Hello All.
When you think of March Madness you probably have the picture of young athletic men playing their hearts out to fulfill the dream they had since they were 7. I on the other hand am not anywhere near a basketball court. Although it would probably be fun to play one of these days.
March is the catalog world, or at least in my catalog world where we need to meet some pretty big deadlines. All of the products Legendary Whitetails plans to have in our Fall Catalog need to be in motion right now. If I had to give myself a job title I don't think I really could considering how many hats I need to wear. One of the titles I do take on the product manager. For about the 10 years Legendary Whitetails has been growing at a rapid rate. The last 2 years I have been with the company we have grown about 20% overall. With the size we are now,20% is starting to be a little overwhelming. We just moved into a building that was twice as big, and after 7 months we already have plans to expand. So, with all the growth, that means we need more products, more pages, more space, more employees(waiting to see them), and more time to organize.
At times it hard to keep everything straight. Were each product is in the development phase. How many units to bring in. What products to develop. How many of this category. What colors. How many SKUs. What is the popular color this year(always black for men). Its my job to have all of this organized. I also need to come up with a plan that matches or circulation(how many catalogs we mail. For example if on average we bring in $4 for every cataloged mailed, and we are mailing 3 million catalogs. I need to bring in enough inventory to cover 12 million dollars in Sales.
I think every product is going to be the best thing since sliced bread, so I can easily come up with a plan that covers that sales need to be. The hard thing is narrowing it down. Making sure you have the right mix of products. This year we are going to have some killer stuff, and a lot more things for the ladies. I hope to be able to share some of that with you in later blogs.
On a side note. I have been trying to put together Team Legendary, which hasn't gone as smoothly as I would like. So, far I have put together a team of 5 MLB players. The most notable being Jonathan Broxton who made it to the All Star game last year. Nothing has not really come out of it. I wanted to put something nice on our website so we could have some way to draw people to our website. All you can do right now is buy products. We are in the middle up getting a huge upgrade, so I was told to put my plans on hold. While waiting though, Joe Mauer did an interview with one of our Legendary Caps. You couldn't pick a better guy to represent Legendary.
In other news, I am also in charge of the social network program. I have been toying with a bunch of things. As of late I have been running a Facebook Friday promo that has been a hit. I try to put our best selling products on sale for ridiculous prices so people go crazy. I only sale a limited amount in hopes that they will be back next week. So far so good. I am also running a fan appreciate giveaway. I am giving away gift certificates just for signing up. A couple lucky people will be drawn at random to collect. As of recently, I have been getting about 1,000 fans a day which is really good for me. I am over 33K which is a lot more than most people can say. You would be amazed at how many sales I can drive too. Again, at a later date I may go into depth about what I am doing.
Otherwise Legendary will be releasing a sale catalog due to drop 4/1. Have some huge discounts in it. We don't have much product left.
"Work is a marathon, not a sprint"
Mitch
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
CAD Week
Hello All.
This week was dedicated as Computer-aided design week. Legendary Whitetails strives at bringing on new and unique ideas to share with the hunting world each year. It all starts with an idea in your head. You then have to somehow figure out how to get that idea from your head to paper. Creating a CAD is the best way to show your idea and expedite the process of creating the product you want.
Although we have already finalized a lot of your ideas, we still need to finish up a lot of our new products. We are coming up on some big deadlines for our fall creative. What I mean by fall creative is our September Catalog drop. For example in 2009 Legendary whitetails had 4 catalog drops from September - December. What you may not know is that there was only 2 creatives. So, want was actually inside the catalog only changed once, since we only did 2 creatives. Having multiple creatives allows us to change out products that we may sell out of earlier than expected, allow us to move products to better selling spots in the catalog, add new products, ect.
All the products I am working on now would ideally be for the 1st creative which we plan to have in home September 4th. The preliminarily numbers for our fall campaign (Sept 1 - Jan 31st) is to mail 3 million catalogs. In the big scheme of things we are still a small company. 3 million catalogs is a very accomplished number though, and we are very proud we can comfortably mail that many catalogs. I heard from a vendor this week that a company that was been around for over a 100 years was only mailing out 100,000 catalogs this year. This goes to show that different companies have different ways of making their company successful, but it also shows that for Legendary Whitetails, a niche company, to be at 3 million in 11 years we must be doing something right.
Product is King in our world. We definitely do not have a shortage of ideas. The hard part is just picking the ideas you think will be best for the company. What products fit best to who we are. What will the consumer like. What how can we give the consumer the best price for the quality of product we are offering.
You may ask what is this CAD you speak of? Well the main reason for the CAD is the lay everything out for the factory to easily understand what is happening. For an example of what a CAD might look like see below:
This will show you every little detail. From the neck label that needs to be used, the size of the designs, to the zipper style. A lot of details that many people probably would never even think about. But, it is my job to make sure that all those details are accomplish and make the garment look extraordinary. These CADs also make it easy for the factory to see what the finished product should look like. You will also be able to take the individual pieces of art of the CAD and use them for the development of the product. For example if this was a first time factory that was creating a woven label. They have all the information and art needed to create that woven label. Size, color, and art. Makes life easy for us and the manufacturer. It also it a great tool for organizing. Creating 3 ring binders with all the products is very helpful. I can then keep track of what products look like, inventory, projections, sizing, returns, placement. All things I will get into a later date.
CAD week was a success this week, but I have a feeling I am in for some long nights this coming week. We are looking at back to back CAD weeks. It is really fun seeing what you created in your head come to real life.
"Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures."
Mitch Huffman
Legendary Whitetails
This week was dedicated as Computer-aided design week. Legendary Whitetails strives at bringing on new and unique ideas to share with the hunting world each year. It all starts with an idea in your head. You then have to somehow figure out how to get that idea from your head to paper. Creating a CAD is the best way to show your idea and expedite the process of creating the product you want.
Although we have already finalized a lot of your ideas, we still need to finish up a lot of our new products. We are coming up on some big deadlines for our fall creative. What I mean by fall creative is our September Catalog drop. For example in 2009 Legendary whitetails had 4 catalog drops from September - December. What you may not know is that there was only 2 creatives. So, want was actually inside the catalog only changed once, since we only did 2 creatives. Having multiple creatives allows us to change out products that we may sell out of earlier than expected, allow us to move products to better selling spots in the catalog, add new products, ect.
All the products I am working on now would ideally be for the 1st creative which we plan to have in home September 4th. The preliminarily numbers for our fall campaign (Sept 1 - Jan 31st) is to mail 3 million catalogs. In the big scheme of things we are still a small company. 3 million catalogs is a very accomplished number though, and we are very proud we can comfortably mail that many catalogs. I heard from a vendor this week that a company that was been around for over a 100 years was only mailing out 100,000 catalogs this year. This goes to show that different companies have different ways of making their company successful, but it also shows that for Legendary Whitetails, a niche company, to be at 3 million in 11 years we must be doing something right.
Product is King in our world. We definitely do not have a shortage of ideas. The hard part is just picking the ideas you think will be best for the company. What products fit best to who we are. What will the consumer like. What how can we give the consumer the best price for the quality of product we are offering.
You may ask what is this CAD you speak of? Well the main reason for the CAD is the lay everything out for the factory to easily understand what is happening. For an example of what a CAD might look like see below:
This will show you every little detail. From the neck label that needs to be used, the size of the designs, to the zipper style. A lot of details that many people probably would never even think about. But, it is my job to make sure that all those details are accomplish and make the garment look extraordinary. These CADs also make it easy for the factory to see what the finished product should look like. You will also be able to take the individual pieces of art of the CAD and use them for the development of the product. For example if this was a first time factory that was creating a woven label. They have all the information and art needed to create that woven label. Size, color, and art. Makes life easy for us and the manufacturer. It also it a great tool for organizing. Creating 3 ring binders with all the products is very helpful. I can then keep track of what products look like, inventory, projections, sizing, returns, placement. All things I will get into a later date.
CAD week was a success this week, but I have a feeling I am in for some long nights this coming week. We are looking at back to back CAD weeks. It is really fun seeing what you created in your head come to real life.
"Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures."
Mitch Huffman
Legendary Whitetails
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Do You Believe in MAGIC
Hello All,
Product is King in the world of an E-Retailer. One of my duties at Legendary Whitetails is to make sure our product is best bang for your buck. Legendary Whitetails wants to be known to great quality products at a affordable price. We want our customers wanting more.
I need to make sure our product line is balanced, up to date, on target, affordable, and appealing.
With that said, I will give you a little insight on where I have been this week. I went to Las Vegas to attend the MAGIC Marketplace.
What is the MAGIC Marketplace?
The MAGIC Marketplace is the preeminent trade event in the international fashion industry, hosting global buyers and sellers of men’s, women’s and children’s apparel, footwear, accessories and sourcing resources. As an incubator of fashion, MAGIC is where new trends surface and develop into what will be seen on the consumer. The show’s goal is to connect and inspire the fashion community, fuse diverse trends, while offering unbeatable service to its customers.
While attending, you see a lot of retailers placing orders for their stores for the upcoming season. For example, Fossil watch company will be there with there complete fall 2010 line. The Buyer for ABC retailer will come and say I want 6 of these, 6 of those, and 12 of those.
That is not how Legendary Whitetails works. For the most part we are like the exhibitors at the show. We already have our 2010 line nailed down. We are meeting with our vendors to make some final adjustments to private products we worked on with them. We have the ability to customize products because we are able to order so many. Instead of ordering 6 on one style, we would order 2,000-15,000 units of a product. Legendary Whitetails is unique, we want to make products no one else has or has thought of. This is why we are so successful.
At the show you will many kinds of exhibitors. For the most part they can be considered middle men. For example, Legendary works with ABC company to develop a product and ABC company takes your request to a factory to be made. You will also find Factories at the show. Legendary will also be working him. I find this to be one of best parts of my job. Being able to communicate with someone from China to create an amazing product. Where it would cost $30 to make in the USA it only cost $10 to make in China and the quality will be better. Pretty amazing.
You will find anything and everything at the MAGIC show. It is amazing to see what is out there. For example, exhibitors want to make you see that they are there, so you will dress in costumes to grab your attention:
You may also find the ladies wearing nothing more than a shoelace, or a man wearing nothing more than a cup to cover his junk. That's how it goes for jabbing your attention. When it comes to products, you will find your fair share of that also. T-shirt's that look like they are from planet disco to planet bling'd out ninja. It's always good to see the new techniques people are using to create apparel. The show is rather expensive, but if you are able to come out with just one thing from that show, I think it is worth it.
2010 is almost complete. I would like to have it finalized by the end of March. 2011 will be here before you know. In this business we have to work also a year in advance. The bigger you get the more in time you need to react, therefore decision need to be made even before a company like Legendary.
I will stop here. Next week we can get into the details or what needs to get done since am back at home base.
"It's easier to ask for forgiveness, than ask for permission."
Mitch
Product is King in the world of an E-Retailer. One of my duties at Legendary Whitetails is to make sure our product is best bang for your buck. Legendary Whitetails wants to be known to great quality products at a affordable price. We want our customers wanting more.
I need to make sure our product line is balanced, up to date, on target, affordable, and appealing.
With that said, I will give you a little insight on where I have been this week. I went to Las Vegas to attend the MAGIC Marketplace.
What is the MAGIC Marketplace?
The MAGIC Marketplace is the preeminent trade event in the international fashion industry, hosting global buyers and sellers of men’s, women’s and children’s apparel, footwear, accessories and sourcing resources. As an incubator of fashion, MAGIC is where new trends surface and develop into what will be seen on the consumer. The show’s goal is to connect and inspire the fashion community, fuse diverse trends, while offering unbeatable service to its customers.
While attending, you see a lot of retailers placing orders for their stores for the upcoming season. For example, Fossil watch company will be there with there complete fall 2010 line. The Buyer for ABC retailer will come and say I want 6 of these, 6 of those, and 12 of those.
That is not how Legendary Whitetails works. For the most part we are like the exhibitors at the show. We already have our 2010 line nailed down. We are meeting with our vendors to make some final adjustments to private products we worked on with them. We have the ability to customize products because we are able to order so many. Instead of ordering 6 on one style, we would order 2,000-15,000 units of a product. Legendary Whitetails is unique, we want to make products no one else has or has thought of. This is why we are so successful.
At the show you will many kinds of exhibitors. For the most part they can be considered middle men. For example, Legendary works with ABC company to develop a product and ABC company takes your request to a factory to be made. You will also find Factories at the show. Legendary will also be working him. I find this to be one of best parts of my job. Being able to communicate with someone from China to create an amazing product. Where it would cost $30 to make in the USA it only cost $10 to make in China and the quality will be better. Pretty amazing.
You will find anything and everything at the MAGIC show. It is amazing to see what is out there. For example, exhibitors want to make you see that they are there, so you will dress in costumes to grab your attention:
You may also find the ladies wearing nothing more than a shoelace, or a man wearing nothing more than a cup to cover his junk. That's how it goes for jabbing your attention. When it comes to products, you will find your fair share of that also. T-shirt's that look like they are from planet disco to planet bling'd out ninja. It's always good to see the new techniques people are using to create apparel. The show is rather expensive, but if you are able to come out with just one thing from that show, I think it is worth it.
2010 is almost complete. I would like to have it finalized by the end of March. 2011 will be here before you know. In this business we have to work also a year in advance. The bigger you get the more in time you need to react, therefore decision need to be made even before a company like Legendary.
I will stop here. Next week we can get into the details or what needs to get done since am back at home base.
"It's easier to ask for forgiveness, than ask for permission."
Mitch
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Opening Argument
Hello All.
As you may see in many other blogs, the writer always starts the blog with stating this is his first blog. Well in order to separate myself from the rest of those blog writers, I thought I would do something different. I'm still thinking...
In the Life of Being Legendary, I thought I would try to let you in to my world of working in the family business. At certain points, I may will dive into some personal activities, as we all know people need the fuel for the water cooler.
People are always asking (or if they are not asking they are thinking), what do you do? Some may think differently from others. In hopes to educate, entertain, and enlighten you, I thought I would start up a blog. I have always wanted to start up a blog, but I guess I kept putting it off.
I will start by giving a little background of the company I work for. Legendary Whitetails is a direct to consumer internet retailer, catalog, and retail operation. Legendary (which we like to go as), has been operational since 1998 when people received a little tri-fold pamphlet with about a dozen products on it. 11 years later, you will now see our 48 page catalog w/ over 450 products.
How did this all start? Larry Huffman, founder(my grandfather)started collecting world class deer mounts. He was going around buying the biggest antlers people have shot for a personal collection. His goal with this collection was to have a museum of the all the biggest deer in the world. He wanted to give everyone a chance to see just how wonderful the sport of Whitetail Hunting is. As time went by, he became renowned for appraising deer antlers. This means that after someone had shot a big buck, they would call him up and for a small fee he would tell you how much they were worth.
To give you an idea of what the Legendary Whitetails Collection was about, here is a short Video
After establishing his collection, he started traveling around the United Stated showing off what he called the "Legendary Whitetails Collection". During these shows people were going crazy because they had never seen anything like this. The response was out of this world. During this time, people wanted something to remember the Whitetails by. So, photos were made with the story of how the buck was killed on the back. It then migrated into caps and t-shirts. Everything seems to be working, so he decided to take it up a level. Mail order Catalog.
-Mitch Huffman
As you may see in many other blogs, the writer always starts the blog with stating this is his first blog. Well in order to separate myself from the rest of those blog writers, I thought I would do something different. I'm still thinking...
In the Life of Being Legendary, I thought I would try to let you in to my world of working in the family business. At certain points, I may will dive into some personal activities, as we all know people need the fuel for the water cooler.
People are always asking (or if they are not asking they are thinking), what do you do? Some may think differently from others. In hopes to educate, entertain, and enlighten you, I thought I would start up a blog. I have always wanted to start up a blog, but I guess I kept putting it off.
I will start by giving a little background of the company I work for. Legendary Whitetails is a direct to consumer internet retailer, catalog, and retail operation. Legendary (which we like to go as), has been operational since 1998 when people received a little tri-fold pamphlet with about a dozen products on it. 11 years later, you will now see our 48 page catalog w/ over 450 products.
How did this all start? Larry Huffman, founder(my grandfather)started collecting world class deer mounts. He was going around buying the biggest antlers people have shot for a personal collection. His goal with this collection was to have a museum of the all the biggest deer in the world. He wanted to give everyone a chance to see just how wonderful the sport of Whitetail Hunting is. As time went by, he became renowned for appraising deer antlers. This means that after someone had shot a big buck, they would call him up and for a small fee he would tell you how much they were worth.
To give you an idea of what the Legendary Whitetails Collection was about, here is a short Video
After establishing his collection, he started traveling around the United Stated showing off what he called the "Legendary Whitetails Collection". During these shows people were going crazy because they had never seen anything like this. The response was out of this world. During this time, people wanted something to remember the Whitetails by. So, photos were made with the story of how the buck was killed on the back. It then migrated into caps and t-shirts. Everything seems to be working, so he decided to take it up a level. Mail order Catalog.
-Mitch Huffman
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