Care What Other People Think and You'll Always Be A Prisoner

Care What Other People Think and You'll Always Be A Prisoner

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This show is produced and hosted by Mark Webber.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
The show is sponsored by G three of Parow.

Speaker 1 (00:05):
The views expressed in the following program are those of
the sponsor and not necessarily the opinion of seven tenor
or iHeartMedia. Who is Mark Webber. He's a self made
business executive here to help you find your success from
the New York City projects to the Avenue Montaigne in Paris.
His global success story in the luxury world of fashion

(00:28):
is inspirational.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
He's gone from clerk to CEO twice.

Speaker 1 (00:33):
Mark is classic proof that the American dream is alive.
And well, here's your host of Always in Fashion, Mark Weber.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Mark Weber.

Speaker 3 (00:42):
I never really cared about what people thought about me. Sure,
I'm human, I can't help it, but be aware. Care
is a different word. Care indicates that someone says something
about me and it matters, and it does. And frankly,
I come from the school of or that I am
the school of thought. When I want your opinion, I'll

(01:03):
give it to you. I also subscribe to thine own
self be true from Shakespeare. You have to know who
you are and everyone else has taken. When I think
about life, who do I listen to shall I listen
to my stockbroker. Nothing he tells me is right? And
if he's so smart, why is he still working? And
then I think about the fashion world, all of us,

(01:24):
we've become sheep. We're all followers, and trends and fashion
and politics were followers, and a million years I never
thought we humans were eagerly volunteer to be followers. I
do believe in lead, follow, or get out of the way,
But follower is one title I'll never readily accept. Can
I take criticism? No, but let's be honest either. Can

(01:47):
you don't get holier than now on me? Now? I
will listen, and I'm willing to learn. I'm willing to improve.
But how you tell it to me matters. And never
can anyone make me feel small. I know who I am,
I know what I am, I know what I'm not,
and I could live with that, always knowing that I'm
always going to be comfortable. Now it's not easy being me,

(02:09):
and it's not easy believing in yourself. It's not easy
knowing that the road you've taken is the right one.
There's a tremendous amount of self discipline and confidence needed
if you're taking a path that you've chosen. Now, I've
often laughed at the concept of asking people's opinion. Just
the other day, I looked to Jesse and I said,
what do you think of the shirt I'm wearing? And

(02:31):
he answered me he said it wasn't flattering. I knew
that already, That's why I asked. But why did I ask?
No reason, I knew I was going to change my shirt.
When I want your opinion, I'll give it to you. Now.
I beat to my own drum, understanding that where I'm
going it requires insight, and you have to believe in
this complex. You're so simple, yet it's so complex. We

(02:52):
all have an inner voice whispering in our ear, telling
us right from wrong, telling us whether or not we're
doing the right thing. We only have to listen, and
yet the world influences us. We have second thoughts, We
live with second thoughts. I think about the president election.
Trump won tire conservative side of the equation, one seventy

(03:14):
five million people who had been hesitating, uncomfortable voicing their opinions,
and now free speech seems to be free again. Doesn't
mean that people like what conservatives are saying, but they
do feel more comfortable about reaching out and talking about
what's important to them, in spite of the media, in
spite of the other party, in spite of the conspiracy

(03:35):
between the hard left and Hollywood. It seems the common
sense is the new religion. It's the new politics, and
I welcome it back. And I hope and I wish
as we approach the new year, that we can all
embrace our differences and yet without anger, agree to change,
or agreed to agree, but moving in the right direction.

(03:55):
There was a famous Chinese philosca named Lao Sue, not
as famous as Confucius, but he said, if you care
what people think, then you'll always be their prisoner. And
tonight that's the subject I want to discuss well. Coming
up on a new year January one, twenty twenty five,
this is a chance for all of you to change

(04:17):
and become whoever you want to be. Whoever you were,
you could throw out the window, you could start all over,
be fresh, be someone different. You just have to embrace it.
You have to think about who you are. You could
leave everything else behind. And whenever you show up with
a different attitude, a different smile, dressed differently, a will
to succeed, a belief in yourself. You can be whoever
you want to be, and you can be free to

(04:39):
speak your peace. I am someone conflicted. I agree with
everything our sponsors do. I don't agree with everything that
the retailers sell. I don't agree with everything that the
sponsors sell to the retails, but I have to speak
by peace. I spent a significant period of time out
in the market looking around at the world around me.
I got to at many stores and draw conclusions, and

(05:02):
I've been reading on what's going out. Some of the
subjects that caught my attention. Macy's is under attack by
financial investors. They seem to think it would be better
real estate company than a retail company. They want to
close most of it and sell off the real estate
has more value. I don't know what it says for Macy's,
though in the end, we need Macy's. Just recently, NIM

(05:23):
and Marcus Sacks Fifth Avenue did a merger. They're putting
the strongest retail company's department store kind of companies together.
I noticed it would be great for SAX and Emans.
I'm a little concerned about my friends from lvm H.
I've seen the stock plummet this year down by forty percent.
I think twenty five percent in the last quarter alone.

(05:44):
I wonder, I wonder what's going on. I have a
point of view. The world is changing, and you have
to wonder where it's going, just like you have to
wonder where you're going. I have many comments tonight about
the world as I see it, and I want to
be comfortable sharing them with you now. I don't care
what people say about me. I'm not their prisoner. I'm
in control of me, and that's what I want to

(06:06):
talk about. Finding yourself, finding your happiness. The key word there,
of course, is your. It's for you to decide you
what better time New Year's coming. This show survives on
the concept of packaging yourself. Is this is as important
as the products you package. I give points of view,
I give insight. I give ideas on how you may
improve your chances in life and your career. Makes doesn't

(06:29):
make me right, although I am. If you make the
changes I suggest, I think you'll be better off. I
have a friend who cares so much about what other
people think. They become a prisoner and can't make the
decisions that will improve their lives. I find it so
sad I try to influence, but I've not been successful.
Call it one of my shortfalls. But I do have

(06:50):
this platform. I do use it as best as I
can to improve your individual decisions and your chance for success.
Now you can listen or you cannot. It's your choice.
If you care what people think, you'll always be that person. However,
if you choose to improve, it's your decision. And tonight,
I want to share some observation I've been out and about.

(07:11):
I want to talk about Christmas shopping. I've done a lot.
It's funny people say workaholics never stop working because of
the career I've chosen. No matter where I go, I
seem to be observing and thinking about either the show
or fashion, luxury retail. I can't get it out of
my sight. I'm caught up in it. If I give
it a lot of thought, I would chastise myself for
not knowing how to relax. But on the other hand,

(07:33):
I do enjoy looking around and I love the branding.
I love the colors, I love store layouts, I love
looking at product, and I love improving. Because to thine
own self be true, I'm better than anyone else. I
see out there right now you can call me pompoush.
That's your choice. Will it affect me, No, I don't care,
and I'll continue to be that way. I thought i'd

(07:55):
share with you some of my thoughts, and I wanted
to start of all places with Target stores. As I
said earlier, many of my sponsors stell Target. Many of
my future sponsors will sell Target. And I have to
be careful what I want to say here, but it
is a free world, and I want to say very
clearly that what I am going to talk about Target

(08:15):
is solely my responsibility. It's what I think nobody else
and that's my qualifier. I never went into Target, but
back in the day when I was running IESID, I
had my figure on the pulse of everything, the one
on every button thread style silhouette concept. I was involved
and I love wearing Eyesid, particularly for golf, the sweaters,
the clothes, everything was color coordinated. The Elizad line was

(08:38):
a slightly less expensive line than Polo, very much in
the same keeping of traditional American classics, but we jazzed
it up, we made it more fun, we made it
younger and more youthful, and it was a great brand.
I ended up leaving that company I had a bad
feeling about. I couldn't wear the brand anymore. So while
I loved them, there was a period in time that
I didn't. And they're my sponsors. Down on a I

(09:00):
loved them, but I woke up one day and I
needed clothes. I started to need golf wear, golf shirts,
and lo and behold, I ended up I needed a
stand for a table for a TV in my house.
I was kind of lost where to go, and hit me,
maybe Target would have a TV stand. So I went there,
and being the men'swear guy that I was and the
merchant that I was, I decided to walk through the

(09:22):
men's department and I was astounded to find what I
thought was great product and Target now everything they did
was their own label, private labels. Therefore, they sourced and
acquired product overseas. They designed it themselves and had no
middleman selling them. Their price points were very, very effective.

(09:42):
Their assortments of Polar shirts, jeans, khaki sweaters, all the
core categories with a multitude of colors at great prices.
The golf shirt, when I looked at it, was pretty
much the same way to Ralph Lawrence Polar shirt. The
colors were excellent. The price at the time was fourteen
ninety nine or seventeen, depending on one was on sale
or not. Now we're going back almost twenty years. But

(10:05):
these items, they're cotton sweater. It was long staple cotton yarns.
The weight was the weight there was heavy enough so
you couldn't see it through. It was unbelievable quantity. Their
jeans were exception. They were brand called Dennison and they
weren't private label. They were made for them by the
Levi Strauss company, So it was basically Levi jeans, lighter weight,

(10:26):
maybe fabric, maybe a little less heavy. They had less
belt loops, but the same quality in price in nineteen
ninety nine, so target was amazing and I started becoming
a Costco customer. I bought so many things. I bought
more Polos from Costco in the year than most people
buying a lifetime. To this day, I still have some
that I haven't even opened, and they're still in perfect condition.

(10:47):
I have so many, but something change. I don't know what.
I haven't been there for many, many years. Shockingly I
was there and I was disappointed. The other day, I
was driving down the highway had one of my favorite
cars out. The weather is beautiful. I decided to stop.
I hadn't been in Target. Let's go see what's going
on once again. I should say that the Target has

(11:10):
the greatest store image. They've created with Target through great
marketing and advertising, a store that has energy in a
point of view, people believe in their fashion, they're know
how it's fun, how they market the brand, and it's
incredible when you walk through the store. It's really well lit.
The aisles are wide, it's easy to see, it's easy
to navigate. Impressive store in size and scope. I don't

(11:33):
know who thinks of Target for groceries, but I'll tell
you the grocery department was packed and I could see
why it was pleasant to shop. The selections were amazing.
Every brand that you could possibly want was there. So
if you wanted laundry deterg you could find Tide, or
you can find those new fancy organic products. You want cookies,

(11:54):
you could find Abisco, or you would find the Target
owned brand, and it was laid out so well. When
I got the cosmetics, things started to change a bit.
You'd find every cosmetic from eye makeup to lipstick to whatever,
but very few of the brands that you would recognize.
It was as if the fashion brands made a decision
that they didn't belong in Target. So Target compensated for

(12:18):
other brands that I never heard of. But the quality
was great. When it went to Men's they had Shavers,
they had Panasonic, they had Brawn, but they didn't have
no realp Go. They didn't have all the brands, so
I noticed something was different. They didn't have s Delora,
they didn't have Mac. But they'll tell you there's a
differentiation in Target where people want to sell them brands

(12:39):
or not, or whether the price point is not effective
at Target. So Target and the brand agreed not to
do business together. But here's the thing that was shocking
to me. Half the assortment was under lock and key.
They had these huge glass cases that I guess they're
better goods. Well, the more popular stuff was locked behind

(13:00):
and they had aisles and aisles and rows and rows
of it. How could a store put so many things
under lock and key. I never accepted the department stores
when they put leather jackets under those contraptions with the
wires running through them, had to slow down sales, having
to wait for someone to unlock and put it on you.
But here it wasn't target. In the cosmetics department, and
then I went to the men's department. I didn't recognize

(13:23):
any of the brands. But before they go, you know what,
I did go to electronics and they had a lot
of the brands, including Apple, but it was very small assortments,
and once again all the key products were under lock
and key. I wonder why that's going on. Is this
what we've done to the world of shopping theft? This
is what we've done. Went to the men's department and

(13:44):
there were no longer any brands that I recognized. There
was no Wrangler, there's no Denison, there were no brands.
The only brand there was Goodfellow and that's their own brand.
And then I went to look for key products. There
were no Polos, no v Nex sweaters, no mock turtlenecks,
no basic genes other than Goodfella. Something changed. I don't

(14:07):
know what they were going for. They weren't aiming at me.
I think maybe grunge. I didn't know what they were doing.
I should look up their stock. Hey, Siria, how's the
stock doing? Hold on a second down twenty percent on
the air. I don't know if that represents. I don't
know if that what that represents. I haven't spent a
lot of time thinking about it. I can only tell

(14:28):
you that Men's was not what it should be, and
unlike any assortment I've ever seen there, Perhaps it was
the worst at this time. Now I've seen those of
you who targeted might be getting angry at me. Why
don't you just be constructive criticism. I love your store,
I think you're amazing. I think you have a problem Men's,
and you should correct it. I had money in my pocket,

(14:49):
I had a good frame of reference. I came into purchase,
I had a history of buying a lot of products.
And maybe I'm right, so don't take this the wrong way.
But even more shocking the entire there are Men's assortment
other than the obvious ones. All the T shirts, all
the underwear, all the hats, the belt were under lock
and key. How could you have a business under lock

(15:10):
and key? And worse yet, how do we let our
country get to a point that you have to do that?
I was really I said, the word shocking is it
is not a good word. Nobody should be shocked, and
I don't use that word lightly, but the extent of
products hidden behind security not having access, And here I
am one time of another at one of my favorite sores.

(15:30):
I'm particularly disappointed in men's wear, a lot of room
for improvement. I guess if you care what people think,
you'll always be their prisoner. However, I'm your customer, maybe
not your target customer, pardon the pun. I'm an affluent guy.
I don't know if you get a fluent customer as
a target. If you do that, they come to the
shop and men's probably, but nottheless, I had my wallet

(15:52):
and my credit card ready to go buy simple things
that I would understand that there was nothing, absolutely nothing
that I could get excited that I could care about.
So if you don't want to think that my opinion
is important, you don't want to listen to me, that's fine.
I understand that. Don't be my prisoner. However, I'm your customer,
and this is constructive criticism. I wouldn't take it any
better than you, But I gotta tell you, the concept

(16:14):
of care with people thinking you'll be their prisoner target
has a place in our lives. By the way, the
women's and kids assortments were strong. Target does have a
place in our lives. But maybe when your customer is
not convinced, you should consider being their prisoner. Maybe you
should think about it. Take a break back in a minute.

Speaker 2 (16:34):
Always in Fashion.

Speaker 3 (16:36):
Done to Karen began her career as one of the finest,
most successful, powerful women in the fashion industry. She developed
a collection aimed at the luxury market for women on
the go, women who were powerful in their workplace, women
who had lives that extended beyond the workplace, and her
clothes went from day and to night. An extraordinary collection.

(16:59):
But the interesting thing Donna Karen had a young daughter,
and she had friends and they couldn't afford to buy
the Donna Karen collection. And Donna invented dk NY Donna
Karen New York. It's an offshoot of the Donna Karen collection.
The same concept a lifestyle brand. Then we talk about
lifestyle brands, What does that really mean? Simply what they say,
there are brands that follow you throughout your lifestyle. You

(17:22):
get up in the morning, you start to get dressed.
Donna Karen dcaan. Why as intimate apparel, as hosiery, as
all those products you're getting dressed for work? You get
accessorized shoes, handbags, and it takes you through the day.
The remarkable thing about dk and Y clothes for work,
they work into the evening. The dresses, the suits, the pants,
the sweaters, the blouses, extraordinary clothes at affordable prices that

(17:47):
go from day in tonight. Part of your lifestyle is active.
You have weekends, you have events, you participate in sports.
Donna Karen's casual clothes did that under the dk andy label.
The ray of casual sportswear that make women look great
as they navigate their busy lives. Whether you going to

(18:08):
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to the movies, whatever you want to do. Dcn Y Genes,
dcaan Y sportswear is there for you. That's what a
lifestyle brand is. And I need to mention dk y activewear,
which is extraordinary, the leggings, the sports bras, the sweats.

(18:28):
You can wear dkn why active wear, certainly in the gym,
certainly when you're working out at home, and certainly if
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The quality of dk why is nothing short of exceptional,
and why shouldn't it be Because it was born from
the idea of luxury made affordable for women of America.

(18:49):
DKY and Why a true lifestyle brand that takes you
from day and tonight, from the week into the weekend,
dcan Why. You can find DCN Why and Macy's DKY
dot com.

Speaker 1 (19:03):
Welcome back to Always in Fashion. Here's your host, Mark Webber.

Speaker 3 (19:07):
I'm back. Maybe I was a little nervous in the
first segment because I was criticizing someone. I don't like
being a critic. I like constructive criticisms. And what I
was doing I was talking about Target stores, particularly the
men's assortment, and how much they needed to improve it.
But nonetheless, it's my opinion. It's only mine. Nobody should
think twice about what I say, other than make up

(19:29):
your opinion for your self. The title of tonight's shows
if you care what other people think, you'll always be
the prisoner. But I'm outside. I'm a customer looking to
spend my money, and I've been out buying. It's Christmas
time and I've been looking at things, and I want
to talk about another store that I didn't give any
thought to, and I don't know that anybody else does.

(19:50):
I am representing retail fashion, luxury. So why in the
world would I be talking about best Buy? Because I
was in there caught my attention. I was on a
midnight run to buy gifts and I once again rediscovered
best Buy. I used to go to best Buy back
in the day before the iPhones had cameras. I bought
all my digital cameras at best Buy. I hadn't been there.

(20:11):
But it's all about electronics, and I hadn't given much
thought to electronics. I don't know what I was thinking.
As an adult, I had just about everything I needed.
I hadn't given much thought to electronics and the products
that are generated. As an adult only has to grapple
the moment with electric In the worry of electric cars,
I don't particularly like them, nor do I particularly trust them.

(20:32):
I do not relish the thought of being forced to
buy an electric car. I did buy a hybrid last year.
I had to get rid of it. It was a disaster.
I bought a new one, also a hybrid. Let's see
how that goes. I'm waiting for delivery in the spring,
and I'm hoping, hoping I don't have the same problems
of engine, lights and charging and issues. I never confronted
with internal combustion. A regular car, you put your get

(20:55):
in your car, you turn the key. If it starts, great.
If it doesn't, you know it's the battery. Now in
these electric cards and hybrids, you get in the car,
it doesn't stuff, you scream and pray that the dealership
will pick it up. I have given no thought to electronics,
and I ended up going to Best Buy in search
of an Xbox. I should stay right up front, there
were no xboxes. Yeah, if you want them, they all

(21:16):
had to be ordered online. I found the same to
be true at every store I went to. Whether it
was Target, whether it was Macy's, warm On, nobody has
anything in stock. I'm not quite sure why. Maybe they're
a big hot item anyway, I don't know, but walking
through best By opened my eyes. I just intrigued and
excited at the same time. It was once again a

(21:36):
store that was extremely well lit, large aisles, easy to navigate,
and lots and lots and lots of products. And that's
where the surprise was for me. Did you know that
electronics is a big part of your home. I didn't
realize that all the newfangled gadgets, security systems for a second.

(21:57):
The ring you know those lights that come on, the
burger arms that come on. They had so many different
choices it blew my mind. It's an inexpensive way to
install lights in your house, runs on the internet, and
it keeps you safe. Never thought about it, and all
the choices. The Apple Watch. I have an Apple Watch.
I don't give it much thought. I thought that was

(22:18):
the watch. Turns out everyone has Apple watches, they call
them Google and other brands. And they were all in
the store, and they were all laid out, and so
many of them to choose from. I happened to like
electric shavers for the speed. If I want to look
my best, I'll shave the razor, but you know, every
day in and out fast, no hassle. I like electric shavers.

(22:39):
I was in Best Buy there. In fact, they had
electric shavers. I was shocked by it. I don't know why.
I guess because they were electric and I didn't view
them that way. Interestingly enough, what they hadn't even more
of were trimmers, electrical trimmers for beards. Never gave that
much thought, but they had an incredible amount of them.
And it was interesting to to consider a million TVs

(23:03):
in every size, scope and shape. Hadn't given much thought
to where do you buy a TV? I guess it
Best Buy, Printers, printers inc. I don't think about these things.
I think about Staples. But here's this one store with
all these products. They sell total kitchens plus appliances, all
under the electric banner. You want a washing machine wash

(23:25):
your clothes. While cameras seem to be dead, there are
a lot of cameras there, and a lot of lenses
to buy. You can purchase just about anything electronic there.
Why am I so surprised? What? Am I an idiot? Electric?
Best Buy? But the thing that they had more of
than it seemed than anyone were video games. Now I
would take a pause. The last time I was in

(23:45):
best Buy they were selling video cassette CDs for movies.
Think about how the world has changed now we get
all of that online. No wonder there's no Blockbuster. But
they had a lot of video games, video systems, cassettes.
But I think about electronics here I am. I ended
up Best Buy, and I was totally surprised by what

(24:06):
a store represented. Once again, I just checked their stot
during commercial. I never gave it any thought. They're eighty
six dollars a share, down from one hundred, so something
fifteen for twenty percent down. I wonder whether this is
a retail thing. Certainly the store was busy when I
was there, middle of the day. I guess Christmas week.

(24:27):
But electronics plays a big part in our lives where
we don't really give it much thought. I wonder whether
this problem with retail stocks is a thing. Looks again
like they were doing well, but it's Christmas time and
here I am as a consumer. I would say that
best Buy has a place in our life. Take a break.

(24:48):
You don't have to listen to me. If you do,
you might be my prisoner back in a minute.

Speaker 2 (24:53):
Always in fashion.

Speaker 3 (24:55):
I spent a lifetime of my career building the van
Usen brand. So pleased that they're back with us now
talking about suits. Men, we're dressing up again, and it's
become cool to wear a suit. Suits can be won
on multiple occasions in multiple ways. You could wear a
suit formally to go out at night or to an event.

(25:17):
You can wear a suit to the office with or
without a tie. If you look closely. Now fashion trends
suits are being worn with turtlenecks or mark next the
choices are endless and every one of them looks right.
You could really really look the part. I believe that
packaging yourself is as important as the products you package,

(25:38):
and wearing a suit is one of those things that
make men look their best. Venues and invented a new idea.
It's called the cool Flex suit. It's been engineered with
stretch technology, giving you the most comfortable fit and mobility.
It's wrinkle resistant fabric, it's cool moisture wiki. It makes
it perfect for all occasions. As we discussed just now,

(26:00):
this new style of looking sharp while feeling cool and
comfortable is amazing, and I'm so excited that the ven
Using company is involved in this new technology and is
embracing the whole idea of dressing up. Let's not forget
van Using made it's name with dress shirts. It's only
proper that the suit business follows strongly in its way.

(26:22):
You can find van uesing Cool Flex Men's stretch suits
at jcpenny are online at jcpenny dot com. Guys, they're great.
You should go look at them.

Speaker 2 (26:32):
Welcome back to Always in Fashion. Here's your host, Mark
webber Tonight.

Speaker 3 (26:38):
The show is an interesting concept. If you care what
people think. You'll always be their prisoner. It's important to
get people's point of views. It's important to know what
it's going on around you, but it's more important to
know who you are and have confidence in yourself. I've
started this conversation being out and about and giving you

(26:59):
my confidence and those things I've seen at retail over
the last week or so, because it's Christmas and I'm
out shopping, and I have one more than I want
to talk to you about now, the magic of Macy's.
I needed betting for my house. I didn't know it's
called betting. I needed sheets and pillowcases. I didn't realize
how complicated. I didn't realize how many different qualities they were.

(27:20):
I didn't realize how many distance styles there were. I
didn't realize the disparity in price from low to high.
I didn't realize any of this. What am I know?
I'm a guy. I never bought this stuff before. I
ended up in Macy's shopping what they call their home department.
If I give it some thought, I'm not quite sure
that I knew there was something called the whole department.
But I walked in to Macy's. I was kind of lost.

(27:42):
I didn't know what I was looking for, and sure enough,
a woman came over to me and said, can I
help you? And I was tempted to say no, I'm
just looking, but I needed some help, and I said, look,
I have a house. It's white. I'm looking for white
sheets and pillowcases. I don't necessarily want them solid. I
would have a little pattern. Can you help me. Sure enough,
she took me around and explain to me what the

(28:05):
differences were. And I found something I like, and I said,
can I buy a whole set? She's which one you want?
She said this? She said, well, no, because we don't
have in stock all the things you needed. Because I
was doing it for two different beds. I needed six pillowcases,
I needed six comforters. Hey, I'm getting smart. I needed
six duvets and all these things and sheets and pillowcases.

(28:29):
And she said something very interesting to me, which reminded
me of a conversation I had with the former CEO
in Macy's and explained to me omni channel. An omni
channel was the multiple ways in which a store would
sell you Going forward in the future, you would have
merchandise in your store and you'd come in and buy,

(28:50):
or you would have merchandise online that you would use
as a precursor to which store you choose to go
in now that you've seen what they're offering, or you
buy it outright on e commerce. And I remember him
talking about the fact that no store can satisfy the
needs of all the customers. If they have fifty different

(29:11):
styles of pillowcases, how could you possibly have stock in
all fifty sizes without going bankrupt? And he explained that
Macy's no longer had one or two warehouses. They had
five hundred warehouses, that every one of their stores would
be used as a warehouse to ship to the consumer.
If someone placed an order and at the store that

(29:32):
you placed it and didn't have all the merchandise that
you needed, and lo and behold. They talked about the
technology and explained to me that technology is now in
place that allow me to place an order online being
in the store, and the computer would search out the
items that I purchased from all of their five hundred stores,
and if need be, if I needed six pillowcases and

(29:54):
they had to go to six different stores, six different
stores would pick up this order and ship me my
each one pillow case, and by the end of the week,
I'd have the entirety of my assortment packaged with receipts
in my doorstep. And sure enough, that is what happened
when I purchased my bedding set, and I was very,

(30:15):
very impressed with that. But I found out this week
for sure that Macy's is under attack by investment banking
company in partnership with a capital company and a retail
purchasing company. Barrenting Capital and Foor Equities, who are shareholders
of Macy's, published the presentation recommending that Macy's makes changes

(30:35):
to its capital allocation strategy and consider other structural activities
to improve sharehold of the value. Now what does that mean.
It means that we used to call them barbarians at
the gate. We used to call them corporate raiders. But
Barrington Capital in particular wants to take Macy's and carve
it up. Doesn't necessarily want Macy's to be Macy's anymore.

(30:59):
They think they're real estate state is worth more than
the store itself, and they point out that valuation I'm
reading this to you has suffered markedly over the last
decade and shares it down approximately seventy percent. Now, having
said this, Barrington and Thor proposes that Macy's considered the
following reductions. Here's where it gets scary. You know what
this reminds me of member Lord and Taylor investment people

(31:22):
came in, turned it into a real estate closed all
the stores. That great store I used to love shopping
on Fifth Avenue and thirty sixth Street is no longer there.
It's just a big empty building. I'm not sure what
happened to the grandiose plans, but it didn't turn into
whatever it was supposed to. But all I know is
Lord and Taylor is gone, and now I'm worried about Macy's.
And Barrington Capitol and Thor Enterprises has said the following.

(31:45):
They want to reduce capital expend They want to reduce
capital expenditures to one point five percent to two percent
of total sales. They're currently around four percent. Let me
tell you what that means. All those beautiful shops in Macy's.
When you walk in and you see a brand, whether
it's Tommy or Ralph or whatever. The beautiful shops that

(32:06):
set up the feature and showcase merchandise to make it
look its best to give you a chance to buy
understanding clearly what's in the shop gone. They want to
introduce a two billion to three billion and stock repurchase
over the next three years. So they want to take
Macy's money the profits they're earning instead of growing the company.
They want to buy back shares that will artificially raise

(32:28):
the price on stock and not necessarily position Macy's for
the long term. Then here's the key. Create an internal
real estate subsidiary that would collect rents from Macy's retail
operations and make recommendation on how to maximize value from
its holding. Hmmm, so they want to become a retail entity.

(32:50):
Number four explore strategical turners, including a potential sale for
its luxury Bloomingdale's and Blue Mercury companies. Now this is
a means to change Macy's. They say that the Macy's
store on Flagship on thirty four Street is worth five
billion and nine billion, which in itself is worth more
than the Macy's stop and there is we need Macy's,

(33:13):
And these guys are saying, let's break it apart. Now
my position on Macy's, we don't have many stores of
this ILK in New York we have Nordstroms that is
different than Macy's. It's a department store Nordstrums, but no
longer carries any kind of size, shape, or any detail assortment.
Macy says. Now, don't get me wrong. Nordstrom is a

(33:35):
great retail. You want to buy women shoes, you want
to buy men's wear, you can find great things at Nordstream,
but not the size and scope. Nord Strom's is a
smaller store. Therefore, their offerings are more curated, they're more specific.
They're taking rifle shots rather than shotgun shots. Macy's is
allowing you to benefit from the shotgun shot, big broad

(33:56):
assortments that you could choose from Nostrom's, more edited. It
doesn't make it worse, just makes it different. I believe
we need Macy's. They're a department store. Namely, what is
a department store. It's a store with a lot of
different departments. Duh. You go into Macy's under one roof,
they'll find you'll find great brands, many grants, and men's wear,

(34:19):
women's wear. They'll all be displayed well. They'll have deep
assortments representing these brands. They'll have large selections within these disorders.
And many departments. Yeah, it's a department store, duh. They'll
have men's, women's, children, shoes, accessories, handbag, watches, jewelry, underwear, sunglasses, sneakers, jeans,

(34:44):
all size for manner and shapes. Keep looking in the
winter gear or in the springtime you'll find outawear, swim.
There's even a toys r us in Macy's. Many of
the stores. Now, it's shopping made easy and Macy's, dare
I say it, it's fun if you don't think so.
Macy's is alwingly in. Maule's and Mauls are fun. They're destinations.

(35:06):
They're places people go to have a good time, and
they're surrounded by other cool stores. Macy's is a chain
of stores we need in this country. Now. Having said
that I love Coals, back to pants. I buy a
lot of my pants at Coals that carry Lee le Ee.
They have great cargo pants. I bought a ton of them.

(35:29):
So I like Coals. I find products that I could
shop and calls. I'm a man of the people. I'll
shop in Ralph Lauren on seventy second Street, and I'll
shop in Target. But Coal's doesn't have the same omnians
as Macy's. They're not a department store. They're a beautiful
rendition of a discount store. They have your favorite brands

(35:51):
or some of them, not the extent that you'd find
in Macy's, but they have good brands. One of my
favorite eyes out of course, they have Calvin Klein underwear.
They have different and things that are there that you
can find and enjoy wear it. But it's more about price.
Many of the brands you would want, many of the
price points that you want, you won't find the calls
because they don't believe their customer can support it or

(36:13):
purchase that, which leaves us TJ Max and other discounts,
Ross stores, Burlington stores, those are discount stores. It's like
shock feed. They put a lot of different brands and bins.
You know they have these brands, they'll never advertise them.
They have great prices because they're buying closeouts, but again
different and these stores you find in strip centers or

(36:33):
coal stands by itself, you don't find them in malls.
So when I think about Macy's and how much they
mean to you and to me, you can't take it
for granted. You have to support it. You have to
appreciate it as I do. Having said this title, Tonight's show.
Care what other people think, and you'll always be their prisoner.

(36:55):
You don't have to listen to me, even though I
know I'm right. Take a break back in a moment.

Speaker 2 (37:01):
Always in fashion.

Speaker 3 (37:03):
As one of the world's most celebrated fashion designers, Carl
Lagafeld was renowned for his aspirational and cutting edge approach
to style. His unique vision of Parisian shit comes to
America through car Lagofeld Paris. He has women's collections, men's collections,
ready to wear, accessory, shoes and bags. The fashion house
Carlagofeld also offers a range of watches, I wear and

(37:25):
premium fragrances. You can explore the car lagofl collection at
car Lagofelparis dot com. But it's more than that. I
have for one, love to shop. I love going around
and seeing what's happening and what catches my attention, what
would make me feel good to wear now. I don't
wear the women's wear obviously, but I can appreciate it
and they look amazing. If you want to look right,

(37:48):
you want to have clothes that fits you well. You
want to look like you're wearing something that's very expensive,
that's exclusive for you and yours. You can find a
very affordable price is at Macy's. Orcarlagofel dot com Paris.
The women's ready to wear fashion is extraordinary, as well
as the handbigs and the shoes. I for one, wear

(38:09):
men's clothes, unlike my appreciation of women's clothes. I'm a
modern guy. I want to look current. I want to
look the way I want to feel. I go out
at night, I'm in black and Carlagafel is my buddy.
Carls are great. They fit great, and they have little
tweaks and touches, whether it's a stripe on the sleeve
or button at the neck or on the shoulder. There's
a lot of details that go into Carlagafel because he's

(38:32):
always been, he always had been one of the world's
great designers, and this legacy and goes on and on.
I can't speak enough about it except to say to you,
you want to feel good about yourself. You want to
know that you're dressing properly. You want to clothes that
fits you well. Carl Lagafeld Paris at Macy's Orcarlagafel dot com.

Speaker 2 (38:52):
Welcome back to it Always in Fashion. Here's your host,
Mark Webber.

Speaker 3 (38:57):
Tonight, I'm talking about care what other people think, and
you'll be their prisoner. Care is an interesting word. I
don't particularly care what people think or say about me.
I know who I am, I know what I'm good at.
I know what I'm not good at. You want to
know what I'm good at, listen to me. I'll tell
you all day long. You want to know what I'm
not good at, I'll never tell you. You'll have to find
that for yourself. But care is an important word. I

(39:19):
think we should all care about ourselves. We should care
about what we're doing. I think packaging yourself is as
important as the products your package, and I want to
talk about that for a minute. If I had to
put a title on this segment, I think I would
call it arguing for ugly. I walk around everything I
look at. It doesn't matter. I'm afflicted, whether it's an automobile,

(39:40):
whether it's a pair of pants, whether it's a light bulb.
Everything I look at I think about how would I
make it better. I'm obsessed over these things. And it's
interesting because I read the Steve Job's biography by Walter J.
Walter Thompson something like that I forget. And he talked
about Steve Jobs obsessing of what the insight of his

(40:03):
computer looked like and why because he cared. Steve Jobs
from a business point of view, He's my idol. If
I had to pick the one guy that I respect
more than anyone in the world in business, Steve Job.
Steve Jobs said, we make products that people need even
before they know they want them. He was an amazing guy,

(40:25):
and he cared about what everything looked like, how to
sell it to you, convinced you why you needed something,
and he was really an American inventor when it came
right down. So I really respect him. But what I
respect most is how we cared. Now, if you care
what other people think, you'll always be a prisoner. That's

(40:45):
the theme of tonight. And I'll tell you I'm a
good jailer. You like being in my prison, and I'm
an excellent warden. But I have to tell you the
fact you don't have to listen to me. Turn off
the dial if you don't want to listen. I can't
stop you. But I can tell you that packaging yourself
is as important as the products you package. You are

(41:06):
what you tell the world you are. I mentioned before
January one is coming new year. You could show up
the office of a different personality, dress differently, comb your
hair differently, have just a totally different attitude, and you
will be starting January one a different person than you are.
It's because you care about yourself. It because you care

(41:27):
to be successful. There's that word care again. There's this
thing act as if then you are great concept. I
can't tell you how many meetings I've walked into the past,
particularly heavy duty financial meetings, when they're talking about package,
when they're talking about when they're talking about accounting or derivatives.

(41:48):
I can't tell you how many times I've been in
meetings I have no idea what they're talking about. They
could have been talking a foreign language. But I stood there.
I smiled when others smiled. I shook my head as
if to acknowledge what they said was right. And I
was acting as if because then I was. I played
the game. You have a world that has changed. What

(42:09):
was bad is good, and what's good is now terrible,
and you could be whoever you want. You look around,
there's so many mistakes every day. I'm a Donald Trump fan,
but when he walks around with his jacket open, it
looks terrible and it sends a terrible sig. No, a
single breast of jacket should never be open when you're standing.
You can open it when you sit down, but never

(42:31):
when you're standing. All these guys wearing sneakers with their
suits or sport codes, this is terrible, terrible, Followers, sheep,
somebody did it and you think it's right. And I
have to say, from a business point of view, all
the sneakers being sold to be won, great for business.

(42:53):
All the shoes with the white souls great for business.
But I hate them. I will give you. Thank God,
it seems that you follow you sheep, have all stopped
wearing your orange and brown shoes with the navy of
gray suits. So that's a good thing. Packaging yourself this
is important as the products your package. Nothing is more
important for your chance for success than the way you

(43:15):
package yourself. Now, i'd like to be six foot two,
I'd like to be twenty three years old. I have
no chance. We all can't be beautiful, we all can
have hair, we all can't have the best beards. We
all can't be the best figure. It's just the way
it is. But we have an obligation to do the
best with what we have. I look in the mirror

(43:38):
every morning. Think about it. I look in the mirror
every morning. I said, how do I look? Do I
look my best? How do I make myself look better?
I'm not one of these people. I don't know other
people out there they're looking at the mir and say,
ef it, Yes, are there anybody in this world looks
in mirror and says, I want to look worse than
I do Right now? I can screw it up. I
don't think so. There's a lot of f f it.

(44:02):
You don't care, okay, Thomas Jefferson, he's had a great quote.
He said, in Manners of Style, swim with the current.
In manners of principle, stand like a rock. Although I
do want to talk to your personal style, I want
to talk principle, not necessarily style, and yet packaging yourself.

(44:23):
I'll begin with the theory. Here we go. I'm going
to try and help you, because, as they said January one,
you could be whatever you want. Ladies, I'm not talking
to you. You want to listen, Listen help your man. Ladies,
in general, you either look amazing or you overdo it.
If there's a problem with women, they overdo it. Every
woman has a sense of style. Every woman knows what's

(44:43):
going on. Oh yes, some of you with things that
are too tight. Some of you don't fit these things right,
some of you chase fashion. We all make mistakes, but
by and large women got it together. The men another story.
I'll begin with a theory. Guys, you ready. You can
never be overdressed. You can be poorly dressed. You can

(45:04):
have no style. You look terribly in your clothes, which
is generally how they fit you. You know. Funny story
about fit. I went to China early in China, coming
out from closing its country for fifty years. I was
there early on in China. When I went to China
that I hadn't even built hotels yet. There were clearing

(45:27):
residences and setting them up for business executives from around
the world to stay in these apartment buildings because they
didn't have hotels and they wanted to open business. I
went to China, and the fascinating thing in the China
all the cars were brand new cars from the fifties.
I remember leaning over to the head of my Hong
Kong offens and said, I don't get it. Why are

(45:48):
these cars all old cars? They all look brand new.
He said that he left, and he said because once
they closed the doors to the Western China, the only
blueprints they had for automobile making were cars from the
fifties and sixties. So all their cars were built over
the last fifty years using those patents and those blueprints.
So they were all old. But their clothing was unusual.

(46:10):
You see, Chairman Mao, the chairman of China, wore a
mouse suit. That's what it was called. It was a
jacket with a stand up collar. It was like a
military uniform. It was primarily made of cotton. It came
in three colors, blue, green like army green, and gray,
and you could have any color you wanted as long

(46:32):
as it's one of those three colors. Reminds me of
Henry Ford when he built his first cars. He says,
you can any color you want in a car, as
long as it's black. Anyway, the mouse suit came in
three calls. It was primarily made of cotton. Everyone wore them,
every man, every woman, every child, everybody in China who
was in the manufacturing of clothing business. That's pretty much

(46:53):
all they bought, and that's pretty much all they manufactured,
and that's all the people wore. This was the communist
way of doing things. And forget someone saying to me
in China they have only two fits, too big and
too small. I thought it was terroical. But back to you,
are you wearing too big, too small, too long, to this?
To that? You want to look like an amateur or

(47:15):
a light wet. Your pants are too long, your jackets
are too big. Interesting in the communist society wherever you're
just the same. You found the leaders by the way
wearing the same clothes. And you know how you tool
the leaders by the ones who carried themselves differently. They
look different, and of course the way they talk, the
way they spoke, the way they walked. It's not unlike

(47:36):
school uniforms. Here in this country, all are children that
wear school uniforms. They should be all the same, but
they're not. Some children have sparkles in their eyes. Some
children are brighter than the others. Some children will have
better personalities, or they're eager to learn. Some are not.
You can find it doesn't matter what you wear but
it matters how you package yourself. It's kind of like

(47:58):
in those schools, or in China for that matter, everyone
looks the same. Where's the geniuses. It's like where's Waldo.
You're looking for them, you have to find them. But
China alone, it's not that way anymore. It's not that
way anywhere else. China. They're all tailored, they're all looking
their best. They understand what the world is looking for.
Every time you see g from China dressed in a

(48:18):
western business city, looks elegant and tailored, hair combed looks great.
So how you dressed shouldn't matter. How you look shouldn't matter.
How you speak shouldn't matter. The only problem is it does,
and packaging yourself is as important as the products you package.
It matters. Now again, you don't have to care what

(48:41):
I say. You don't have to care what I think.
You could worry that if you listen to me, you'd
be my prisoner. But I'm telling you, if you listen
to me, you just might have a better shot at something.
I got some tips for you started a new company.
If I asked Jesse your question, what would you do?
How would you dress? The first thing? New company the answers,

(49:01):
I'd overdress. If I went to a new company I
didn't know the address code, or they had a dress
so casual, elegant, whatever it's called, I'd definitely wear a
sport coat and slacks or sport coat and jeans. I
would make sure i'd bring a shirt and a tie.
And the minute I get there, I look, I take
the tie. Of course, no one else is wearing a tie.
But more importantly, the key to being successful the way

(49:26):
you look in a company is blending. In now, as
revolutionary as that sounds, and for a guy who's accused
you a half hour agoing being followers, I'm telling you
blending is important. The most important thing you join a company.
I have to look at the people in power. After
look at the president of the CEO, the vice presidents,

(49:48):
all the people in power, and how are they dressed.
You know, in my former days, I wore a certain
tie every day to work. I never wear a jacket
during my PVH days. When I got to France, I
was working for LVMH. Whenever I showed up in their meetings,
they were all wearing the jackets with no tie. It
was dingent and until I got there and the weather

(50:08):
changed in June July. They wore no jackets, but they
had a formal way of looking. And what I did
I do I changed to them. I wanted to blend in.
You look at the bosses. They'll set the tone now
very often there at a different stage in life than
you are, and their clothes and their accessories might be

(50:30):
more expensive. You have to focus on your fit. It's
interesting act as if and then you are back in
the days, not in recent days. I was at DCAM.
Why all my suits were DCN Why I had the
mate for me in the company. I wanted to wear
the brand I wanted to label. If I went to

(50:51):
an important personal function and somebody asked me who I
was wearing because I worked for the company, I would
say DCM. Why Back in the day, I used to
love Brooks Brothers tuxedos. Whenever I went to a function,
somebody would ask me who's I was wearing, and I
would tell them HARMANI and they said, wow, that's a
great suit. Where did you get I said, I got

(51:12):
enough money in the money store. I bought it in
Brooks Brothers on Fifth Avenue, on Madison Avenue. I bought
in Brooks Brothers on Madison. Nobody would know because I
was so well groomed. This suit fit me so perfectly
that if I said it was Rmani or Ralph Lewin,
Purple Label or palm Ford, anyone would have believed me
because I act as if and then we are. Your

(51:34):
clothes have to fit you properly. You have to accessorize properly.
I never see a guy take out his wallet. If
you got a fat stuff wallet, you're an amateur. I,
for one, carry a tapered product wallet. I pull out
my wallet. It opens like a folding phone. Looks beautiful.

(51:56):
Now you can find a similar wallet at Kenneth Cole
less than one hundred dollars. You can carry a product
wall of for six hundred dollars. Nobody would know the difference.
If it's not stuff fat, it doesn't look slovenly. I
like navy suits right now, I don't have to represent brands.

(52:17):
I wear Ralph Lauren Purple Label. I used to wear DK.
Why my DK was searched for four hundred dollars Ralph
Lavin Ralph Lauren is four thousand dollars. Does it matter no,
because both of them would tailor it properly. You would
never know if you looked at me whose I was wearing,
you would not be able to tell the difference. You

(52:38):
act as if then you are. I grew up in
a company where everyone was wearing or Mez ties. I
have no idea what they cost, but they didn't cost
thirty dollars like the ties I was wearing. My DK
White ties was selling for twenty five to fifty dollars.
It didn't matter. Make a point to the women I
worked at vetone. Everyone was carrying Diora or vetone handbags

(53:00):
everyone of consequence that I met along the way, and
most other companies, people would carry Michael Course from three
hundred to five hundred dollars. Off of that matter, DK
y Calvin for one hundred to two fifty. You can
find beautiful handbags that will match your outfits that do
not have to be three thousand dollars yetone eggs. The
point is you don't have to spend a fortune. You

(53:22):
don't have to go above your means. You could do
with what you can afford. Again, tips, look in the mirror,
comb your hair, trim your beard. I'm not a beard fan,
but who do you want to be today, what's the
dress code if it's formal, my uniform when it was formal,
even to this day, you invite me to speak, I'm

(53:43):
wearing a navy blue suit, white shirt, navy blue tie, sterling,
silver cuff links, black tesseled loafers, black belt, and if
I am, I'll probably wear a Rolex stainless steel watch.
I wore that for twenty years. I always was slightly
more elegant than everyone else because all my shirts had

(54:04):
French cuffs. I wanted to look a step above everyone else. Today,
i'd probably wear a slightly modification. I did an interview
show two or three weeks ago. I interviewed the CEO
of ABG, Jamie Salta. Interestingly enough, he was dressed very,
very elegantly. He wore a dress shirt with a zip

(54:26):
sweater over the dress shirt, with a pair of navy
or gray slacks I don't remember. In black shoes. I
wore Ralph Lauren black single breast and sport coat, white
dress shirt, jeans and Swede shoes. We both dressed casual elegant.
It's all a question of what you feel good about,
but both of us were casually pressed. We were elegant

(54:49):
but dressed casual. Now you could be more relaxed. Depending
on the company you're in, you could wear khakis, you
wear jeans, a polo shirt and his shirt. But you
have to be neat, you have to be pressed, have
to look like you're going to the wharf office, because
competition in the workplace doesn't disappear with the removal of
a jacket and tie. Your jeans always have to be clean.

(55:10):
You can't wear jeans with holes. You'll always have to
have the right shoes. They have to be shined properly,
and the heels can't be worn down. What was the
last time any of you went to a shoemaker to
change the heels on the shoes you've been wearing for
a year? Never? And then, of course, as anything goes.
You work for a computer company, or you work for
a young company, you work with any company that everybody's

(55:32):
young and trying to be whatever. They're being grungy, whatever,
anything goes, And I wish you good luck, but my
sense to you is follow the boss. He'll set the tone.
So as you can tell, I've been doing a lot
of thinking, which is generally my case. Maybe I overthink,
maybe The idea of caring what other people think and

(55:52):
you'll always be a prisoner really caught my eye. Maybe
the point I was just making is as long as
you care about yourself, as long as you do what
you want to do, as long as you're making up
your mind for you and not for anyone else, you'll
never be anyone's prisoner. As I've been saying all along tonight,
the word care is an interesting word. You should care

(56:13):
about everything. You should care about the details. You should
care about the way you present yourself to the world.
But more than anything else, you should care that what
you believe in is what you believe in. Have confidence
in yourself, and do what's right for yourself. With that,
Happy holidays, good night,