Back From Pure

Well Autumn Winter 09 buying has begun.

This weekend staff of NP2WENTY6 made their way to London to visit Pure to view the up and coming collections that will start hitting the high street in July and August.

Despite weather warnings and both seven crossings being shut down due to the recent bad weather. Buyers for NP2WENTY6 still braved the journey ahead excited to see what offerings Pure would have this year. I must admit at times we did think this was not a good idea after we hit Swindon and the M4 was cut down to two lanes due to snow still remaining on the road. But we would not let the phase us we had appointments that had to be met.

On arriving in London the streets were strangely quiet and must admit we did think maybe the show has been called off but then we saw the great sight of buyers queuing to enter Olympia. Walking into Pure I must admit we were happy with the sight we saw it was a lot busier than previous years and there were a lot more exhibitors. The show was well laid out and full of fantastic product and we did not see many stands that did not have a buyer ordering/looking at products on offer. We placed a few orders from our current brands at Pure and we also searched for new contacts to add to our catalogue of products. But after the job was done I had to have myself a back massage by one of the masseurs at the show wow it was great yes I may have looked stupid in the middle of a tradeshow having a massage with my eyes closed and head rolling but what the hell it made me feel good and was worth every penny.

All at NP2WENTY6 would like to thank all that are involved with Pure and there exhibitors for a great day.

Snow Is Falling BUT!!! Summer Is Coming

Well even with the bad weather we are having of late sadly for all shops across the country we are starting to have our spring summer ranges lol just what you need snow is falling and shorts are arriving. But I can’t help but feel happy that new product are on my shelves and the broken size scale winter stock is now put away ready for students in September to grab some bargains before packing their bags to spread their wings in university. Also it has been great the last few days to sit down with a cup of tea and watch the news and see so many happy faces enjoying the snow and all the doom and gloom of recent news of recession at the back of their mind. It has been great to have people greeting me in the street with no care in the world apart from where the best place to ride there sledge, and that is from all ages from children to adults who can’t wait to release the child within.
It is great from a sellers point to see fresh product hitting the floor but it’s even better for the customer to see some nice bright lively colours on the floor instead of drab grey, navy, brown and of course black all safe colours that us retailers cannot bring ourselves to steer away from in Autumn Winter Seasons.
So it is time to pull up the curtains and let you into our website we have many ranges and many more on the way here is a few links for you all to enjoy.

Menswear
http://www.np2wenty6.co.uk/brand.24.Bench.htm
http://www.np2wenty6.co.uk/brand.8.Gio_Goi.htm
http://www.np2wenty6.co.uk/brand.15.Superdry.htm
http://www.np2wenty6.co.uk/brand.25.Peter_Werth.htm
http://www.np2wenty6.co.uk/brand.22.RipStop.htm
Ladies wear
http://www.np2wenty6.co.uk/brand.24.Bench.htm
http://www.np2wenty6.co.uk/brand.15.Superdry.htm
http://www.np2wenty6.co.uk/brand.23.Apple_Bottoms.htm
http://www.np2wenty6.co.uk/brand.27.Duty_Free_Jeans.htm

Save Money With Facebook

Well the Spring Summer 09 ranges will soon be arriving and to celebrate this NP2WENTY6 have set up a facebook group where all shoppers or just people that love the world of fashion can join and share with us there thoughts on the fashion world but along the way will benefit from many offers only face book friends will get.

Please feel free to join our group at: -
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=78942250610

The Fall Of A Legend

Woodies Emporium last weekend was another casualty of this credit crunch. After 26 years of tradeing in the high end fashion sector dressing the terraces for many years and also dressing Cardiff City Football Club Players for many important games last being the FC Cup Final where the Woodies team kitted out the stars with £300 woolen suits. Its a sad day I knew owner Ray not on a personal level but had met him a few times over the years and I had/have nothing but respect for him. He clearly had his finger on the pulse spotted an opening in the market and took it with both hands and became one of Cardiffs big Indie names nobody could match Woodies in that high end market not even the big boys Woodies was too much of a household name but also had a massive following from football fans across the country and I am sure had a massive influence on many bands that played gigs in Cardiff Center. I was sad to pick up my local paper a read of the fall of such a legend. Cardiff will miss Woodies Emporium and I am sure local buisinesses too will feel the downfall. Its estimated that Woodies was probably accountable for 30% of Morgan Arcades footfall and for just one shop that is a big influence on such a small enviroment such as Morgan Arcade.

Yet another story of the economical disater we are in right now. But also it shows that councils and goverments do not think of all businesses when they are revitalising there cities. To these councils and goverments dont forget to protect your local businesses when coming up with great plans. Cardiff’s St Mary Street has been hit hard the last few years with all the redevelopment that is going on and customers finding it hard to get to stores and park as all the traffic is being pushed into the center of Cardiff.

It is a sad day for retailers in Cardiff and Shoppers and people that knew Ray and his team. This shop will be sadly missed. And I can only wish Ray and his family all the best for the future and hopefully it is not the end and Ray will somehow come back and bring Cardiff its heratige for great Independant stores.

The New Year Is Upon Us

Well Christmas will soon be upon us and the start of a new year. Hopefully the New Year will bring stability back to our economy. The last few months have been bad for many people both personally and in business with thousands of people losing jobs due to cut backs or because businesses have been closing down left right and centre. With the newest casualty being Woolworths going out of business and more than 25000 people losing their jobs. I for one can help but feel bad for these people but not just that I am sad to see a store like Woolworths that have been in many of our lives from a child closing their doors for the last time. I am very surprised that nobody has attempted to save Woolworths as with a little TLC and great management and direction these stores could be revived. I guess the debt is just too big to take the risk in such a hard financial period. For our company I can’t say this festive period has set the world a light but we are holding our own and sales at the moment are like for like on last year but making the sales are a lot harder this year. The thing the concerns me is there is a great lack of Christmas Festivity on the high street. Its like people have forgotten what time of year it is or are just trying to blank it out of their mind. I think that most of us will be glad to put “08 behind us and start to plan the future for “09.

For NP2WENTY6 we are already focusing on the new Spring Summer ranges arriving in January and February it will be great to get in new product and lift the shopper’s spirits with nice bright summer colours and get rid of all the black, grey and navy product from the shop floor. In Autumn Winter we inserted a small injection of Gio Goi menswear into our store and Ichi women’s these two brands will continue into the summer but there will be more depth to the product. Gio Goi we will have both men’s and women’s product and Ichi we are looking to increase the amount of product we purchase. Also for Spring Summer we have the pleasure to introduce Superdry into our store we will cater for both men and women with some fantastic product from the Superdry range. But at the moment we are getting excited to see Autumn Winter “09 ranges. For Autumn Winter we are already in talks with some new suppliers to take on new brands I know you should not wish your life away but for us as buyers we need to focus 6-8 months in advance and Winter products are always fun to buy yes the colour pallets are boring as hell but the designs and fabrics are great there is not much you can do with a T-Shirt but there are thousands of things you can do with knits, shirts and jackets.
So on that note all we can do is raise a glass to you all and wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Merry Christmas To All

From All At

NP2WENTY6

Is Ebid The New Auction Site Of The Future

After several years of tradeing on a certain auction site I have taken the steps to set up an Ebid account as the fees on the other site were getting out of control I still do trade on the other site as it would be suicide not to.

But what are peoples views on Ebid? is there enough room for another auction site and will it be as big? Mainly I clear our end of line products on these sites but I also offer new season products to.

Have you got an Ebid account if so I would love to hear your views.

The thing I like about Ebid is there are no ion fees and I only get charged 2% if the items sells but you do have the option for 0% final value fees. This make a massive difference as I have been paying up to 10% fees on the other siteThis is my Ebid store currently we are clearing some items and I have some Crocs at a bargain.

http://uk.ebid.net/stores/NP2WENTY6

More change for 09

Well this year has been one big roller coaster for many Indies out there. We have had to deal with a really bad summer effecting sales. And now to top it all off we are now fighting the financial decline. It could not have come at a worse time with Christmas around the corner it seems people may tighten there belts and spend less. But personally I do not believe this. Christmas is a time to spoil your loved ones and treat your kids to something really special be it clothing or gaming consoles or whatever it may be. I am too guilty of holding back on what I spend right now but I don’t think I am any worse off than last year. Yes it’s frightening what is going on at the moment but its better to live for today than to have never lived at all.

This year has proved to me who are my friends in business and who are just out for a fast buck. I have seen companies fold and reps take on new brands. And all of a sudden after only one call in a year when they were in the big time. Now are on the phone weekly offering me there new products. But sadly for them my New Years resolution for 08 was to look after those who look after me. And this will continue into 09. People I have known for many years in this trade have let me down. People I held a great amount of respect for have showed there true colours over the last 12 months. The good old days have gone now with fresh faced reps/agents hitting the road that are only driven by sales and could not care less about there after sales or what it is they are actually selling. Each Indie has its niche market and tend to stick to what they know sells. Have gone from buying comfortably from a supplier to being frustrated that products are trying to be forced upon them that they know will never sell in there store. Just because these young guys/girls are trying to make there stand in there current company. I heard a story this week of such an incident a young rep/agent fresh out of UNI going into a store that has been trading for over 25 years telling the owner they don’t feel their store is right for there brand. As you can guess this trader put this young man into his place and asked him to leave his store and never come back. This is a trader with years of expertise and a wide selection of top brands. Being told his store is not right by a guy working for a company that to is only in its youth. An old saying comes to mind “don’t bite the hand that feeds”.

This year has been a tough one for everybody in every sector of life. But nobody ever said life was easy. With 09 around the corner it is time to get our lives back on track as it is obvious we are the only ones that control what we have the government and the banks have not done a great job over the last 12 months.