Bob's Blog Archive February 11th, 2009 First Blog of 2009. It’s February 11th and it is 50 degrees in Detroit today. Just another reminder of how crazy things are in this world. The weathermen are saying that normalcy is coming because it is supposed to be 20 degrees by Saturday. But, I’m not here to talk about the weather. So President Obama didn’t wear a hat during the inauguration. And neither did his wife. I really thought he would. And it was colder than heck that day too. Aretha Franklin wore a hat. I guess he won’t be the champion for our cause (wearing hats as part of the wardrobe). Probably well enough as he has a ton of real issues to champion. Like the Economy to start. I was happy to attend our first trade show this year. It was in the farm and fleet channel of the retail market and most of these retailers were happy. The weather has been cold and they are selling basic merchandise. And, it sold well. So, I was working with retailers dealing with empty shelves and empty back rooms. How fun. I kid you not; we had a record show by far. And nobody spoke of the economy. I’m headed to the magic show this week end. Anybody attending can see us in Men’s at ME1124 or in Streetwear at ST23258. This will be different and it seems like the economy has hit this industry hard. The exhibit hall will be down by around 50% is what I’m hearing. Sounds like bad news, but I have to spin it a different way. I look at it like there were too many lines out there anyway and this is a natural correction (I sound like a stock broker with that word). Anyway, I know we’ll have less competition there. And we’ve got some nice appointments lined up. I’m proud to show our new line and promote the Broner Brand. We still have a lot of work to do getting more hats on people’s heads. I took a vacation to a resort in Mexico over the holiday break. It was a sunny place on a beach. With all the facts about the sun being bad for you, you would figure I would see a lot of hats on people’s heads. I was shocked. I’d say only 5% wore brimmed hats. There were more if you count baseball caps. But talk about an opportunity for growth. If you are reading this and you don’t wear a hat in the sun, try it. It takes some getting used to, but once you are used to it, you will feel wrong without it. And, the hats don’t have to be expensive. The hat I wore retails for less than ten bucks. Even my 10 year old daughter wanted to wear my hat. I’ll put her picture up on the site as she is a better model than me. I’ll blog again after the trade shows are over.
Bob
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