokets like George Jetson, fly to school in jet packs like Elroy, walk our dogs on outdoor treadmills like Astro, and wear Saturn bikini’s like Jane. What is a Saturn bikini you ask? Two rings around the right places!

--Ron Knoth, Guest Blogger

You Don’t Buy Me Retail…Anymore

“Used-to-be’s don’t count anymore, they just lay on the floor till we sweep them away…I remember when…”--Barbra Streisand, who on April 24th will turn a scant 67. This means, alas, I too am getting on, and one thing invariably leads to another.

Remember those halcyon days when luxury was not a dirty word. Now luxury is like our mem’ries “scattered ashes of the world we left behind, the world we gave one another, for the way we were.” Gosh, it seems like just yesterday. Well, tread carefully, “happy days are here again, the skies above are clear again.” There are multiple factors to account for the changes in retail. It’s a sort of perfect storm that may just be lifting.

The economy not withstanding, here are a few factors that feed into the magical alchemy that defines us, and how we shop. It’s not without coincidence that The First Lady and style maven, Michelle Obama, wore a J. Crew cardigan to Buckingham Palace. Despite Oscar De la “Ranta's” chastisement (and subsequent retraction on “the View,” Youtube him to see him get grilled like a cheese sandwich by Barbra Walters). Ms. Obama looked a-dor-a-ble in her entry-level sweater set. It broadcast a message loud and clear to the fashion hoi-polio, eat my *%$#. Ouch!

Maybe the Fashion Council of America missed WWD the other day, but lifestyle of the rich and famous luxury retailer Jil Sander is designing for Japanese fast-fashion merchant Uniqulo. They do everything except sell fries with their hoodies. Jil Sander is in good company, every other designer is trading down, welcome to the 21st century. It’s sort of nice.

Customers are shopping differently. They enter stores with a different set of expectations. What are the new standards in the new world order? Customers are not as easily swayed by slick advertising and marketing. Customers can spot a faker a mile off; customers seek truth. Customers want fashion that is relevant, not just stylish. Customers are not on acquiring mode anymore, they are on keeping mode. Customers balance value and price, and while the percentage off that retailers are offering is greatly appreciated, it will wear thin, as expectations are lowered, bottom out, and then “value” takes hold. We’re seeing that now. Customers are much better informed. They’re educated, and have researched product online. They don’t just look at product, they’re scrutinizing the company behind the product.

As for the new society, to wit: Kenneth Cole, with his social advocacy promoting his (seldom do they fit) shoes, and Donna Karan (Barbra’s VBF), with her Urban Zen collection that supports wildlife conservation, are the admiration of the industry. Their corporate mission speaks directly to their customers. Customers are looking for eco-friendly products. Statistics vary, but last year 49 percent of customers reported that they looked for organic materials (tipping point for securing a sale)--this year it’s already up to 55 percent and we’re only in April. Target and Anthropologie have done exceedingly well meeting this demand. Customers shop there because they are perceived as “green.” Customers long for the feeling that whatever they buy is somehow magically creating a better world, whether it's promoting consciousness awareness for breast cancer or rebuilding the rain forest.

What does this mean for retailers not on board, or behind the curve? The prognosis is poor. Mediocre collections and companies will no longer be blindly supported. Celebrity endorsements are becoming passé. Retailers need to move toward fewer venues, and open up in better locations with greater visual impact to develop their distinctive voice to appeal to higher-evolved customers. This accounts for the rapid demise of Steve and Barry’s. You can’t throw a fleece sweatshirt on the floor and expect the public to line up for it just because Sarah Jessica Parker wore it. A non-acceleration approach needs to be entertained. The glory days of ostentaciousness have given way to austerity. Get with the program. Customer approach and language needs to be addressed. We were once pegged as consumers, until be became customers, and then were reborn as guests--but the larva has been removed to reveal the new citizen of the world.

You "people, people who need people, are the luckiest people in the world."

--Ron Knoth, Guest Blogger

Photo: A product RED T-shirt from the Gap speaks to consumers who value socially responsible retailers.

Shoplifting at Tiffany’s: A How-To Guide

It was Valentine's Day, 1982. I remember as if it was yesterday. It’s true, I’m an old pro, I’ve lifted from the best--Bloomingdale’s, Saks, Woolworth’s. But even I have to admit that the third time I got caught shoplifting at Tiffany’s was really the most mortifying, by now they even knew my name. There I was, practically minding my own business, innocently casing out the estate jewelry department, when I was accused of stuffing a pave diamond broach in my pocket. It wasn’t a pave broach. It was a lousy diamond pin with multiple baguettes, and you would think a respectable jeweler like Tiffany’s would know the difference.

Okay, this really isn’t a blog on shoplifting at Tiffany’s. That was just a shameless "come on." This is really a blog about the generosity of some retailers, but if I told you that at the beginning of my blog, you would have surfed off the site already. So if you commit a few moments of your time, I promise I’ll give you a great, happy Hollywood ending anyway.

Here goes… reading about the economy these days is more depressing than Russian poetry. The unemployment rate (a whopping 8.25 percent) continues to grow faster than Kirstie Ally’s dress size, (no way that girl is a size 8), but day after day smart retailers are coming up with ways to retain our patronage in these troubled times.

I’m taking down the photo of the Dalai Lama over my desk, and replacing his holiness with a photo of Carlos Vasquez. Who is Carlos Vasquez you ask? He owns First Professional Cleaners on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. His shop has a handwritten sign in the window that reads, “If you are unemployed and need an outfit clean for an interview, we will clean it for free!” (Not great grammar, but I’ll deal with that later.) The sign, by the way, has been up since Sept. 11, 2001, and now garnered international attention (FREE publicity) because of the economic downturn.

"We figured we'll give something back to the community, something from the heart ... because we lost so many people, (9/11) and so many people were unemployed," Vasquez says, adding that people from as far away as the Bronx have called to inquire about the offer. "That wasn't the idea when I put the sign up in the window," he says. "It's hard running a business in New York City as it is, but I will fulfill as many as I can, as many as I can afford to."

Men’s Wearhouse has been hit hard by the economy. As hard as the way that Ignatz use to wallop Crazy Cat over the head with a mallet. Despite Men’s Wearhouse’s precarious finances, they’re still offering their famous two-for-one suit sale. Two suits for the price of one. Their suits are well made, often with imported quality fabrics, some designer names, FREE alterations, and are always affordable. Thank you George Zizmore, but one suggestion--your TV commercials, less you behind your desk steepling, and more montages of cute guys in groovy suits.

Saturn, the cultish carmaker is selling cars (sans bail out) with a kind of unemployment insurance. If you loose your job within the first nine months of purchase, and can’t make your payments, Saturn will make then for you for nine months. (GM doesn’t even want talk to you about refinancing.) Saturn will even help service and maintain your car for free, so that its blue book value doesn’t go down. I don’t have a driver’s license, but I still might buy a Saturn just for the heck of it. (As with all car purchases, read the fine print first.)

Banana Republic, uniform makers for the yuppie set, has a great launch--all the male mannequins in their store windows have gone pant-less. They are hanging out in their boxer shorts, knee socks, knobby knees and casual Friday business attire. At first glance, you’ll think the visual merchandiser is playing some sick joke or took a long lunch. The signage on the windows reports that a matching pair of pants is FREE with every jacket purchase. That’s a savings of $60 to $120. Brilliant! Banana Republic has an ivory-colored, polished chino that is a classic. You’ll wear it for life! If you’ve never shopped in Banana Republic (FYI: Tim Gunn’s favorite retailer…next to Liz Claiborne) please note the clothing is well made, always has an impeccable fit, and they are one of the few retailers that offer similar garments in alternative fits, so you can get the same slacks in a boot cut, relaxed or slim-cut fit. I swear to you, by the end of the summer, I’m going to get into that slim-cut fit.

The list of retailers doing nice things is extensive--I know of at least a dozen more examples. Great retailers are acknowledging and reacting to the world around us. There are building brand equity, customer loyalty and communicating with their customer.

If you know of a retailer doing something nice, share it with the Diva or leave a comment.

And now the happy Hollywood ending (I’m skipping the second and third reel)…I was disheartened to report that my lawyer, Mr. O’Shaunessy, failed to show up at my bail hearing. Luckily that darling O.J. Berman pulled a few strings and got my downstairs neighbor, Paul Varjack, struggling novelist (Nine Lives) and male prostitute, to bail me out. I did have to promise the judge that I would never set foot in Tiffany’s again.

Did you know that Harry Winston is right across the street from Tiffany?

--Ron Knoth, Guest Blogger

And a Chicken In Every Pothole

During the Great Depression, President Herbert Hoover is mis-credited, but attributed to have campaigned on the promise: “That there would be a car in every garage, and a chicken in every pot!” Now some 80 years later there may not be a chicken in every pot, but there may be one in every pothole. In an effort to find new (and practically free) venues for advertising, those finger lickin’ good folks at KFC have launched a brilliant campaign.

In and around the greater Louisville, Ky., area (headquarters of KFC) Kentucky Fried Chicken is filling in potholes faster than you can order a 12-piece bucket with a side of cole slaw and biscuits. As part of the cause-marketing campaign, the fast-food giant receives the right to brand the pothole with their stencil that reads “Re-freshed by KFC.”

KFC you are a savior! This gets KFC’s message out to weary drivers racing home from work. It helps to build good will. For most of us consumers, big business has become synonymous with greed and scandal. So, corporations are looking for ways to improve their reputations and build brand equity. The cash-strapped city is a winner too; this reduces their Road Works Department budget, and reduces calls from irate drivers who just had a blow out on the interstate.

KFC if you’re listening, Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side needs you!

--Ron Knoth, Guest Blogger

Buy with a Buzz

I’ve been known to imbibe a cocktail or two in my time. I’ve also been known to drop more money than anticipated in a single shopping outing. I have not, however, done both simultaneously (unless you’re counting a few miscalculated T-shirt buys at touristy bar gift shops in years past). Some retailers have spotted a new way to keep customers in their stores.

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal caught my attention with the simple headline: “Belly Up to the Bar And Buy Some Jeans.” Um, yes please! A girl should have her inhibitions slightly whacked when dropping a credit card on the most frustration-inducing purchase known to man (or woman). Turns out a men’s clothing boutique in Washington, D.C., is doing just that. At Lost Boys, customers are offered free beers and a place to lounge in front of a big-screen TV…all while shopping. The article states that a growing number of men’s retailers are trying to get men to adopt more of the linger-and-browse approach that women take to shopping. Bring on the happy hour!

Other stores, such as Kesner, an upscale men’s store in New York’s West Village, and Lisa Kline Men in Los Angeles, also offer up the aperitifs with customer service a plenty. While trunk shows and fashion events have often integrated champagne and cocktails with special events, the everyday shopping venue has not fully embraced this concept on a wide-scale basis until now. As retailers come up with every last ploy they can to get shoppers in their stores during this tough economy, here’s to one more reason to make them stay. Bottoms up!

--Alison Embrey Medina

Photo: Lost Boys

America Runs on Dunkin?

Okay, I admit it, I am a carb-o-holic. In between all those healthy snacks and power bars, I consume more than my fair share of things so bad for you that they are not included on the food pyramid. So sue me. Several times a week I do walk (without the aid of a gun pointed at my head) into Dunkin’ Donuts, and order my usual… two chocolate frosted (no sprinkles), and one strawberry frosted. Yes, I have a “usual!” Then I proceed to eat them in this order--chocolate, then I balance it with a strawberry and top it off with a chocolate again. The order comes to $2.89, and that’s with our pesky New York sales tax 8.6 percent. Fully loaded with sugar, I breathe a sigh of relief, like an addict that has just scored, and say to myself…“God's in his heaven, all’s right with the world.” Well, they do say relapse is a part of recovery.

However, due to the recession, retailers and fast-food merchants are scrambling to “up” their sales. Dunkin’ Donuts is engaged in out-and out advertising warfare with Starbucks. Think suburbanites aping Peter Finch in “Network,” on top of the roofs of their track houses screaming at the top of their lungs that they love the taste of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. I don’t drink coffee, and won’t until they can deep fry it, stick a hole in the center and frost it.

As I hand the cashier, who looks like she’s playing hooky from the fifth grade, my three dollars, she asks if I want six donuts. At three, I already feel gluttonous. Dunkin’ has just launched a national sales campaign, and I missed the banner outside the store. Dunkin’ is now selling six donuts for the price of three, in hopes of luring back more budget-conscious consumers. The cashier begins to remind me of one of those “After School Specials,” where there would be a serpentine pusher in the schoolyard offering you more drugs…for free...just to hook you. My moral dilemma now begins. Do I get more just because they’re free? Why can’t I get the three for half off? Can I get 12 for the price of six? Isn’t this how Adam was tempted? Am I being a sap for sticking with my three? If Dunkin’ can still produce a profit after a 50 percent mark down, have I’ve been over-charged for that last few years? Is my gluttony being enabled?

They say that America runs on Dunkin’, well I’m not so certain how far I can run after consuming six donuts. They are sitting like lead in my belly. But oh, what a way to go.

--Ron Knoth, Guest Blogger

True Dunkin Factoid: For years, character actor Michael Vale played the sleepy eyed Dunkin’ Donut man, who had to get up early every morning to “make the donuts.” (He also played Sam Breakstone.) Vale was a Brooklynite, a struggling actor, and when he did get an occasional theater job, he hired a local girl to babysit for his family. The girl came from an impoverished family herself, and was dismissed (so the story goes) by Vale as she stole a pair of Vale’s wife’s shoes. Who was that that teenage girl? Barbra Streisand.