Fashion Industry is Hit Hard by the Economy

The Current Situation
We are currently in an economic crisis, but you don’t need me to tell you that. You have heard about the bailouts for the auto industry, banks, etc., but what we haven’t heard much about is how the economy is affecting the fashion industry.

The fashion industry is a $200 billion industry in the United States alone. New York City’s fashion industry alone, provides 175,000 jobs and $10 billion in total wages, according to Fast Money. So, while some may think banks and the auto industry are the only two huge industries struggling….think again. According to an article written by Eric Wilson, a fashion writer, for the New York Times.....

"On Tuesday, a group of designers, including Philip Crangi, Justin Giunta and Malia Mills, met with the Council of Fashion Designers of America to propose a “declaration of designers.” Stung by steep markdowns imposed by retailers, they are creating a white paper of sorts for dealing with the economic climate and a strength in numbers response to the stores."

Designers are beginning to worry about other less-known designers copying their ideas, so they could make money of the designs. The whole concept of selling the same item at a cheaper price than your competition is playing a role in the fashion industry today.

The concept has been prominent for a while, but with the economy the way it is, it is no surprise to see an item such as a fake ugg get sold at a higher rate than it would have before the economic crisis. People are even posting articles on the Internet about how you can spot fake uggs.

It makes a lot more sense for a consumer who is losing his or her job, but still wants to buy a boot that keeps your foot warm and looks good at the same time, to buy a knock-off of an item. It looks the exact same, but just doesn't have the label, so to many people, it makes sense to buy the item of the lesser value.

Here is a video that pokes a little fun at the bailout.

Stocks Dip
One indication of the economy faltering is the fall of the Stock Market. Stocks continue to drop as the economy hits every industry. Some of the main stores, such as Macy's and Nordstrom's provide a perfect case analysis of this economic situation.

Macy's is a store shopped at by people all over the world. If we look at its numbers over the past year, its high of $27.08 a share came on May 2, 2008, which was before the economic crisis really started to hit hard. Currently, it is at $13.23, which is significantly better than its low of $5.07 that occurred on Nov 20, 2008. These numbers show us that Macy's has indeed been hit hard by the "recession."

The second store to look at is Nordstrom's. It's high of $38.65 came on May 19,2008, while the low of $6.61 occurred on November 21, 2008. Once again, we see the month of May as a positive month for the economy, while November was a negative month. Currently, Nordstrom's is sitting at $22.50 which is significantly better than 45 days ago, when it was near $12.

These two stores prove that the economy has been hitting the fashion industry hard, but if the upward trend of the stocks are any indication, the industry might be on its way to recovering. I mean, we can only hope, right?

Italian Fashion Industry Bailout

The focus of the economic downfall has mostly been on the United States, but another country hit hard by the economy is Italy. The Italian fashion industry recently became upset when it saw the Italian government approve a stimulus package of about $2.54 billion to help the auto and domestic-appliance sectors. Seeing that the fashion industry was being ignored, Mario Boselli, Head of Italy's Chamber of Fashion, became irate. He said.....

“I can understand helping the automotive industry but wouldn’t fashion deserve the same, if not more, consideration than the furniture industry?”

The reason Boselli became so upset about the fashion industry not receiving any bailout money is because the fashion industry in Italy employs approximately 80,000 people and has 30,000 distribution companies.

The First Lady to Help the Fashion Industry?
The most popular man in the world is a man named Barack Obama. Yes, Barack Obama did become the first African American to be President of the United States, but he's not the Obama that the fashion industry is talking about.

Michelle Obama has become the most popular woman in the industry, ever since Obama became a serious contender for the presidency. Every fashion pundit analyzed her dress, makeup, hair, etc.

Now, you might be wondering how Michelle Obama relates to the fall of the fashion industry.....the answer is simple: she is a presence everywhere and can use clothes to transmit a message. One wouldn't expect the first lady to be wearing something from J.Crew, but she does. And every single time Mrs. Obama wears something, she can promote it to the rest of the United States.

Click here for a slideshow of Michelle Obama and models who wear her clothes

So, as simple as it may seem, one woman can wear American clothes to promote American fashion, and in turn, save the American fashion industry.




For more reading on the Fashion Industry and the economy:
Obama Style Watch
America Fashion Looks to Michelle Obama for Boost
NY Times Fashion
NYSE
Italian Style

Jane of Tarzana

THE STORE OPENS

Jane of Tarzana is a clothing store opened by Peggy Sella in September 2008. She opened the store in hopes of providing customers with a place to shop that has clothes that are not only trendy, but also can be bought at a cheaper price. Peggy talks about why she opened the store.



All the clothing at Jane is priced under $100. Here is a list of some of the items sold at Jane, with their prices, in addition to a slideshow of the items listed below.

• Colorful dresses $52
• White shorts $38
• Handbag with zebra stripes $78
• Green handbag $88
  
• Brown sandals $54
• T-Shirts $18
• Denim Jeans $54
• Strapless pink dress $68
• Bracelets $15
• Earrings $8-$28

Create a Free Slideshow

LOCATION OF THE STORE/CLIENTS AT JANE
The store is located in the city of Tarzana in the San Fernando Valley. The city is located near more wealthy cities such as Calabasas and Westlake, so the customers range from middle class to upper class. According to the 2000 census, white people consist of 79% of the population in Tarzana. The actual location of the store is in a shopping center approximately three blocks from the popular intersection of Reseda Blvd. and Ventura Blvd. There are a number of stores in the shopping center, including a sporting goods store, a sushi restaurant and a hair salon. Peggy talks about the customers who come to her store.



The actual address of the store is 18735 Ventura Blvd. Tarzana, CA. 91356. Here is a package about the store.



THE STORE'S SUCCESS
It is currently the end of April and the store is still doing well. I have been the store a few times and whenever I go in, there are a lot of people walking in and out of the store. In addition, I always seem to know someone when I walk in. This shows that the store is just one of those places you can go and see people you haven’t seen in a while. Peggy talks about why the response to the store has been “amazing.”

MLB Umpire Camp

THE CAMP

3 strikes and you're out. It seems pretty simple, right? Well it's not that easy. To become an umpire at the professional level takes skill, technique and many other attributes. It's also a skill that isn't just acquired naturally. One has to work hard to become a good umpire. It takes a ton of practice and a lot of improvement. In order to become better umpires, 50 men and 1 woman attended the MLB Umpire Camp at the Urban Youth Academy in Compton, California. The camp was a week long event where participants learned skills both on and off the field. During the morning, the participants would go to a hotel in Long Beach where they would be taught in a classroom-like environment; they would learn everything that they could about the rules, positioning, etc. Once they finished their work in the classroom, they would head to the fields in Compton to do their daily field work. This work consisted of drills teaching various things such as balks. After this was finished, it was time for the umpires to put what they learned to the test. They would each umpire for an inning of a baseball game with college-level players. During this inning, each umpire would get game experience, and at the same time, would be graded by the professional umpire teachers on their performance. The professional umps would grade the plate umpire on the strike zone, while the base umpire would be graded on positioning, calls made, etc.



THE PARTICIPANTS

If you watched the video above and saw the titles of Mike Gervasoni and Michael Roarty, you would immediately realize that the variety of professions represented at this camp was enormous. The skill level of the umpires ranged dramatically, from near professional to complete amateur. Gervasoni is a marine who wants to become a little league/middle and high school umpire when he retires, which is why he is at the camp. Meanwhile, Roarty is at the camp to refine his skills and he hopes to do that by learning from professionals. While there are men such as Roarty and Gervasoni who have no intention of becoming professionals, there are 8 other men who are taking the field this week in countries such as Canada, Japan, Mexico and Puerto Rico. These four countries are the sites for this year's 2009 World Baseball Classic. Since, the WBC has 4 man crews, 10 of the international umpires came to the camp to get accustomed to that system. They did the classroom work and the drills like everyone else at the camp, but they are the lucky ones that will be on the same field as players such as David Ortiz, Hanley Ramirez, Ichiro Suzuki, Jake Peavy and Derek Jeter.

THE TEACHERS



The 51 participants weren't going to travel from all over the world just to be taught by inexperienced umpires. Instead, they got eight current umpires and four MLB Umpire Supervisors. The professionals were crew chiefs, Tim Tschida and Larry Young, and umpires Gary Cederstrom, Kerwin Danley, Brian Gorman, Sam Holbrook, Jerry Layne and Brian Runge.

World Baseball Classic

THE UMPIRES AT THE WBC

It is an honor for umpires or referees to officiate the biggest event of their sport. For basketball, it's the NBA Finals. For football, it's the Super Bowl, and for baseball, it's the World Series. But the next biggest honor for a professional umpire that goes right behind the World Series, is the brand-new World Baseball Classic. It is an event where umpires from all over the nation come together to umpire in games containing some of the best players from all over the world. Ten of the lucky umpires were at the Urban Youth Academy a few months ago for the Umpire camp, which I wrote about above. They will be all over the world and while you are most definitely going to turn on ESPN to watch the players, the umpires will be there too. They will be showcased, just like the players will be. Because you know that if an umpire does poorly, the fans will notice and MLB Commissioner Bud Selig will notice. However, if they do well, then they could see themselves possibly umpiring into October next year for the most prestigious event in baseball.

WHAT IS THE WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC?

To the casual sports fan, seeing competitive baseball in March is extremely unusual...even a spring training game between the Red Sox and Yankees isn't competitive at all, and we know how big of a rivalry those two teams have. But, fans will be seeing competitive baseball for the 2nd time in the last 4 years in March. In 2006, the inaugural World Baseball Classic hit center stage. It was started four years ago by Major League Baseball and the plan is to have it occur every four years, just like the Summer Olympics. Some of the best players in the world represented their countries, including big names such as Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, Matt Holliday, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Ichiro Suzuki and much more. In a nutshell, the WBC was created to feature stars from different countries. In the Olympics, professionals do not participate for the United States because it conflicts with the regular season; therefore, the WBC gives a chance for America's stars to shine. In addition to allowing America's best to participate, the WBC also showcases baseball across the world, so that it's recognition goes beyond countries such as the United States and the Dominican Republic.



LAST YEAR'S RESULTS

When Americans think of the best players in baseball, they think of players from the United States, Venezuela and Dominican Republic. But, two countries showed why they are a force to be reckoned with, when they faced off in finals of the WBC at Petco Park in San Diego, Ca. These two countries were Japan and Cuba. Japan knocked off Cuba 10-6 in the finals, to win the first ever WBC. South Korea got 3rd, while the Dominican Republic got 4th.
At the same time that the United States was being introduced to Japan, it was being introduced to a player named Daisuke Matsuzaka. Matsuzaka, better known as Dice-K, earned 3 wins en route to becoming the MVP of the 2006 All-WBC Team. He soon thereafter signed with the Boston Red Sox. You may be wondering who the Dice-K of the 2009 WBC will be...well look no further then Japan's own, Yu Darvish. Just watch this and be prepared to be amazed.



THIS YEAR'S SCHEDULE
http://web.worldbaseballclassic.com/schedule/full_bracket.jsp?team=wbc


If this video doesn't get you excited for the WBC, then I don't know what will.