This is term my old friend used to use when we worked at MTV. She also used to say stuff like, “just bang it out.” Hence my life right now. I am “bananas” and just trying to “bang everything out.” Tomorrow is the beginning of fashion week. I will be appearing on Fox Business. I will be covering for various publications. I will also be doing an interview with Patricia Field. Thinking about it all is making my head spin.
I was on my way to collect my fashion week invites from the office, when I found out Heath Ledger died in the most tragic way ever at 421 Broome st. in New York (pictured above).
As you all know, this isn’t a typical story I follow. I watch the markets all day, think about going to sample sales or think of ways to make Macy’s a better store. But this evening, I saw the crowds outside of the building where his body was being carried out on a stretcher. I read what other reporters saw outside of his Brooklyn home, I called all of my friends that knew him and listen to their stories. I went down to an old hang out of his (The Spotted Pig) to see what little bit of information I could find out about this man I knew nothing about.
It’s now 2:12 am. I am exhausted. But with every story I asked to report out, I learned something really important today. As much as we kill ourselves for achievement, recognition or a certain level of success, all of those things don’t really matter in the end. If they stop making us happy, then they just. don’t. matter. My thoughts are sincerely with his friends and family this evening/early morning. For real.
In addition to a tanking market, I have had about 10,000 meetings, interviews and pre-interviews. Will write more later tonight- I totally thought this day was going to be relatively normal!!
Happy MLK day!! I’m going on Fox Business today at around 2ish to talk about if door buster sales and major mark downs on weekends like this one as well as President’s Day will effect over all retail sales. The short answer is: No. When you are about to be in a recession, the last thing on your mind is buying a flat screen that’s on a 75 percent mark down!! Instead, you are going to stock up on things like canned food, gas and band aids ( I get major blisters from my Prada sandals in the summer)!! Also, the retailers like Target, Macys J.C. Penny and The Gap Inc. are in a pickle right now. They have huge inventories they need to move and no one to purchase them. So- even if they offer some serious discounts to their merch, it’s not going to really have a huge effect on their profit margins. I realize no one can predict the future, but I wonder if retailers looked at sub-prime debacle more carefully and took that into consideration when stocking their shelves full of luxury goods, the retail industry would be in better shape. My prediction: everyone is going to start looking abroad because (as much as it breaks my heart to say this) America is just not where it is at right now. Sad.
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Stock Tickers: (M)
Some people listen to music while they do work. I watch crime shows on TruTV. Right now “The Investigators: Grave Robber” is on.
Shares of Gap Inc. closed at 17.02 today down 2.41% . This was AFTER their hopes of world wide domination announcement.
In effort to get those numbers up and not lose COMPLETE investor confidence, Gap Inc. just signed a deal with the Marinopoulous Group to bring the Gap and Banana Republic to Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Croatia. If they can’t make the sales numbers happen state side, might ast well go overseas, right? And what about Old Navy? I guess they figured it was a lost cause so they decided to keep that one out of the mix!
What an amazing get for Target, BUT will it help its dismal December sales numbers??
I met the author of this book “A Million Bucks by 30: How to Overcome a Crap Job, Stingy Parents, and a Useless Degree to Become a Millionaire Before (or After) Turning Thirty” the other day in the greenroom at Fox Business and I can’t stop thinking about him. No, it’s not like that. Yes Alan Corey is very cute, but he said something simple that really resonated with me. First of all, this guy is not a dorky hedge fund guy or investment banker- he was making $40,000 a year for seven years. He didn’t take any hand outs from his parents. He worked a 9-5 job that he hated. He lived in a totally banal place. Does this sound familar?? AND he was still able to somehow acquire seven figures in his bank account. Wtf?? We (there were others in the green room with me) asked him how he was able to swing it, and he said “by living below my means.” OK, this is EXACTLY what my ex-boyfriend has always tried to get me to do for the past six years and while I have definitely improved my cost cutting measures, I still have a LONG WAY TO GO (If you are reading this ex- boyfriend, please refrain from laughing). My friends who work in the industry say it’s near impossible to live in New York, look fabulous and save, but I don’t think that’s an excuse anymore. We can do this peeps- and we should start by reading Corey’s book.