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Textile Talks Between U.S. & China Fail
Page 1

Saks Confirmed Improper Collections
Page 1

Talks Between EU & China
Page 1

Bikini With Timer 
Page 2

Rodger's Ramblings - Free Giveaway 2 Testers Still Needed
Page 2

McPete Sez
Mailbag
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United Retail's Q2 Results
Page 3

'Bra Wars' Hurting European Boutiques
Page 3

Disposable Underwear
Page 3

Ask Andy
Page 3

Germ Fighting Underwear
Page 4

Madonna Sues Lingerie Range
Page 4

Victoria's Secret Robbed Again
Page 4

Ann Summers' Advertising Campaign
Page 4

La Senza Up Q2
Page 5

Lingerie Facts
Page 5

Reps Corner
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                                      Page 3
   United Retail Reported 
   Increased Q2 Results 
Plus-size women’s apparel retailer United Retail Group Inc has reported improved second-quarter results, reflecting the business’s repositioning strategy.
Second-quarter net sales grew 13% to $114.7 million from $101.3m in the same period last year, while same-store sales jumped 15%.
Second-quarter net income totaled $4.1m compared to a net loss of  $1.6m a year ago.
Raphael Benaroya , chairman, president and chief executive, said: “I believe that our improved financial results reflect a fundamental change in the business.
First-half net sales rose 11% to $221.2m from $198.8m last year, with a sane-store sales rise of 13%.
First-half net income totaled $5.1m compared with a net loss of $4.9m a year ago.
United Retail Group Inc sells apparel, footwear and accessories under the Avenue brand.
   
      
9/12   
'Bra Wars' Hurting European
           Boutiques
European boutiques and fashion labels are losing millions of euros in the so-called "bra wars" over blocked Chinese imports, but the big chains say they can cope by switching suppliers. 
Millions of Chinese-made bras, sweaters and trousers are piled up in European ports after exceeding import quotas, threatening to disrupt autumn clothes ranges. 
Danish family-owned Bestseller, which supplies over 1,800 shops in and outside the EU, expects big losses. 
"We expect a three-figured million loss (Danish crowns)," Transport Manager Conni Schroeder told Reuters. "The EU has granted licenses ... but even though we have them, we cannot get the goods in," she added. 
Chinese clothes exports to the EU rocketed when a former quota system expired on January 1. 
In an attempt to balance the concerns of textile-producing countries such as France, Italy and Spain, with those of states with big retail interests, such as Germany and Sweden, the EU negotiated a temporary quota system with China in June. 
But the new limits were reached within weeks and goods began piling up in ports and warehouses. 
The British Retail Consortium said that while large retailers had the funds to switch their orders to alternative suppliers, smaller stores did not have the cash flow and were now contemplating empty shelves. 
"I believe it's happening right now," said a spokesman. 
Swedish clothes designer said it was pushed to the brink when half its autumn collection was blocked. "We've finally got the last products out after struggling for a month." 
European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson raised pressure on member states to unblock imports.
"The consequences of not doing so will be severe economic pain for many medium and small sized businesses," Mandelson told the European Parliament's trade committee. "It could mean shortages in the autumn and higher prices," he added. 
In Italy, retailers have been able to switch to domestic clothes producers to meet demand. 
"Italy has several areas of low-cost production, especially in the south," said Alfredo Ricci, clothing sector representative at retail trade body Confesercenti. 
London analysts said most of the big UK retailers had seen the standoff coming and were already sourcing more product from other suppliers, typically in Vietnam, Romania and Turkey. 
British budget stores Matalan and Primark said they would not be affected, as did department store chain Marks & Spencer. 
"With almost 100,000 items from jumpers to underwear languishing in warehouses and containers across Europe it is little wonder that UK autumn collections are at risk," said CBI chief Digby Jones. 
"Christmas ranges could be limited and many spring fashions invisible if something is not done," he added. 
Silvia Jungbauer of the German Textile and Fashion Industry Association told German radio that if blocked clothing was freed by mid-September autumn and winter ranges would not be threatened. 
"There may be a spike in the price of this or that product, but nothing long-term," she said. "We have such a saturated market that it is difficult to get anything into it."  
   

1/24 
Not All Models Need to Be Thin
You may not like your dress size, but chances are, you're more normal than you think.
In the past 10 years, Madison Avenue advertisers have slowly been giving a nod to real American women, who are, in fact, usually a size 14.
It's a good thing, said one teen counselor who's worried that girls are under a lot of pressure to look thin.
"There is so much pressure on girls. They perceive their bodies as fixer-upper real estate that they can change if they don't like it," said a teen self-esteem counselor.
Bernadett Vajda, a native of Andover, Mass., is now a plus-size fashion model for a top New York modeling agency.
"I never would have thought in a million years I would be living in New York and walking the runways," Vajda said. "This was my first job ever."
At 5 feet 11 inches and a size 12, she hardly fits the look of today's high-fashion, high-profile models and actresses.
Yet in a culture in which impossibly thin celebrities such as Paris Hilton and the Olsen twins dominate the public view, Vajda and other full-figured models are getting more and more work. For one recent shoot, Brittany Spears' makeup artist did Vajda's hair and makeup.
"One thing people ask me all the time is, 'Do people ask you to lose weight?'" she said. "They always tell me, from day one, to put your best foot forward. Don't compare yourself to anyone else because you're like no one else."
This summer, singer and teen role model Jessica Simpson has created buzz for her toned appearance in Daisy Duke shorts. But she, too, is catering to the larger "every woman" market with a new line of plus-size blue jeans. There's even more evidence that real women do have curves with Proctor and Gamble's new "Average Women" models.
"I saw a billboard, and one of the woman had her backside and someone had written "Nice butt," and it was such a great thing that these women, who are like everyday women, have great figures," Vajda said.
"Stand in front of the mirror and instead of putting the negative things that you say, "Oh, my butt is this way, my this is this way," look in front of the mirror and say, "What do I like about myself?" she said. 

          
   A model displays a creation from a collection by designer 
Leonisa at Colombia Moda fashion show in Medellin, Colombia.
Nike Joins "Real Women" Ads
It's no longer just rail-thin models who are showing up in fashion magazines and on billboards. Large women or what are being called "real people" now are gracing the ads of companies selling everything from tuna to cellulite cream. 
Nike Inc., the world's largest maker of athletic shoes, has jumped onto the bandwagon with a campaign featuring close-ups of "big butts" and "thunder thighs."
Look closely at the text, however, and you discover that the body parts featured in the pictures belong to women who spend a lot of time working out.
The new Nike campaign, said company spokeswoman, is attempting to portray "what is real" as opposed to "the ideal."
When a woman works out, her body develops, becoming more muscular, instead of model-thin.
And that's a look the ads are trying to celebrate, she said.
It fits right in with a reality trend in the beauty industry overall, said Cindi Leive, editor-in-chief of Glamour magazine, which is prominently featuring the "big butt" ad in its September issue.
"If you're born a size 12, you will not become a size 0, and any product that tells you (that) you have to do that to be happy will not get your attention anymore," she said.
A recent survey of 1,000 U.S. women by a magazine supports that conclusion.
Editors at the magazine were astonished, she said, when 91%t of the respondents said they were satisfied with what they see in the mirror.
For that reason, it makes sense for advertisers to pitch products to women who hope to improve their looks in a realistic manner, rather than those indulging in a faraway fantasy.
"Women are wanting to be themselves -- but better," she said.
Nike's campaign comes on the heels of ads for cellulite cream by Unilever N.V.'s Dove showing un-retouched, "real" women of varying sizes in bras, panties and a broad smile. "As tested on real curves," reads the text underneath the photograph.
In the food industry, Chicken of the Sea just launched a TV campaign featuring a beautiful woman, who runs into an elevator and allows herself to exhale, exposing her large tummy.
The people in Nike's new campaign are toned women, whose curves are the results of swimming, dancing, playing soccer and running.
The anti-Barbie-doll movement has a long history in advertising, said Liz Schroeder, executive director of Advertising Women of New York, an industry association.
In the 1990s, the Body Shop built a campaign around a voluptuous doll named Ruby, the company's "self-esteem mascot." On one set of images, the tagline below her ample figure read: "There are 3 billion women who don't look like supermodels and only 8 who do."
What is new, Schroeder said, is the fact that big companies like Nike are using the same marketing strategy.
"The average woman is not 5-foot-2, blond with blue eyes and straight white teeth, and somebody somewhere along the line has realized that women want to see products that they can relate to," she said.
"And when a company like Nike does it, it really gets attention." 

Could You Slow Down 
       A Little Bit?


Disposable Underwear
DNA Products, a New York-based disposable apparel and linens company, today announced the introduction of LaThong Disposable Panties to its line of "wear and discard" underwear. 
"Disposable underwear has been popular in Europe and Asia for well over 10 years," says Danita Harris, president of DNA Products. "We're trying to bring that same popularity here to the U.S."
According to Harris, disposable underwear is the practical solution to conventional underwear. "With our disposable underwear brands, we're primarily targeting the business and leisure traveler looking to save space in their luggage and time doing laundry."
"Travelers simply wear and discard their underwear after each use. Now for the return trip home, there's extra luggage space for souvenirs and other goodies."
But Harris notes that travelers are not the only ones who benefit. "Campers, hikers, spa visitors, patients, laundry-phobic college students, military servicemen and women out in the field, those who like to put on a fresh pair of underwear before or after working out-Everybody can use disposable underwear!"
When asked how people are responding to the idea of disposable underwear, Harris says "We've gotten a great response. Once people understand the benefits, they're eager to try. And our customers keep coming back because they're getting a high-quality innovative product, cut to fit and feel like conventional underwear, at an affordable price. We're proud to use polypropylene, a modern synthetic performance fabric, commonly used to produce activewear and sportswear because of its ability to wick away perspiration and moisture, keeping you dry and comfortable. Polypropylene is strong, lightweight, and dries quickly."

                      "Ask Andy"
Andy Weinstock has been in the fabric and textile business all his life, but professionally since 1969. 
"I love what I do, selling fabrics around the globe. I've met lots of interesting, creative, dynamic folks; some have become dear friends. I love to help new businesses find the things they need to become successful. It works for everyone." 
You can ask Andy questions about Fabrics at
               Andy@mcpetesez.com 

The "Ask Andy" Column is an opinion Column and may not necessarily  reflect the views of  McPete Sez
          

      
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