What? No Singles!?!

No this is not a topic about saving money, or the differences of small banks and their larger competitors. I'm stating the facts: Banks should think small!

How often do you go to the ATM and you get fairly large bills; or you go into a local branch and you get high denomination bills in your withdrawal? Statistics have shown that we are less likely to spend these bills because of the "whole" value of the bill. So, if you have a $100 dollar bill, then that's, "HEY!" A hundred bucks. When we carry these notes in our wallets, we kind of have the urge not to spend, which technically isn't bad for some people these trying times who are penny-pinching and trying to save. Look at it this way, in order to have a booming economy, we need our citizens to have some form of purchasing power, right? Well, if ATM's dispensed smaller bills, and banks issued out smaller notes, people would be more prone to spend what they have on your beautiful, cool, and/or delicious products.

So, what's on your agenda for today? "Promote your local bank to issue out smaller bills." Then, maybe we can all feel fine about spending a little here and there, at least it wasn't a whole hundred.

This Star Has Lost Its Bucks!!

I'm sure you are all aware of the drastic change Starbucks is undergoing. Well, if you have been under a rock for some time, then you've missed the big news about Starbucks bringing in a new logo design on two of its products. I don't know about this, I'm on the fence, of course it won't hurt their sales, but then again, it won't increase them either.

I'm also not sure about the new design. Our lovely green design, with black ink drawn mermaid portrait has been replaced with an all brown design, and a full drawing of a mermaid in the center; unlike their wonderful brew, this new design-to me-has not taste at all. I don't know about you, but I'm going to miss my green logo on my white cup with my brown sleeve.

Their new design is an attempt to harken on their old roots as a local coffee shop, something I doubt the consumers will find cool, and I'm sure investors will choke at the idea.

According to Business Week, "Starbucks plans to use the logo on all its cups for about eight weeks. It will remain in ads and as the logo for Pike Place bags of coffee. The new blend, which will be available in every store, has been crafted for a smoother, cleaner finish than many of the rotating blends Starbucks has traditionally carried week to week."

Retail Junkyard: The Saturation Of Mainstream Fashion Retail Stores

I was having lunch with a friend, who's a fashion and marketing major, when we came about the topic of boutique stores versus mainstream department stores. What piqued this topic was an earlier conversation about clothing lines like Nine West, for example. She and I have both noticed how empty their stores are. Now, their success is not in harms way, but their standalone boutique stores are in some form of crisis. Why is this? Well, simply put, the company has their brand saturated in to many large fashion corporations like Macy's. Macy's is a great engine for a boutique line of clothing trying to get their foot into the door, and offer their brand outside of their boutique storefront for a long term. But, to do this, and operate your boutique shop would be asinine;retail homicide.

Why is this? Well, in my opinion, you should only retail all of your boutique items in a department store if you are trying to sell your brand and profit without actually opening a storefront to save money for start-up costs, or if your brand is now suffering horribly in sales. Reason being is that, in offering your whole line, or even half, to department stores wouldn't do great job in sales for your boutique shop in the long run, or at first glance. Your items would be target for mark-downs, and sale, after sale. Think of it this way, if you went into one of Nine West's boutique shops and saw a pair of their shoes that you really adored, and they were priced at $225.00, yet you saw the exact same pair at Macy's for only $99.25, which would you purchase? My point exactly!

If you own a boutique shop, and have been thinking of entering your brand into the department stores, then I say fine! Just do your due-dilligence of course, and be safe about it, I would recommend not entering more than two (or maybe three for the brave) of your designs and labels to them, just to get your name out there, and to get people knowing about your brand.

Brands In The City

First and foremost I would like to say thanks for stopping by, this is my first post, and pretty much the debut of my blog and the launch of my website promoting not only my company but also promoting the residents and visitors to see the beauty of poetntial of the great downtown area of Birmingham. So, enjoy.

Living in in Downtown Birmingham, I see my share of unusual things, but I have to say I love it. The eclecticism (If that's a word at all) of the people, the mixture of cultures, and the infusion of art and dining. It's outlets like these that beats the suburbs anyday.

How many of you stroll downtown? Do you take in the uniqueness and the potential of the area? I walk my dog there just about everyday, and each day I find something new and interesting to admire. Just a year ago, I was one of your local critics who sowre up and down there was hardly anything that made downtown attractive, and little or nothing to do in Birmingham period. Moving closer to the downtown, I've been heavily enlightened by what the city has to offer.

My day-outside of work-usually begins with a stroll down fifth headed towards first-avenue. I stop by the bank to withdraw a little cash, then my next stop is heading to my favorite little cafe "Java & Jams". They serve up a mean double shot expresso, great turkey clubs, and chicken salad sandwiches around lunch time. With great music, good food, and the best smoothies I've ever tasted, this place is number one on my list of places to stop by downtown. [Check out their myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/javaandjams]

I usually spend a few hours taking back a nice cold brewski before I depart, then it's off to my next spot. Honestly, I never know where I'm going to end up; the thing that's great about downtown is that going into it, there's not expectation of anything for me, I just sort of stumble across the crowning jewels of the place.

Just yesterday, I was taking a casual stroll up twentieth, I had just finished a bottle of "Fu-Fu Berry Jones Soda" [You should add those to your grocery list] and I spotted an off-beat boutique shop next-door to "Bon-Ton Hatters" I believe, anyhow, the storefront struck me by surprise, not because of any fancy marketing or designs; it was their music. I just so happen to be drawn in by music , especially the kind that stands alone. I absolutely love it! The name of this store is "Sojourns Art House", it's a fair trade store, which means all of the items being sold are one-of-a-kind handcrafted items from people trying to escape poverty in third-world countries. [The really cool thing about the store is that you can shop online and browse the art that these people have created http://adventureartpeace.com/].

There's a nice young lady that manages the store while the owner is away in other countries scouting for more art and accessories to be sold. She tells me the owner started an organization to help these foreign people provide themselves with some income and honestly I think it's a magnanamous gesture. This brings up another side of downtown that I love; I've not been to every store quite yet, but every one that I have been to, has an endearing story. [I see potential for sponsoring charity auctions, we'll see what we can work out].

My day downtown normally ends with a quick round-trip, viewing the cityscape, taking some pictures , then it's back to my loft where I write about my findings. [Keep a heads up on more hidden gems]