I am out of the closet...

I have kept a big secret for quite some time now and today is the day to come clean. I feel that now is the time and I have finally taken the step and admitted to myself and my friends that I have switched teams! Or maybe I will play for both teams during a transition period, I can't let go entirely just yet...

So what the hell is going, some of you might ask, didn't Jesper have a girlfriend?! Well, even though I know some gay guys out there would be happy, this transition is not about people or sex, but something similar on some levels. Here we go:

I love Macs!!!

For all of you PC users I know this might come as a disappointing surprise but this is a professional decision that has grown over time. You know how much I love quality, in fact our whole business is built upon our strong belief in quality, so how could I not switch. As a matter of fact I got my first Mac by express today and I am so happy that this is finally out. Check out the pics and I think some of you might reconsider your stands on computers in the future.


Enjoy!
/JBL













Quality in a box!

Just a thought

Japan is all about standing out, for many of the youngsters between 15 and 18 I have noticed a quite obvious trend even though I'm here during wintertime! And Tokyo is cold!!! All the students have to wear school uniforms, the girls have to wear skirts and stockings, while the guys wear suits. First when I got here I was quite surprised by how short the skirts were! I was thinking to my self, damn Japanese school officials are some kinky people, forcing the girls to wear short skirts during wintertime. But then I also noticed some girls wearing much longer skirts. As it turns out, the girls with the short skirts have themselves cut their skirts. When you are forced to wear something you don't want to wear, how do you stand out? By cutting your skirt! How do the guys do? Accessories!

Like anywhere else in the world people don't want to be like everyone else, when you are forced to behave in a certain way, you still do it but with your unique modification.


Sayonara!
/Ali

Invitation Only Sale in Tokyo!

The other day I got an invitation for an high end brand sale, I went to check it out not only for my personal shopping but also to check out the people. I was quite disappointed when I saw that 90% of the clothes and accessories were for women! In the corner of the big shop they had some clothes for men, and also some bags. Some of the brands available were Marc Jacobs, Gaultier and Alexander McQueen. People were shopping like crazy but I didn't really get it since a lot of the clothes were not from the latest collections. For example there was a Victor and Rolf blazer in the shop from the SS07 collection.

I took some pictures but unfortunately I only had my iPhone. Whats interesting is how they displayed bags worth around 1000 Euros, just thrown in a big plastic box. Messy!

Anyway the whole thing was quite an disappointment, both shopping wise and "people watching" wise. However, one good worldwide standard when it comes to sales: ladies as far as the eye can see;)

Sayonara!
/Ali

Another day, another lesson

The holy resting day has just started and I realize I won’t be able to honor the gods today ;) I have forgotten what the difference between Sundays and normal weekdays is by now. I guess that's what happens when you have your work as your hobby and vice versa.

Anyways, yesterday was a good day! We finished the updated pricing strategies for our brands, after an extensive competitor research. For a “bag aficionado” like me that means browsing through hundreds of sweet looking products! For men that love bags the spring/summer season is set out to be THE season. It really was a good day :)

The day ended with the tasting of one of my newest purchases for my wine cellar. I was curious to try a Zin grape and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of that American wine. If you need a good “vin-a-table” then I can sincerely suggest a Gallo '06 red. Of course, the night progressed and we went out and luckily I didn’t have to watch any bad TV!

Ciao!
/Alex

Today was the first day of the rest of my life.

That might sound dramatic but today me and Jesper sat down and decided what every minute from now on and 10 weeks forward will be used for.

Things felt really optimistic after we went through all the business strategies for the upcoming collections. The focus was on sales and PR. We discussed back and forth and, as things usually are when I and Jesper discuss things, we disagree a lot. When we disagree we get into heated discussions that almost all the time lead to a conclusion that is neither what I had in mind from the beginning nor what Jesper had. Arguments are what create good ideas!

Yesterday we went exploring the local nightlife. Our main goal for the night was to meet people from the textile industry. This place is for textiles what Silicon Valley is for computers so our chances were really good. We instantly met some designers and some textile majors from the university. All in all it was a good night I just wish I knew from the beginning how things worked here. Then maybe my night wouldn’t have resulted in me watching bad TV, on my own. Today is a new day though.

What have we learned today you might ask? I’ll tell you this much: Sales is Marketing and Marketing is Sales. The one is as useless without the other as Laurel is without Hardy or a Negroni without Campari!

Ciao!
/Alex

And so it begins...

Ever since we began working with these brands we have had plans to show more; more of our lives and more about how we work to reach our goals and visions. The team behind this blog is the same top team behind the Dowdy brands and we will all be contributing. We will show part of the world behind an up and coming fashion brand and most likely tell you about problems and solutions that appear along the way. We hope this will be both entertaining and in some way, educational.

Enjoy,


Alex, Ali and Jesper