Earnshaw's

    With the year that was behind us, I'm hearing a lot of  people- both retailers and manufacturers- talk about how 2009 changed them and their businesses. And believe it or not, the changes were for the better. The common thread seems to be renewed focus. For anyone who was coasting, buoyed by great sales with comparably little effort, 09 served as a wake-up call.

Looking at the weather report for the upcoming New York show, I already know what one of the chief topics of conversation will be: Sunday's rain. It's the same every time there's the least little bit of precipitation.

Rain, vendors will tell me, means a slow show. Oh wait, maybe, those same designer will speculate, it means retailers will be resigned to being inside the convention center on such a messy day.

This is the exchange I'll have all day. . .

Oh boy did our "Confessions of a Boutique Owner" story in the September issue stir up conversation. It seems lots of you could relate to the unexpected aspects of your chosen careers.

One reader Twittered, "Finally, a story I can relate to," while another tweeted about her experiences with shady returns and all types of creatures peeing in the store. Now everywhere I go, people want to spill their stories to me about their retail stores, their designers, their reps, you name it.

Keep it coming.. .

One of the interesting things about this industry is the relationships behind the companies. Whether it's parent and child, siblings, best friends or husbands and wives, lots of businesses on both the retail and manufacturing side are run by people who have long histories together.

While an arrangement like this might be scary for some, in most cases it seems to work. One thing I've noticed lately is there's typically a good cop and a bad copy.

Recently I polled a few exec teams I know to find out which role they play. It's funny to find out how they see themselves..

Too often after hearing that sales are slow in a particular shop, I'll get a curious answer when I ask what new tactics the shop owner plans to employ: "None." Um, excuse me. Let me get this straight, the result of conducting business as usual has been declining sales and the plan is to...

wait it out? Well, maybe these retailers are finding it difficult to come up with new ideas for driving traffic and sales. But what about some old ideas? Recently I conducted a phone consultation for a retailer who has seen her traffic dwindle and was looking for some help..

The recession has spawned many dicey situations—between coworkers, friends and family members. Thanks to the lack of cashflow, the relationships between retailers and wholesalers (not to mention reps) could be quite frayed at this point.

I heard one manufacturer say that she has 150 accounts that owe her money. Ouch.

While it's a given that if product doesn't sell, stores are cash poor, I wonder how these sticky situations are being handled—professionally or unprofessionally.. .

. .

The sun is shining, kids are out of school and pools and beaches are crowded so naturally retailers across the country are unpacking deliveries of… winter coats. Just as swimwear landed in stores in February when bone-chilling temps made donning a skimpy bikini the least appealing idea ever, outerwear is taking up space (and open to buy) when even the thought of bundling up could lead to heat stroke.

Every season the question emerges, why is the product cycle so off? And the query gains more relevance given that shoppers are more buy-now/wear-now oriented than ever.. .

I know Walmart is a bad word to anyone servicing better tiers, but guess what, they’re the ones benefiting from the economy. Moreover, they just might maintain much of that market share post recovery.

Everyone keeps wondering if people will ever return to pre-recession level spending. While I think Americans have extremely short memories and will return to shopping, I don’t think it’ll be with the same abandon as before.

(And that’s a good thing—look where it got us.) Stores like Walmart seem to have the same theory.. .

I always complain. Hey, it’s not my fault.

Growing up, my parents were big letter writers. If they felt they weren’t being treated fairly, they put pen to paper.

These days, my upbringing has combined with my professional curiosity. Everyone always claims to offer great customer service, so I often test it.

My conclusion: I wonder if stores and vendors know what customers really want. For example, recently Revlon discontinued my favorite nail shade, which I wore every day.

I sent them an email begging them to reconsider.. .