This issue offers information from manufacturers on key personnel changes and an ability to get to know a few of them. The second part of Bob Barry’s Management Practices Article and Wants and Offerings. Please send all comments and suggestions our way we are happy to help in any way we can. editor@formaltimes.com

Are you Reading This?

Of course you are! But are we reaching all who are interested. We have received many calls on the IFA phone lately from specialists and manufacturers alike who did not know this newsletter even existed. Please pass the link along to anyone you may know who would be interested. This newsletter is one of the benefits of the newly restructured IFA and we want everyone out there to know it is available for their benefit.

Manufacturers: We have a source page that we hope to list all manufacturers on. Are you listed correctly in all the categories your business covers? This resource was used many times during prom to direct people to who may carry a hard to find item. We are aware we may have left some out, but can not add who we do not know. Feel free to submit any information we may have left out. The source page is located on the tool bar under Additional Information

We are always available to help answer questions by email or phone.

Phone Diane 309-721-5450 or email Becky editor@formaltimes.com

Just ask we will see if we can find the answer!

Midwest Flooding Hits Close to Home!

Varsity Cleaners/Milroy’s Tuxedos sign in the background less than a ½ block from the sandbag levee built to hold back the flood waters of the Cedar River.

The Midwest Flood of 2008 will be one we will be talking about for years to come. The news has been inundated with coverage of the floods across Iowa and Illinois. I took a road trip Tuesday to see how some of our fellow formal wear specialists fared. Dennis Schmidt of Milroy’s Tuxedos based in Waterloo Iowa is counting his blessings daily! The family owned and operated tuxedo, wholesale, and dry cleaning business escaped what could have easily been a disaster.



The headquarters for Milroy’s own stores and the many wholesale accounts they service is in downtown Waterloo Iowa. The plant is located not more than a block from the Cedar River which has caused havoc all through North East Iowa. Last Tuesday in the middle of high production to ship wholesale accounts in the surrounding areas, they were ordered to immediately evacuate the premises! The plant which houses the dry cleaning and tuxedo operation along with a retail store was cleared of all employees. Only owners were allowed to stay on site. As many things that could be moved higher were secured and they were left to hope and pray the levee would hold. Although ground seepage caused widespread local minor flooding the levee held.



Walking around the dry cleaning facility and warehouse today with all the employees and equipment at full production makes you realize what the loss of even an hour could make in terms of a tight production schedule let alone more than a day. They are running 5 pumps to keep ahead of the water that seeps into the basement where all of the boilers are housed, but as the river recedes a short distance away they are fully aware of what could have been. Even with their service interruption, and closed roads for delivery routes Milroy’s Tuxedo delivered on time for the busy June weekend.

 The Cedar River at 32 feet more than 12 feet above the record flood stage has

devastated downtown Cedar Rapids Iowa.

Cedar Rapids just 30 miles downstream lost much of its downtown and surrounding homes. Imagine taking 600 blocks of your own city and putting as much as 20 feet of water everywhere! The major roads and interstates shut down making travel near impossible. It was eerie traveling south on I380 just out of Cedar Rapids and having the median full of water and the fields bordering the interstate full right up to the edge of the road!



Prince Albert Formal Wear of Cedar Rapids has their plant right downtown next to St Luke’s the hospital that was evacuated, yet they escaped serious damage. The dry cleaning processes are slowed and tough with water issues and electricity cut off. A very friendly employee said they have had nervous brides call only to be reassured everything would be fine. Sadly weddings were cancelled last week with most downtown venues under water. The people are all just simply struggling to get back in their homes and assess the damage at present and the full impact on business will not be felt immediately.





Ducky’s Formal Wear Moline, Illinois is only a block from the Mississippi river yet only sustained minor water in the basement. This is the store where I spend a good part of my life and I must say we certainly lucked out. The water came right up to the front door one night during a torrential storm yet backed off and remarkably did not come in!



A note to Jim’s Formal Wear headquartered outside St Louis on the Illinois side in Trenton was promptly returned with an alls well. Steve Davis reported a few accounts were having some problems north of them, but the Trenton warehouse is 30 miles from the river and in no danger.



At first look the injured look you see on so many of the faces in these towns is taken as a sign of defeat, but with closer consideration you can see the determination to fight back coming through. Disasters have struck every part of this world and this one like so many before it will simply be a part of the past soon. We wish all of those struggling with this current disaster a quick recovery!

MANAGEMENT PRACTICES OF INDUSTRY LEADERS – PART II

By Bob Barry



Vision On The Future:



The top business leaders are always looking at the next 3, 5 and 10 years ahead to identify where the business must move to maximize profit. Let’s look to the future of formalwear and identify where we are headed and to identify how to maximize profit in our organization relative to these trends.



Competitive Spirit:



The top performers are competitive inside and out. As a leading formalwear opera

tor we understand that we must be extremely competitive in the current environment. We must look at our target market areas which you want to maximize and then aggressively go after every unit and every dollar of business within the target market. The competitive spirit often begins with the owner/operator and is extremely contagious. If you focus on winning then your people will follow.



Customer Driven:



This has been an over-used phrase, but is powerful just the same. The true quality focused organizations are looking at the effect of each management operational marketing and other key moves related to how it will affect customer service, customer satisfaction and customer retention. Look hard at your business and identify whether you talk customer service or if you live it.



Profit Focus: As they say, the goal is to make money. Over the last 5 to 10 years, formalwear operators have moved for this goal and have been focusing more on volume generation versus profit. In some cases it is viewed that sales growth is a cure-all. We understand the power of incremental volume but as a formalwear operator you should focus on profit and growth. Leaders in all industries are re-evaluating their focus on volume and re-installing the basics of running a profitable business.



Building Loyalty:



Many leading organizations in the Fortune 500 group are re-evaluating their company culture. They are looking for loyalty, dedication and for long-term commitment for their key team members. There has been a great deal of movement within the ranks of many Fortune 500 companies. We, as top formalwear operators, can learn form this corporate lesson. Look to develop your key people and support their growth within your organization as to build the foundation for short and long-term volume and profit. We must have loyalty and support.


Industry News:


We have 2 press releases to share with important information on what is happening with the manufacturers:


Formalwear International and BlackGold Designs announce the hiring of Lisa Perez-Cater as Brand Manager of Jean Yves Formalwear.

The industry’s most advertised and distributed brand is proud to welcome back Lisa Perez.

· Miami, FL: June 9, 2008:

Lisa Perez started in the formalwear industry over 20 years ago with L&M Fashions. She then spent 7 years with Elite Formal Designs (Now BlackGold). Her close work with Maurice Silva, Jerry Parness and the Jean Yves Brand were instrumental in the success and distribution of the “Better” formalwear label. She is a natural to continue the evolution and support of Jean Yves. Her responsibilities include direct and indirect support of all rental presentations and support tools to our clients. She will also manage our ongoing marketing efforts of the brand.



Lisa will be working out of the FWI offices in Miami, FL. She begins her role as Brand Manager on 6/9/08. Both FWI and BlackGold are committed to Jean Yves and the value it brings to the retailers. A move like this has everyone excited about our #1 Goal – Making it easier for the specialist to market a high margin ticket through product, innovative marketing tools and sound customer care.



Lisa Perez-Cater: 6/05/08

Commenting on the Announcement of Joining the Jean Yves team



“I am pleased to announce my re-entry to the Formalwear Industry as Brand Manager for Jean Yves Formalwear. With all the time I have spent in the industry, I made many friends. It’s safe to say that formalwear is in my blood, but more importantly, in my heart. I am very excited to be back with 2 exceptional companies.”



“I am looking forward to speaking with you and assisting with all your upcoming marketing needs. I was at this years photo shoot and can assure you that you will be very pleased with this year’s designs, pictures and campaign.”





Contact: Lisa Perez-Cater

Jean Yves Formalwear

Phone (305) 715-9775

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE...

We’re are excited to announce that we have restructured the management of After Six, LLC to provide our customers with the finest fashion, quality, support and service in the formalwear marketplace.



Interim Chief Executive Officer, Marc Schechter is a partner with The Anderson Group, LLC, a Bloomfield Hills, Michigan private equity firm that purchased certain assets of After Six from Sequa Corporation in February 2008.


New Chief Operating Officer, Eric Plott is former CFO and co-founder of PL Industries, a domestic and Mexico private label apparel manufacturer based in Charlotte, NC.


New Vice President of sales, Louis Malooley joins After Six after serving as National Director of Wholesale Division with the former After Hours Formalwear.


Former President/GM of After Six Formalwear, Kathleen Peskens, will continue as Director of Marketing for After Six on a seasonal basis. Kathleen’s past experience with advertising and collateral support development will be invaluable.


After nearly thirty years as our West Coast Representative, Bobby Lucarelli will serve as Key Accounts Sales Manager. Bobby will be directly involved in business development for the company in the U.S. and internationally.


We are pleased to announce that After Six, LLC will continue operations from Athens, Georgia. We are in the process of moving to a more efficient facility in Athens that will result in improved service capabilities.

240 Collins Industrial Blvd., Athens, GA 30601

free 800.554.8212 phone 706.543.5286 fax 706.549.5430

www.aftersix.com

Getting to Know After Six and the New Team

This edition I thought it would be nice to give everyone an opportunity to know a little more about the people behind the new After Six management team. This issue Eric Plott and Kathleen Peskens tell us a little more about themselves.



Eric Plott is the new Chief Operating Officer. All operating, sales and financial functions report to him. He has been in the apparel industry for over 20 years a Chief Financial Officer and co-founder of PL Industries, a domestic and Mexican manufacturer of private label blue jeans. His educational background includes graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1983 with an accounting degree and working for Price Waterhouse in Charlotte, NC as a staff/senior accountant. In 1987 he left PW to work for Society Brand Industries, a blue jean manufacturer and former client. Shortly after that, he and 3 other members of SBI management bought one of the divisions and created PL Industries. PL Industries manufactured for the Gap, The Limited, Tommy Hillfiger, Calvin Klein Jeans, Abercrombie and Fitch, American Eagle Outfitters, etc.. After 20 successful years Eric left to pursue other opportunities and the Anderson Group found him through a mutual contact.

Although new to formalwear he has been amazed over these first few months how similar the businesses are. His excitement for this new venture is evident in his description of what he feels is a huge potential for After Six with John Galante designs and a winning staff to back them up. The people, he feels are by far the greatest asset. The best designer, a great sales team, and talented production and customer service make up the winning combination. Eric is ready to step up to the challenge to balance the growth in the coming season with the new fashion styles and a refocus on basics. He feels the uncertainty of the company is behind them and they are well set and very much here to stay.



I asked him what they could possibly do to top the success of the LaStrada coat and his response was to watch for the new spring line which will definitely be a quality product delivered on time at a competitive price.



On a personal side Eric has lived in Charlotte NC for the past 25 years and recently moved to Athens GA where After Six is headquartered. He shares his life with a fantastic “significant other” Amy Bryan. He has a daughter Suzanna (20) who is a junior in college in Florida and a son Jon (19) a sophomore at Boston University who he very proudly describes as wonderful kids.



Welcome to the Industry!



Kathleen Peskens, Director of Marketing has held many titles with After Six. She has been the President and GM since 2006. Her history with the company goes much further than those short years. In her previous 20+ years with After Six she has held a variety of positions culminating in VP of Merchandising and Administration when she left the company in 2004 to enjoy life at a slower pace. She was recruited back by Sequa to return as GM in the spring of 2006. She is looking forward to this new Director of Marketing position that will afford her equal time to focus on business and enjoying life.



Her past responsibilities in goods purchasing, sourcing, production and advertising and most of all that appreciation of enjoying life lead her to a perfect fit in her new role. Her focuses will be on photo shoots, trade show preparation and advertising, product development and fabric selection. All of this, and yet still a good portion of time to enjoy her home in Belize.



Kathleen’s strong, straight forward approachable manor is unmistakable, we have had the chance to meet several times and it is easy to see her appreciation for life and a job well done are top priorities. We wish her well and congratulations on finding that perfect balance!



Next issue we hope to have more about the other new appointees!

Convention Reminder: