FASHION RECESSION

These past weeks had been very busy for me. I met up with a lot of old friends. Most have come home to Cebu after years of living and working outside the country. Others just visited Cebu for vacation. There was a lot of getting together, catching up on each other’s lives, and trying to reconnect threads of yester years.

I may have overbooked myself that I am now afflicted with a terrible flu. Thank goodness though that it’s not the H1N1 type, just the more common type which one gets whenever we lack sleep and rest. This is quite a price to pay for a fledging social butterfly.

Anyway, after countless get together, I noticed that whenever I meet friends with whom I have not seen for quite a while, there are 3 questions that I can now expect to be asked.

First question-----How are you? Usually this includes my family too.

Second question----How’s business?

And third but not least---How’s the recession affecting fashion?

There are of course variations to these questions, but the theme is pretty much the same.

I also used to give varied answers depending on my state of mind that day, but as this had been asked of me countless times, quite automatically I’ve been noticing myself ready with repeated answers. Answers which are pretty much like the pre-programmed responses on answering machines which I just hope none of my friends have noticed.

So, to spill the beans, here are the million dollar answers to these questions…..

Question number 1: How are you?

My answer to question number one largely depends on the breakfast I ate that day and of which side of the bed I woke up with.

The answer varies from “Okay, I’m doing well” to “I’m doing great”. Because I believe in positive thinking and of self-prophecy (one tends to act out what he or she earlier predicted or declared), I seldom give a negative answer.

There are days though when I really do feel terrible and in such rare instance, I would most likely just say “Okay ra”.

I believe that no matter how we feel or what our state of mind is, we still have a lot of blessings to be thankful for. It is just but right to focus on the positive rather than the negative.

Question number 2: How’s business?

Well, quite emphatically, I would answer that “Business is fine and only because of God’s grace” and that’s the undeniable truth.

Most business people veer away from the discussion of GOD. I once had been interviewed by a famous local business magazine and the writer who later became a very good friend of mine, once told me that she cannot put too much emphasis on GOD’s miracles in our business. As she is writing for a business magazine, she needs to write about clear and tangible business practices which led to our success.

While I know she and the magazine she works for, meant well. I cannot quite discount the fact, that apart from GOD, we really cannot do anything. Our company started really small, a measly sum of P200,000. This amount is really nothing considering that we put up a manufacturing company targeting the mid to high end market. At that time, no bank would grant us a loan as we have nothing to use as collateral.

That was 7 years ago and while the company is not immune to financial strains, to reach this far is a simple miracle. A grace and favor from GOD.

Now on the third question….

Question no. 3: How is the recession affecting fashion?

Well, this is a bit harder to answer.

For one, unlike food, shelter, or clothing, fashion accessories are definitely not on everyone’s priority list. In fact, this is usually at the bottommost.

For a fashion accessory company like ours, to maintain operations and grow sales when most companies are closing, is really a daunting task.

However it is good to keep in mind that while global economy might be depressed, the fashion accessory industry still remains to be a multi-billion business. While some companies and buyers may want to shift businesses at this time, a lot are actually sticking it out. A lot are riding the tide.

Quite amazingly, in our case, a few of our buyers have actually expanded their fashion accessory businesses.

What’s the secret? Well, I believe that the secret is no secret at all. The company who has expanded their business has gotten a good pulse of the business landscape. For fashion jewelry, it’s literally going back to basics. Classic, timeless, elegant, fashion items that doesn’t go out of style and those that offers great value for money are topping the chart.

This is the very same niche that our international brand IMPRESSIONE and local brand ARTIZANS have comfortably settled in for many years now.

I’ve been accused of shamelessly tooting our own horn when promoting our fashion jewelry line and yes, I agree that I do. We do however, walk our talk.

I am just thankful that we made a decision many years back to work on various themes as part of our design philosophy, one which includes the Classics as the biggest and most important among our design themes.

Not only do we develop designs that doesn’t go out of style, but we also make sure that we incorporate materials whose value by itself will certainly increase with the passage of time.

You will find a lot of IMPRESSIONE and ARTIZANS pieces infused with semi-precious stones, fresh water pearls, swarovski crystals and lots more.

ARTIZANS fashion accessory pieces may be had for a reasonable price. An earring for instance, would cost as little as P280 and already using these materials. I think that’s truly value for money!

So, how is the current global economic crisis affecting the fashion industry business?

I really cannot speak for the entire industry, but for the company I work for, it is good.

When most people are struggling to keep ends meet, it’s certainly unwise to invest in disposable fashion items. Classic jewelry pieces made of value added materials is the way to go.

If you are to shop for fashion jewelry as a fashion statement piece, a gift or simply to reward one self, I hope you can consider my 2-cents worth. Shop wisely everyone!