(Filed Under Fashion News). This year’s Curve Show Nevada was more than a sneak-peak to next season’s trends.

Ellen Lewis, owner of the consulting firm Intimate Product Concepts, held a seminar of particular relevance: “Navigating the Storm: How to Survive a Difficult Economic Environment.” With her 30+ years in the wholesale and retail industries, Lewis shared her expertise on how to survive, and even triumph, during the recession.

Lewis broke down her “four-prong approach”: 1) Define your niche and stay loyal to it, 2) Seduce your customer, 3) Develop vendor partners, and 4) Embrace the numbers and learn the math. She also emphasized the importance of e-commerce to “succeeding in the 21st century.”

“A lot of small retailers have amazing gut instinct, are very creative, and absolutely love their customers, but are really not right-brained people,” Lewis explained. “In tough times when they are dealing with limited traffic, it is vital that they learn their numbers, and focus on what their consumer is willing to buy.”

The seminar also included a vendor and retailer panel. On the vendor side, there was Joe Smith from Wacoal, Kristen Holliman from Chantelle and Guido Campbello from Cosabella. Smith described Wacoal’s approach as to “develop an emotional bond between the consumer and the product”, while Holliman described Chantelle’s approach of always having a full line of fashions and basics. Campbello emphasized the importance of color, and Cosabella’s approach of fine-tuning their products to individual stores requirements.

Retailers consisted of Shelley Manougian from Belle Intimates in New Hampshire, Adrienne McGill from the Adrienne Clarisse Intimate Boutique in Illinois and Susan McMahon from Donna Bella Lingerie in Oregon. The three discussed the importance of branding, money management, and maintaining a positive attitude.

Lewis started Intimate Product Concepts a few years ago. She provides wholesalers and retailers with a variety of services including retail merchandising analysis, product/brand development, and e-commerce development. This includes serving as the liaison for a private Label Company that does business with Victoria’s Secret, and helping an entrepreneur launch a shapewear company.

“One owner of a small store told me ‘I am drowning and I need help. It is worth the investment to get it,’” Lewis said. “It may be a difficult time to spend money on a consultant, but I can actually save companies money in the long run.”

For further information, contact Ellen Lewis at (914) 420-4468, ellenmorg@aol.com.

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Published 03-09-2009 by Amanda Torres Price