Cartoon Shorelines Art Like to start the week with a smile? Sign up for Shorelines weekly cartoon here >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Made in China China is the largest exporter of textiles and garments in the world, but those textiles are hardly synonymous with haute couture, more usually we associate ‘made in China’ with low prices sold under other brand names. Meanwhile the Haute Couture brands of the UK and Europe have been centred in their home market only expanding to other markets when their home market is saturated. Think Dior, Chanel and Christian Lacroix. The Chinese have for some time been endeavouring to build their own home haute couture brands but have found it difficult due to national differences in incomes, culture and a large population. Now however Chinese textile and garment manufacturers are considering launching their own haute couture brands onto the international market rather than saturating the home market first, according to international consulting firm Cheskin. There are different views among analysts as to how successful this will be. Some analysts conclude that building an upmarket fashion brand would damage China’s massive textile industry, not desirable as unemployment rates in China are high. Doubt has also been cast on how long it would take to build such a brand against the general perception of Chinese made clothes in the west as lower end of the fashion market. Speculation among some analysts is that Chinese manufacturers will cut the risk by simply buying out western brands. Whatever the outcome there is no doubt that there is a demand for fashion designers in China. Over twenty years ago there were no fashion design schools today there are over 450. Source Randall Frost brandchannel.com Back to the Top Campbell's a' going Once familiar in all supermarkets, a staple of our mothers pantry and a famous poster by Andy Warhol Campbell's soups will not longer be available in the UK from March 2008. U.S. based Campbell's are not alone in failing to maintain their appeal to changing markets. Brands such as Quality Street, Bassets and Birds Eye are all struggling to appeal to a market that is apparently looking for fast convenient food. Nestle who produce Quality Street continue to sell the heritage value of Quality Street but sales are still falling. Other heritage brands however still succeed. Beefeater Gin was suffering falling sales so the company rebranded the products and the product image from one which appealed solely to London markets. By retaining the beefeater logo which the company has used since the 1820's the company has changed it's appeal as a drink that reflects everything that is good about London and this has resulted in mproved sales. What Campbell's have failed to do is make their heritage brand relevant to modern markets. Their soup is fast and convenient it just doesn't say or tell us so. Source The Grocer Christmas Market Think shopping this Christmas is expensive? In Moscow Yves Gijrath organises a market for Russia's richest. He claims the millionaires market is aimed at bringing style rather than flaunting wealth. He said 'We are here - explaining the stories behind the brands, explaining what luxury is all about. It's not only about what's expensive'. That said on offer at the various stands are a selection of helicopters, luxury cars, gold and diamond mobile phones, luxury properties from around the world and a coffee table supported by Mammoth tusks going for $270,000. Source BBC news Back to the top Web site News Should you sell online or stick to your offline catalogue? In the early days of the Internet it was predicted that selling online would see the end of offline paper catalogues. The reality today is that the more successful and profitable online sellers have found that a combination of online sales with an offline paper catalogue drives sales. Why? Research seems to indicate that paper catalogues bring to life products in a way that a computer screen cannot and offline we can browse at our leisure and in comfort. However our buying tastes have become more sophisticated and despite some adverse press coverage the majority of us find buying online safe and secure, particularly if you use a credit card. Used in tandem online sales and an offline paper catalogue work for businesses of all different sizes from M & S to Lakeland and specialists such as firebox.com. and Royal Mail home Shopping research has shown that 60% of us buying online consult an offline paper catalogue first. So how do you make it work for your business? This depends on the sort of products you sell but generally use your paper catalogue as a bite sized version of your online catalogue. Use your web site to list your best sellers and new products. Listing your new products online in this way not only reduces the cost of reprinting a paper catalogue but also encourages your customers to visit your web site. Remember to tell your customers to visit your site to view new products and special offers when you send out flyers promoting your special offers or as part of your e mail campaign. Using your web site as a means to promote special offers or for one day sales will encourage your customers to visit your web site regularly and make your business and your web site look dynamic and exciting. What do the stats say? 61% of online buyers have consulted an offline catalogue & those buyers generally buy more than buyers using offline catalogues only 52% of the UK population now buy online On average we spend £609 on goods online each time we buy 75% of buyers who received a paper catalogue visited the companies web site Buyers who have received a catalogue in the last 3 months spend more online Clothing is the most popular online purchase The biggest catalogue spenders are aged 23 to 43 and they spend on average £473 Source Royal Mail Home Shopping Research The Internet Farm shop The Farm Shop members are now selling a range of Christmas products. Contact individual members to order your Christmas turkey, a special piece of pork, Christmas hampers, Christmas puddings and more unusual foody type gifts. Back to the top Floating Did you know that it is possible to float yourself on the stock market. That's just what racing driver Lewis Hamilton is proposing to do. At only 22 and just failing to win the Formula one Grand Prix championship in his first year the floatation of 'Hamilton plc' is valued at £1b based on anticipated future earnings. Lewis Hamilton isn't the first to do this. David Bowie floated himself in 1997 and raised $98m. . Back to the Top And finally .... In Holland when you buy your tulip bulbs the packaging is made from compressed dung. The idea originated from a need to dispose of a surplus of animal dung in the country. The benefit? When you plant the bulb the packaging adds the fertiliser the bulbs needs. and.............. Software company Big String has developed a way to determine the life of the e mails you send, this can be anything from seconds to months. The E mails simply vanish from inboxes and are perfect for anyone selling time limited offers. If you enjoyed reading this newsletter please E mail it to a friend Return toTop of Page | 