19 September, 2019 - 20 September, 2019
Downtown Chicago, USA
Andy Seaward
Article first published in ILM July-August 2016 edition. I have learned a lot in the past 18 months since I became independent from a large brand. Indeed, although I have been consulting during this time, I may well have learned more than the information I have given out.
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Andy Seaward
First published in ILM May-June 2016 edition. I am not a great reader of management books and perhaps this is reflected in the way I used to manage. I am also not a great lover of company mission statements. Ask any factory shop floor worker what their company mission statement is?
Read more...Returning from Lineapelle in Milan and after reading several articles from a tanner’s perspective, which reflected on the show and the current price levels, I thought it would be interesting to look at both subjects from a buyer’s perspective as I suspect all buyers have slightly different takes on how they approach a fair, depending on the needs of the brand and on their own personalities. My feeling is, and after talking to many, that the approach is similar.
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Andy Seaward
Recently, I have had some friendly digs at brands about their lack of leather knowledge and lack of training in ILM. Now, I want to look at communication and emails, in particular at tanners. Both brands and tanners have much to learn, and I must admit that I am no expert in the area of communication, but my main concern is the tanner.
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Andy Seaward
As I write this column, the fair season is coming to an end and I am visiting tanners and brands. After discussing trends and specifications for Autumn/Winter 2017, it always amuses me that, as the trade fair season winds down, all the major brands are already specifying the following season... but that is a whole column for another day.
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Andy Seaward
I have been thinking, believe it or not, about leather recently and the latest downward price fluctuations in the market. When "they" (raw material prices) are up 'they are really up' and when "they" are down 'they are really down', it would seem.
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Andy Seaward
As a leather buyer for over 25 years, I was always interested in systems and methods employed by different companies when sourcing leather because I wanted to see how we could improve or learn something different. Sometimes it was difficult to elicit information although I must say that, in my experience, one of the best parts of the shoe and leather trade is people’s openness to discuss aspects of their business in an effort to help one another. However, since those days, I have been better able to observe different approaches employed. One area that comes to mind is standard setting and control which I believe is paramount to good control of leather supplied to the factory and being used in shoe manufacturing.
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