Textile Insight

66 • Textile Insight ~ September/October 2018 textileinsight.com OUT OF CONTEXT I IMAGINE THAT THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE reading this magazine find themselves profes- sionally sleeping among restless elephants. Huge competitive players like Amazon and VF Corp, walk the landscape looking for every consumer kibble that they can hoover up. Retailers, what's left of them, are retreating to the troika of convenience, service and specialty. It's fair to say that distribution companies are overwhelming traditional retailing and the meaning of 'choice' is in flux for today's consumers. What's a mid-sized company to do? In the midst of a rapidly shifting business landscape execs are faced with an unstable supply chain, few reliable resources and a history of old school business model behavior. What play do leaders at these firms have? My suggestion is this: go small. Smaller niche companies are thriving. They are personal enterprises staffed by a team of colleagues, each multi-talented and committed to producing a single digestible product story. Craft, skill, and socially chill; these companies serve as the incubators for new age professionals and provide a lifestyle that attracts the best and the brightest. The real life exercise of running a passion-based business prepares employees to seamlessly accept new roles and keep their heads up and eyes on the horizon. These companies produce professionals that are unlike those in the big corporations. The background mid-market risk comes from imitation. Amazon has at its fingertips all the same physical tools, suppliers and technologies as everyone else and if they want to push into an established category, they will find a way to do it. They have access to the same OEM manufacturers, markets and technologies as everyone else. Little companies however, have the intangible attributes that the big players can't bring to the table. Commitment, personality and com- munity are integral parts of the small market model. Differentiation comes through having a point of view and the discipline to develop it into product. So how can mid-sized companies lever- age these attributes? If I was the manager of a less than huge company and I was tasked with doing battle with a giant like VF Corp, I would drop a little brand right in their backyard. Since that's about to be Denver, Colorado, the new home for VF brands such as The North Face, Jansport, Eagle Creek, Altra and Smartwool, I'd locate a small specialty outerwear or skiwear brand somewhere nearby. VF's move to the Mile High City will bring with it a slipstream of other busi- nesses, connections and talent, making it the perfect place for my farm team. The little company's product offering would be limited and project a hip and regional product vibe. The workload would empha- size experiential cross-training between departments as the newbie crew share a company calendar in a human sized endeavor. Think of it as a mix between a graduate school and boot camp, positioned to ride along in the giant global company's shadow and probably not make all that much money. The idea would be to instead, curate competence. The goal would be for the small company warriors to eventually come to work for my less than huge company. They would have a background basted in enthusiasm and humility after being exposed to the dark underbelly of the giant apparel company. Oh, the things they'd know. My thinking is that after facing a dominant company in their industry and hollowing out a small niche for themselves with not much more than their wits and hard work, moving to a bigger market will look like nothing but gravy to them. Teaching business to the motivated is the best move to make. l Disclaimer: Mr. Gray wonders if some sleeping elephants snore, keeping the others awake. His opinions and questions are his own and the Publisher may not share them. Giants Among Us by Kurt Gray When They Go Big, We Go Small

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