发掘“抗经济衰退型”客户

    眼下经济低迷，这个时候进军服装业可不是什么明智之举。而对两位没有任何经验的前金融服务专家而言，更是如此。然而，查理•罗斯和欧文•斯科内普这两位老友却成功地在芝加哥开办了Salmon Cove服装公司，主要经营男、女式马球衫及其他休闲服饰。公司的客户主要来自乡村俱乐部。

    成立于2010年的Salmon Cove计划在未来一年内实现销售额突破100万美元的目标。究其原因，一方面，Salmon Cove与资深设计师合作，其服装的盈利空间较大；另一方面，该公司抛弃了传统的百货商店式销售模式，采用了更加多元化的方式，其销售渠道包括网络、近40个美国顶级乡村俱乐部专卖店以及生活水平相对较高的乡镇高档服装精品店等。斯科内普称，“这部分人经济宽裕，生活方式积极活跃。”当很多消费者因经济不景气而缩减服装开支时，乡村俱乐部里的人们却不会这样做，仍然照常消费。

Go after recession-resistant clients

    Launching a clothing line in the middle of the downturn might not seem like a smart move for two former financial services industry professionals without any fashion experience. But longtime friends Charlie Roth and Owen Schnaper have done it successfully at Chicago-based Salmon Cove, a retailer and wholesaler of men's and women's polos and other casual clothes aimed at the country club set.

    Founded in 2010, the company already projects more than $1 million in sales for the next 12 months. They've done it by bypassing department stores and selling their profitable line -- for which they've worked with experienced designers -- on their website and through the pro shops of about 40 of the nation's leading country clubs, as well as upscale local clothing boutiques in well-off towns. "The demographics are affluent with an active lifestyle," says Schnaper. And, while many consumers have cut back on clothes shopping since the downturn, the country club set is still spending.