The Shit Just Got Real

That got your attention!  So fair warning, there is a fair bit of "blue" language ahead, you might want to send your kids out of the room.

So back from BaselWorld with a full day to clear out the cobwebs and a bit of time to reflect on what state the industry really is in.

Some observations and food for thought -

1.  Things ain't getting any better anytime soon.  Pretty much every brand announced more "attainable" price points and collections designed to accommodate these newly understood realities.
More brands either downsized or migrated to more "modest" facilities.  Some relocated in impossible to find hotel conference rooms with all of the charm of a Stasi interrogation cell.  And some are now beyond life support and simply retreated without so much as a whimper.

Bottom line?  For brand managers and CEO's the message is clear - it's "Fu*k or Walk" time.  Sorry to put it so bluntly, but I think the mood was best understood through a conversation that I heard in one of the BaselWorld halls involving what I am assuming was a sales rep and his boss:

Boss:  "You are just like the fu*^ing Tin-Man from the Wizard of Oz!  You've got no fu*^ing heart!"

Ouch!

2.  I could be wrong, but my suspicion is that the media FAR outnumbered distributors and retailers.

3.  Some brands still don't get it.  Zenith is starting to show very real signs that the cheese has slipped off of the crackers at the higher levels.  A shoe-shine stand and barber chair set-up greeted guests.  What that was all about remains a "not so hotly" debated question.  Add to that another "Rolling Stones" limited edition has left me more than a wee bit bewildered.  But in fairness that is one man's opinion.  I will let you judge for yourselves.  Here is a picture of their latest "creation" courtesy of Zenith's Facebook page -

Courtesy of Zenith - Facebook

This watch is so goofy that it truly hurts my feelings.  Now for all I know, this abomination has already sold out.  Speaking of selling out...

4.  Another few hundreds of acres of prime forests were destroyed for no apparent good reason.  I couldn't begin to guess how many hundreds of thousands of catalogs were handed out to be either left behind or thrown away.  News flash for brand PR managers - about 1 percent of your customers/fans are going to lug your catalog home.

5.  To quote Sam L. Jackson -

English, Motherf*%ker, do you speak it?
It continues to shock and amaze me that with the vast hordes of money that brands throw around on everything from champagne receptions to blue-tooth enabled headphones to give away as "swag" that they still feel that spending $10 a page for a professional, native English speaking proofreader is too much money to spend?!?  Moreover, maybe, just maybe you might want to engage someone who can actually, I don't know, WRITE?  I understand that this would mean you would need to admit that maybe, just maybe, you need help...
But on the other hand, it gives the writers something to joke and laugh about at the Ramada every night ; )