What’s the MeQ™?

Popular actor Ashton Kutcher is one of the very first celebrities to reach one million followers on Twitter. He ranks among the top 10 celebrities liked by fans of Kmart, Oral-B, Sega, Save the Children and Emilio Pucci. Should all these brands rush out and hire him as their spokesperson?

“Not necessarily,” says Sree Nagarajan, founder and CEO Colligent, a technology company specializing in social network data collection and research.

“For brands to make serious marketing decisions using this data, the insight needs to evolve beyond who is popular to who is also relevant for the brand. It is important to have mutual affinity between fans of the brand and the celebrity.”

Colligent -the name stands for “collectively intelligent”– recently released a breakthrough in measuring the strength of connection between fans, brands, media and entertainment entities: MeQ™, or Mutual Engagement Quotient, measures the level and strength of engagement between two entities. The company cross-compares the Facebook “likes,” Twitter “follows” and other engagement behaviors of more than 270 million consumers with an ever-expanding database of 36,000 music, TV, radio, movies, sports, magazines and brands. This information is used to create the MeQ score for every entity tracked in the Colligent system, enabling companies to identify the strongest business building opportunities via brand partnerships, sponsorships, media and communication programs and other wide ranging marketing and promotion activities. “We think of MeQ as measuring the mutual love between two entities, or the ‘I like you, you like me factor,'” Sree says. “Our goal is to help companies identify those relationships where mutual love is the strongest. With this information we believe companies can grow their brand franchises through more successful partnering and increase the success rate of their initiatives.”

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New company helps retailers navigate internet marketing

Worldwide retail executives struggling to sort out what is current and what is outdated best-practices for

e-marketing, e-commerce, online advertising, sales and marketing, web and design can now access a compilation of tools for google advertising, search engine optimization (SEO), global PR services, and resource directories –all at www.globalb2bcommunications.com.

The high return-on-investment and low risk tools and services compiled on Global B2B Communications are geared to help B2B company executives and other online retailers responsible for cultivating worldwide lead generation.

The resources on this site are based on a very sophisticated understanding of natural language processing, how today’s worldwide search engines really work and how companies can combine state-of-the-art artificial intelligence tools for competitive web analysis with Google AdWord campaigns and Global PR tactics to quickly reap significant ROI from their online marketing investments.”

-Amy Munice, founder

The launch of this website and its companion b2c site slated for future release, marks the culmination of a year+ search to find the best-in-class internet marketing tools. Amy, also president of 20+ year-old PR company ALM Communications Inc., specializes in worldwide PR campaigns with pre-set guarantees and deliverables. Headquartered in Chicago, IL, USA, ALM works with a wide network of technical and trade magazine editors across the globe.

Every day I am visiting websites with long laundry lists of the same keywords on every page -ostensibly because the company is ‘optimizing’ each webpage for every one of these dozen or so terms, not realizing the diminishing returns of that type approach. These signs of out-of-date web marketing approaches are ubiquitous -worldwide.”

All inquiries can be directed to info@almcommunications.com.

Stanford Distributing Corporation Celebrates 50 Years

“Having been a member of Baby News for 23 years, I would recommend it to anyone who wants to succeed in the baby business for the long haul. The group is willing to open up their operations to others and share what makes them successful, or even share their failures. There are a variety of store sizes, so we get differing perspectives from all types of demographics. Merchandise is also available from a shared warehouse, but not restricted to purchasing from the warehouse like some franchise operations.”

– Richard Woo, Citikids Baby News Store, San Francisco, CA

Stanford Distributing Corporation, the main business arm of Baby News, an association of independently owned children’s retailers, celebrates 50 years of business this year. “There are many difficult issues confronting retailing today,” says president Roger O’Callaghan. “However, if you have good people who recognize the value of ‘we’, you can adjust to the bad times. The Baby News family has always been willing to take some chances and change with the times, but the communality of the business and the willingness to work together remains constant.” Roger tells us more about this unique association and its benefits for retailers.

What’s the greatest way an association like Baby News helps a retailer in this economy?

We believe that specialty stores now need to work together to find exclusive products, get better pricing and develop an expertise on juvenile products that will separate them from the mass merchants. Although Baby News stores pay fees to be part of the association, they all benefit from the partnership they have formed together. All independent stores should consider joining one of the major retail groups in our industry.

What one membership advantage do you find is universal among all Baby News stores?

The secret of the growth of the business has been the interaction of the Baby News store owners. Stanford Distributing was created by the stores to service the association of stores. BNO Inc. was created by the stores to answer the need for an online registry and fulfillment. The registry has over 30,000 items with pictures and descriptions due to the stores’ involvement in helping to create the registry program from scratch.

Baby News considers itself a family of stores, which shares many things, from ideas, store volumes and merchandise. The Baby News catalog is a creation of the individual stores in bringing the best products to customers. Yes, nearly all of the growth of Baby News has been from personal contact with existing Baby News store owners.

How do potential retailers find out about Baby News?

Retailers can find out more about our association by visiting BabyNews.com, our informational website. Meetings are held at trade shows and independently. Stores communicate collectively through online services and the corporation sends out newsletters about business promotions and changes.

Congratulations, Roger and everyone in the Baby News family!

Surf Expo débuts new kids feature

Surf Expo’s Newest Feature Focuses on Kids Apparel

An array of children’s apparel and accessories fills up a new and exclusive feature at the September 2011 Surf Expo trade show, giving retailers the opportunity to preview kid’s lines in an area devoted to kid-exclusive manufacturers.

Show organizers plan to display swimwear, towels, tees and more in a floor section specially reserved for kid’s products, designed as 10-by-8-foot preset booths surrounding a buyer’s lounge.

“The kids feature is going to be a great way to help kid’s brands stand out. It’s an outstanding addition to the show and Surf Expo is thrilled about adding it.”

-Jane Preston, Surf Expo

According to Marketresearch.com, the kid’s apparel market is expected to reach $186 billion by the year 2014. The creation of Surf Expo’s new kids feature is in response to these market trends. “With the market growing so much, it only makes sense to feature it,” Jane says.

According to Surf Expo, swimwear and accessories are essential to any child’s wardrobe. Children’s summer trends for 2012 emphasize eco-friendly materials, illustrative prints, tropical and surf themes.

Surf Expo takes place at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL September 8-10.

All-New HUDSONSCR.com is here!

Happy July everyone! The All-New HUDSONSCR.com has launched! Check it out, along with an electronic version of our new July issue. Let us know what you think! Comment on this post, leave a comment on our Facebook page, email us, give us a phone call – we love to hear from you!

HUDSON’S is Making a Quick Change

This June, exciting things are happening at HUDSON’S Childrenswear Review.

We’re in the process of making a few updates for you, our readers –ones we plan on revealing very soon. We hope you’ll be pleased!

Our next issue will be out in July.

In the meantime, keep informed with what’s happening in the children’s wear industry right here with HCRSourceBook, our official blog. Check out HUDSON’S current CALENDAR and plan your summer road trip to the trades. You can find it by clicking the “HUDSON’S Calendar” tab at the top of this page.

Every Wednesday, check out HCRSourceBook for all-new INDUSTRY NEWS posts and more. Why not set up an email subscription to our blog right now? Simply enter your email address in the form found on the right column, under “Email Subscription.” And our new posts will be waiting for you in your email box every Wednesday morning. We promise you’ll be glad you did.

Stay in touch with what’s happening at HUDSON’S! Check back to our website in July! Like our Facebook page, too. We’ll be posting updates there all June long. Please contact us directly, if you have any questions or comments. We’d love to hear from you.

Good things are happening this summer at HUDSON’S. Make sure you’re a part of it!

-Janet Muniz

Carter’s partners with K.I.D.S.

CARTER’S LAUNCHES COMPANY-WIDE STORE DONATION PROGRAM

Carter’s, Inc. names Kids In Distressed Situations (K.I.D.S.) as its charitable partner in a new company-wide store donation program, donating all excess children’s apparel from nearly 500 Carter’s and OshKosh B’Gosh retail stores nationwide to benefit children in need through the organization.

“As part of our mission to help children feel safe, happy and nurtured,” says chairman/CEO Michael Casey, “K.I.D.S. is the ideal partner to ensure that Carter’s can provide essential new clothing to children who need it most.”

Carter’s is launching an ongoing partnership program with K.I.D.S. to ensure that every piece of Carter’s and OshKosh apparel that is suitable for donation goes to local children in need. K.I.D.S. is distributing the clothes through its network of nearly 1,000 social service agencies to children of military families and those challenged by poverty, homelessness and domestic abuse.

The program expands on a longstanding partnership between Carter’s and K.I.D.S. Carter’s provided over $1.5 million worth of product to K.I.D.S. in 2010. Now, with its donation commitment extending to inventory from every one of its retail stores, Carter’s anticipates that value rising to $3 million in clothing this year alone; in the last three months, Carter’s has already donated approximately $316,000 in product to K.I.D.S through this program.

“Carter’s has been an invaluable contributor for more than a decade,” K.I.D.S. president Dr. Janice Weinman. “A store’s excess inventory finds new life when a child receives a new sweatshirt, winter coat or a pair of jeans. In a time when so many needy children require apparel, it’s wonderful to have a retailer like Carter’s committed to helping children in need.”

-Janet Muniz

Great Comeback Story!

“With great love & appreciation, we once again open the doors of LillyLu!”

Two years ago this week, after the explosion that rocked downtown Bozeman, Montana, LillyLu continues to celebrate new beginnings.

On December 1, 2009, the Lilly Lu “family” and their beloved customers celebrated the store re-opening at 424 East Main – nine months later. “We are so excited to see you again!” the children’s boutique posted to their social media group for the event. “Please join us for our ribbon cutting & be the first to see our new nest!” Lilly Lu’s new nest has been going strong ever since. For more information, join Lilly Lu’s Facebook Group.

In remembrance of what was lost and in celebration of another year of success, here’s a shout out to the staff and customers of Lilly Lu … and Bozeman, too … Congratulations!

-Janet Muniz

Real Kids Shades

Real Kids Shades honored by Prevent Blindness America.

Prevent Blindness America, the nation’s oldest volunteer eye health and safety organization, honors Real Kids Shades™ (RKS) with the Star Pupils™ Inaugural Partner Award, presented in recognition of the outstanding support the company provided to launch the organization’s new children’s eye health program, Star Pupils.

“We know that many parents are not well-informed about how critical quality UV protection is relative to their children’s vision,” says VP of marketing Lisa Medora. “We are now able to help educate parents on the importance of UV protection as well as provide much-needed funds to support such an important program.”

RKS designed a pair of Star Pupils-branded infant sunglasses and pledged 20% of the proceeds from every purchase to the Star Pupils’ efforts. A main component of the program is education on eye safety, including UV protection.

Even though every parent has been warned about the harmful effects of UV rays, and 82% of parents use sunscreen to protect their children’s skin, only 32% take action to protect their children’s eyes. This is especially dangerous because children’s eyes are

more vulnerable to sun damage than those of adults. Long-term UVA/UVB exposure is linked to adverse effects such as the development of cataracts, sun burning of the eyes, known as photokeratitis and macular degeneration, which scientists now believe is a leading cause of blindness in adults.

Real Kids Shades products make it easier than ever for parents to quickly and thoroughly shield their children’s eyes from what could turn into a lifetime of disease. With a complete line of sunshades that feature 100% protection against UVA/UVB rays along with shatterproof, impact-resistant polycarbonate lenses, parents now can have the protection without the hassle. The company meets the strictest American, European and Australian standards in eye protection and are CPSIA compliant. Products are also CE Certified and FDA approved for protecting children’s eyes.

Prevent Blindness America also honors The Abbott Fund, Transitions, Healthy Sight for Life Fund and VisionDirect.com with the award as well.

-Janet Muniz

K.I.D.S. 25th Anniversary Gala

Congratulations to K.I.D.S.!

Internationally renowned children’s charity Kids In Distressed Situations (K.I.D.S.), celebrated its 25th anniversary at a Gala on December 1 in New York, NY at Cipriani Dolci, raising about $1 million to help benefit children in need.

Gayle King, editor-at-large for O, The Oprah Magazine and host of The Gayle King Show, hosted 650 guests including the mayor of Newark, NJ, Cory Booker -the event’s keynote speaker.

The organization also raised close to $3 million in new product toward its 2010 goal of $100 million of new merchandise to distribute to needy children.

As part of the event, K.I.D.S. honored three industry leaders for their exceptional contributions to help underprivileged and disaster-struck children, including John Goodman, executive vice president of Sears Holding Corporation; Oscar Feldenkreis, president and CEO of Perry Ellis Corporation; and Wayne Elsey, founder and CEO of footwear charity Soles4Souls. A special service award was given to Karen Bromley, principal of The Bromley Group and K.I.D.S. board member, for her 25 years of continuous service to the organization.

-Janet Muniz