Off to New York

I am off to New York in two days for a retail research trip and my life as a fashion student is about to recommence. My brief: To firstly investigate all the aspects of retail within the US. I will need to look at visual merchandising, promotion tools, services and products in particular. When I get back to the UK, my brief is to make recommendations for UK retailers based on what I believe to be successful in New York.

The second think I will have to think about is launching an English brand into the US market. We have been given a list of companies to consider and my eye was immediately drawn to Toast and Mammas and Pappas. Previously working for Boden will I think give me the upper hand if I were to choose Toast, as I was working for Boden when they launched in the US. Toast, having a similar customer, style and attitude would launch in the US in a similar way so my inside knowledge would be invaluable. On the other had, I feel more passionate about the Mammas and Pappas brand which may also work to my advantage. I am going to begin to research competitors of both brands when I am in New York and decide which brand would be most appropriate to launch in the US market.

At the moment, my task in hand in preparation for the trip is deciding what to pack. I have been told with authority by numerous people that it is going to be really cold. They look at me with serious eyes when they tell me this, as if trying to make me feel the extreme cold they have experienced there. It is hard for me to quite understand, and I do find myself thinking that they may be slightly exaggerating.

My New York preperation purchase of the week has got to be my new panda ear muffs from Asos.com. Practical? Probably not, but I don't know it I will mind all that much when they look so cute. My practical purchase instead has been some Ugg style sheepskin mittens, paired with my faux fur coat and perhaps a secret pair of thermal leggings underneath my clothes and I think I should be ok. Cold weather? What cold weather?