SHOPPING

If you are Team Android you will be delighted to find out that the wait is almost over and Google is finally opening up its first store in New York City in just a matter of weeks. Unlike the competition, the Google store will be divided into furnished functional areas that will accommodate products where they would normally be used. The store is located in the Google building in Chelsea, at 111 Eighth Avenue.

The large windows that stretch between 15th and 16th Street allow people to preview the products on display. The result? People are eager to get in.

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Okay, this might not have the allure of a Jimmy Choo sample sale, but still, it’s a great sale, so you have to go prepared, because you are a bargain connoisseur and a deal is a deal, no matter where you find it. Looking at past events we expect to see great discounts on most Amazon devices. Should you need an Echo, a Kindle, or even a TV, exercise patience, and we predict you will save a lot of money on Amazon Prime Day. To take full advantage of the sale make sure you:

– Are a current Amazon Prime subscriber-only prime subscribers enjoy the discounts

– Know what you need and know what you expect to find.

– Have downloaded Amazon app on your phone

– Read the fine print before the event, see how you can qualify to collect bonus credits

Happy Shopping!

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Bloomingdale’s limited-edition collaboration between the “Queen of Print” and the retailer’s best selling exclusive brand is finally here. AQUA x Mary Katrantzou is an 18-piece collection in flower and animal prints composed of summer-ready dresses and separates all at affordable prices. Here is a sample of what the collaboration looks like.

Image credit: Bloomingdales.com

The end of year is a time to look back and celebrate, right? Unfortunately, that is not the case with the end of this year, especially for the NYC retail and fashion industry. At the very least, those of us entrenched in the fashion world could celebrate this year being over, but there is no point even in that when 2021 is looking no more promising.

According to McKinsey Fashion Index, “companies will post approximately a 90% decline in economic profit in 2020”. In the meantime, small business and retail chains are closing their doors in NYC at much higher rates than anywhere else in the US. With both tourists and office workers gone, foot traffic in Manhattan is comparable to that in other cities where rent per square foot is much lower, which makes leaving NYC an easy choice for brands.

While the fashion industry pundits hail this upcoming year as a time for renewal and a time of progress during which “shopping will shift to digital, and consumers will continue to champion fairness and social justice,” the truth is it is a time for consolidation that will eliminate most small players and will concentrate purchasing power into the hands of few large ones like Amazon and Alibaba.

Where does this leave us and our love of sample sales?

Brands are putting focus (again) on the shift to a demand-focused model to survive these uncertain times. I have a suspicion that it is easier said than done, as we were talking about this same idea when I was in business school in the late 90s. Why is this relevant for us? While lovingly called “sample sales,” we all know that most of the merchandise at NYC sample sales come from excess inventory. As we doubt fashion brands will be able to quickly adapt to the new times and the supply-demand model, we think warehouses will continue to be full of unsold inventories in the near future. Especially after a decade of bargain shopping, a pandemic fueled all-time low consumer sentiment and the addition of an anti-consumerism ideology, we doubt that sample sales will go away any time soon.

In fact, our own sample sale whisperer, Ritu Bindra (a miracle woman), has seen an approximate 50% return to date of last year’s sample sale events. She told us that, “sample sales have returned, but mostly with the sale organizers. Most designers and brands are no longer holding sales themselves at their showrooms or stores.” The first to return was 260, followed much later by Soiffer Haskin, Clothingline, and Prive. Some brands such as Diptyque, TOCCA, and Bonpoint have opted this year for online sample sales at 260, which has become increasingly popular with socially distanced “bargain connoisseurs”.

So, will there be any NYC sample sales in 2021? Yes, but there is also the possibility that Miami and LA sample sales will become stronger competitors to the NYC ones as travel will take another 3-4 years to return to the 2019 levels. We think big players (like 260 and Soiffer Haskin) who are backed up by large (non-retail) companies will have a much better chance of surviving, leading to a reduced number of players in the field. We also predict that people will become increasingly used to online sample sales and will start comparing them to websites like RueLaLa and Gilt.

Only time will tell. But we’ve got our fingers crossed and rooting for our beloved sample sales, now and forever. Bring on 2021!

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