THE MATRIX

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FASHION’S BIG NIGHT

There was a time, in not so recent history, where Seven for all Mankind, Joe’s Jeans, and Lucky Brand were in our closets

We had “going out tops” and we wore low-rise jeans

But more importantly, we wore bootcut jeans

Not because we lived in Wyoming or actually wore boots

But because, they were cool

I don’t want to go back to that time

But here we are

This Super Bowl, of all Super Bowls, was the fashion Super Bowl.

The tunnel walks were a fully-tailored runway show

At halftime, Samuel L. Jackson surprised us in Bode, SZA wore Kate Broadrick and Born x Raised, while Serena danced in custom Nike

Kendrick showed up wearing Martine Rose, Nike Air DT Max ‘96 (the Deion Sanders shoe), and those Celine surf flares

It is a bootcut? Is it a flare? It doesn’t matter

They’re a flashback to a time before the iPhone, Instagram, and good taste

For fashion folks, the big game didn’t disappoint

TRADE SECRETS

Here’s a useful business tool

If you, like most brands, have a fairly sizable product lineup

How do you manage it?

With some of the brands I’ve led, we used dozens of attributes to segment product across consumer, pricing, weather, and retail format

This is not that

Instead, this is a tool to plan, assess, and manage your product line with a bigger view in mind

It’s called the growth-share matrix, but is more well-known as the BCG Matrix as it was created by some employees at Boston Consulting Group years ago

Here’s how it works 👇

Take all of your products and rank them across two factors- share of business and growth

In doing this, you’ll instantly visualize where your business is growing, where it isn’t, and how much each product is contributing to your business

You’ll end up with a distribution across a four-square matrix

Stars- High growth, High share (these drive your business and future growth)

Cash Cows- Low growth, High share (these are stable, but high performing)

Question Marks- High growth, Low share (high potential, but still proving themselves)

Dogs- Low growth, Low share (these are drains on your business and cash)

If you have more than 6 products in your line-up, this tool is helpful in assessing where you are

You will then take the next step to plan the exit of the Dogs, the nurturing of Question Marks, and the extension of Stars into more revenue

Cash Cows, in my opinion, are the most dangerous

We get bored of them. They get underfocused. Without a refresh and attention, Cash Cows can turn quickly into Dogs

This tool can be used for products, but also business segments, markets, retail distribution, and even your own personal investments

It’s all yours- hope it’s as useful for you as it has been for me

CHAD’S ROUND-UP

📚 What I read: The Courage to Be Disliked- After seeing this on BookTok (don’t judge me), I gave this bestseller a read, written by two Japanese authors and experts on Adlerian psychology. The central concept is that you are in control of your life and decisions, and that the past has no bearing on the present and future. Reading this can be very freeing for those struggling to balance your goals with the expectations and perceptions of those around you.

🎞️ What I watched: Omnivore: Banana- There are over 1,500 varieties of bananas. It is very likely that you have only ever tasted just one- the Cavendish. A remarkable story of how a company in Central America made the Cavendish the most consumed fruit globally through political influence, ruthless efficiency, marketing, and effective merchandising. I learned a lot, including how this fruit is in danger of extinction 😱

🕵🏻‍♂️ An interesting discovery: You remember the line, but you can’t remember what the movie is called. It’s not important, but you keep thinking about it, distracting you from your work. I’ve got just the thing for you. ClipCafe is a tool that helps you find out the name of the movie- just plug in the phrase and it will work its magic. “Just keep swimming”

*I have no connection or affiliation with these things- I’m just sharing what I find interesting

That’s all for today

I’m rooting for you!

Chad