The US apparel industry: a supply chain review (B)

This is an excerpt from a report. The link is provided at the end of the post.

Note the following:

• This is apparel retailing.
• The selection of buyers for the research as "mostly involved with purchasing decisions".
• Store manager "has responsibilities in the daily maintenance of the store operations".

While both these are vital, important roles in traditional retail, the direct model of networking in apparel retail is founded and sustained by age-old one-on-one relationships.

* * *

In apparel retailing, we talked to a former buyer for a major retail chain: Ms. Jennings and a
buyer/owner of an independent boutique: Ms. Massoudian. Ms. Jennings worked for six years as an
assistant buyer, department manager, group sales manager, cosmetics and fragrance manager, and
operations manager for a large department store, which we will call LDS throughout the paper, and two years as store manager for The Gap. Ms. Massoudian owned an independent high-end women’s
apparel store in Palos Verdes, California and was mostly involved with purchasing decisions. We
selected buyers for our research contact, since the buyer is the person who directly makes the
decisions for what to buy, whom to buy from, how much to buy, how much to price, when to
mark–down, and how much to mark–down, whereas the store manager of a store in a chain has
responsibilities in the daily maintenance of the store operations (both personnel and merchandise),
and the chain executive is more concerned with financial control and administrative policy making.

Would you like to post your comments to this article?
http://www.bilkent.edu.tr/~alpersen/Papers/ApparelReview_Sen_October_2004.pdf.

Two Corporate survival lessons

Quite likely many of us at some time have been affected by the corporate strategy of downsizing, outsourcing or shutdown. While these strategies by corporations are viewed with disfavor, contempt and hopelessness by workers they are carried out by corporations in order to survive and remain viable competitors in the marketplace. Corporations, by their very legal structure, can leverage tax law to their advantage. They will resort to those means necessary to ensure their survival including limited alliances with competitors, also.

The American worker, on the other hand, employs a much different strategy. When hit with hard times he resorts to a part-time job to supplement his income. He may even resort to a second job. However, unless he fails to report that additional income from his lawnmowing, housecleaning, he finds himself in the same predictment that comes with a higher tax bracket. Two realities undermine his efforts: He is still working a job. He is still going at it alone.

Working Mannequin has seized the two corporate survival strategies for individuals who have seen the job doesn't cut it and who have seen you can't go it alone. As Independent Contractors individuals are recognized as business entities by the federal government and as such can

leverage tax law. Simply put, they can legally take the law in their favor in tax deductions and other business matters.

As Independent Contractors they work for themselves, not alone, but together with like-minded individuals they create an alliance of networks.

It is NOT HOW MUCH MONEY YOU MAKE, but HOW MUCH YOU KEEP. Creating an alliance of networks enables you to increase HOW MUCH you make. Leveraging tax law to your advantage enables you to increase HOW MUCH you keep, legally.

Working Mannequin believes we must rise above mere legal compliance and strive for the "ethical and moral" high ground in our transactions with corporations, government, entreprenuers, community, church, family and God. Uphold and sustain all these because they are the fabric of our country, our culture and our society. Truthfulness towards one for all and all for one.

What do you think?