Currently calling the Southbay my home here in sunny California, more specifically Gardena, CA.
Hawaiian food can be found on many corners with some of the best "Loco Moco" I have ever had. Life seems to slow down just a little bit here in Gardena. Gardena has welcomed us with open arms and is truly an amazing place. #hawaiilove
Never thought I would find neighbors like my good friend Paul. At 70 years old, he keeps me on my toes and is always ready for a BBQ or a good chat. He watches my house whenever I am gone, races me to the trash cans to bring em back in, and grabs packages off the porch, to bring them to me at the Jeep as soon as I get home. I really have come to love this guy, he is just truly a special kind of person still kickin' it here in LA. #respect
I am a craftsman and designer by trade, for me getting to know the history of places helps me better understand the people of the area. It helps for me to feel more at home and in place, settled in so to say. I can focus myself into my work, but the bad vibes of an area will find it's way into my work. I need that peaceful, calming place to go home to and Gardena provided that for me here in LA #home
DIGITAL MARKETING 101 MALLORY EDITION
The digital world is huge, something I am learning about daily. It is a constant learning curve as something new is always right around the corner, so keeping up with trends is essential. The world of "Digital Marketing" is like a spider web of efforts that work together to create a machine of moving parts that in the end... DRIVE SALES! It's like Engineering, if you don't get it, you're not going to and you should trust those who do. It take a special mind to understand the workings of the digital world. Someone who is keen to change and understands the flow of your market (analytics), knows what your market is asking for and wants to see (social awareness) and lastly creates a pathway for your target market to and through the digital shopping experience (eccommerce).
COMMON MISTAKE...
We are BUILDING, it does not happen overnight.
Don't wait till you're out of money to invest into your sales/marketing plan
In order to first gather good insight, you must have a "usable" website. One that has been developed and created with the user and purpose in mind. Once this is done, you are able to run ads, track clicks and test your marketing efforts with real information (analytics). Information that is telling you who your market is and what they want. It is at this point that you will really see your efforts come into play. You will start connecting more and more with your customer through social efforts, seeing online traffic rates increase... which in the end (with good product at a good price point) leads to sales.
It's not rocket science... but their is a science to it.
IT TAKES PLANNING, BUDGET AND PATIENCE
SIMPLIFIED LIST OF NEEDS:
- product (CONTENT)
- sales portals (website, amazon, eBay)
- graphic assets (CONTENT)
- product/lifestyle photography (CONTENT)
- video content (CONTENT)
- social network development
- web development/tools
When you put together a plan of action and understand the needs for each of the above areas. You will then be able to approach your market with confidence. Don't skimp in one area and expect the others to correct it... everything works smooth with the gears are all working together.
It's like "Captain Planet"... WHEN OUR POWERS COMBINE!!!!!!
PUT THIS SAUCE TOGETHER AND IT WILL WORK!
Tj Mallory.
Why Every Outdoor and Athletic Apparel Brand Should be Looking for a Domestic Production Partner Right now
Over the last few years, and certainly throughout this election cycle, much has been made of the burgeoning interest in American manufacturing. The reasons for this interest are myriad: a more informed consumer population concerned about where their products come from, increasing labor costs overseas, increasingly long lead times and quality control issues. Now we can add political risk and uncertainty concerning global trade policy to that list .
Over the next decade the National Association of Manufacturers estimates that 3.5 million manufacturing jobs will be needed and that 2 million of those jobs are likely to go unfilled due to a skills gap. This is especially relevant to the sewing industry. The American garment and textile industry has shed over a million jobs since the mid-1990's. That is a tremendous amount of institutional knowledge to vanish over two decades. Not only does it mean that the workforce of skilled garment workers working in the United States is aging, it also means that the development of modern, lean production systems has stalled in many of the remaining domestic factories.
Barring rapid developments in automation, it is unlikely that large scale manufacturing of commodity apparel will return to the United States in the short term, however the benefits of smaller scale domestic production are many, including:
- Shortening lead times from many months to as short as a few weeks. Having a dedicated production line running at a factory can allow for production to align more closely with consumer demand. A flexible factory applying lean principles can turn around orders extremely quickly and almost certainly with lower MOQs than overseas factories.
- Managing quality is easier. Language barriers and time zone differences are negligible. With the factory a short drive or easy domestic flight away there's no need to rely on an agent or have employees make costly and time consuming travel to an overseas locations to deal with quality issues.
- With a shift in focus to direct to consumer sales, and the margins associated with those sales, the increased labor costs makes US manufacturing significantly more viable. The Bangladesh garment worker's minimum wage of $68 USD a month pays for a few hours of an American worker's time. Obviously FOB price isn't the only factor. The opportunity cost of long product development lead times, long production lead times, tariffs, shipping costs and shipping time all need to be taken into consideration.
- Consumer demand for made in the USA products is undoubtedly increasing. Millennials, and consumers in general, are increasingly concerned about where the goods they purchase come from. Expect that trend to continue, not only from locavore hipster types, but also from those who have seen the negative effects of globalization in their communities.
- Political risk in the form of unpredictable policy making from Washington needs to be taken into consideration. Though unlikely to come to fruition, it would certainly throw a wrench into many operations to wake up one day to a 40% border tax.
Most brands should be interested in at least exploring domestic production opportunities. Those that act quickly and find a quality factory partner will be ahead of the curve. A shortage in qualified labor in most aspects of apparel manufacturing all but guarantees that there won't be capacity to match the increasing demand in years to come.
Bill Amos is the founder of climbing apparel brand NW Alpine, and the founder and President of Kichatna Apparel Manufacturing, an Oregon based contract sewing firm specializing in athletic and outdoor apparel. He can be reached at bill@nwalpine.com.
Written by:
Bill Amos
CEO at NW Alpine
Thanks a ton for such a great article Bill, looking forward to passing in the trails one day brother!
Tj
Andre Green - The Custom Bike Maker
What Makes You So Happy, I mean (looking at his home on a wagon) you live on the street... !?
I met Andre Green tonight living on 52nd Place under an overpass. I have passed under his spot numerous times always wondering who lived there. Tonight I decided to say hello, with one question in mind... What makes you happy? Also I might add, not knowing who I would find.
Without the chance even to ask the question yet, this fine man was already showing me the beauty in the world. "The beautiful blue skies, all of his bike parts, the skill it takes to turn wheelchair parts into pegs for haulin' ya friends," said Andre. Dude was seriously such a humble person, thankful for what little he had. When I did get around to the question, he smiled real big like and said "I am happy because I have everything I want, and the good Lawd gives me everything I need! I mean I get to build custom bikes and I am going to pick up my DVD player". Which I did find odd, noticing quickly that he did not have a tv nor an outlet at that.
Met a cool guy tonight, his name is Andre Green and he makes custom bikes on 52nd Place under the bridge.
INQ..