Alexandra Wilkis Wilson took her 5th Avenue fashion sense to the world wide web, and the result – members-only designer discount site Gilt Groupe – is changing the way luxury retail is done. She sat down with TILE to talk about the online sample sale phenomenon, and to share some advice about buying designer.
Archive for the ‘Ask the Experts (Video)’ Category
Gilt Free Luxury: Gilt Groupe’s Co-Founder Talks with TILE
Monday, March 7th, 2011Peter Thomas: The Secret To Basically Everything is Passion
Friday, February 25th, 2011We found Peter Thomas hanging around at the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards while we were at the New York Stock Exchange this October.
Peter is a really wise and motivational guy. Here he talks about how following your gut (or your passion) is key to living a happy, successful, and prosperous life.
(You can watch the whole GSEA recap video here. To see all of SPEND.GROW.GIVE’s GSEA interviews, click here.)
Pretty Young Professional(s)
Friday, February 18th, 2011Our new friends Amanda Pouchot and Kathryn Minshew talk about why they started prettyyoungprofessional.com – a website dedicated to helping young women (and anyone, really) survive the challenges of the post-college world.
This Fall, Look Forward To High, High Prices!
Friday, February 18th, 2011
(photo credit: Thing Three)
“Most” consumer goods are about to get a lot pricier - food, clothing, appliances, you name it. Why? Commodities, demand, and labor! Here’s what that actually means for you…
- The cost of raw materials, like cotton, wheat, and metal, has increased wildly in recent years. These raw materials are traded on exchanges kind of like stocks, but they’re called commodities. Just like stocks, the prices of commodities changes frequently.
- When commodity prices shoot up, it’s more expensive for companies to make their products, and that cost gets passed on to you, the consumer.
- Besides the price of materials, there’s the cost of people. Workers overseas now demand higher wages than they used to, and with more money to spend, there’s an increased demand for certain goods (like cars and meat). That all adds up to more expensive products.
- Retailers have been holding off on raising prices to keep customers during the recession, but they say they can’t hold out anymore.
- Will rising prices lead to inflation? Stay tuned.
Facts & Figures
- Unemployment in the U.S. is still at 9%, and wages have risen less than 2% in the past year
- Some brands planning to raise prices include: Nine West, Anne Klein, Victoria’s Secret, Polo Ralph Lauren, Whirlpool, Kraft, Starbucks, Sara Lee, Brooks Brothers, and Hanes
- Inflation has been low – about 1.4%, but economists expect the rate to rise to 2.5% 2011
Best Quotes
“Consumers are not exactly in the frame of mind or economic circumstances to say ‘Oh, pay whatever they ask.’ There’s going to be pushback.” – Joshua Shapiro, Chief U.S. Economist at MFR Inc.
“These companies are constantly walking a tightrope on how far do I go. Do I offset with price or other cost cuts, or do I just take it and have it eat into my profit margins?” – Jack Russo, Consumer Goods Analyst at Edward Jones
What do you think?
Do you know what goes into the price of the products you buy? Did you ever imagine that the price of popcorn at the movie theater could be connected to weather in the Midwest and a commodites trading floor in Chicago?
DailyCandy Editor Lauren Lumsden On Discovering New And Cool
Monday, October 4th, 2010It’s not every day you get to interview an editor from your favorite daily mailing list, but we somehow convinced Lauren to chat in front of our camera last week. Check out her interview to learn about the dude-ranch-to-web-editor career track and, of course, Bacon Salt.
>>TILE brings you exclusive interviews from people doing great things in SPEND, GROW, and GIVE. To view more, click on TILEcasts in the TILE Library.
Have a burning question or someone you’d like to see interviewed? Let us know – just Ask TILE!
Joel Hollander Created Sports Radio. What Will You Do?
Monday, April 12th, 2010Lifelong radio industry bigwig Joel Hollander agreed to sit down in front of TILE’s camera and talk with us about the future of radio – plus the hows and whys of working your way to the top.
>>TILE brings you exclusive interviews from people doing great things in SPEND, GROW, and GIVE. To view more, click on TILEcasts in the TILE Library.
Have a burning question or someone you’d like to see interviewed? Let us know – just Ask TILE!
Ron Mitchell On Figuring Out Your Career
Thursday, April 8th, 2010Ron Mitchell is CEO and Co-Founder of CareerCore, a company that supports career development for individuals and organizations by hooking them up with helpful technology and advising services. After earning his MBA at Harvard and spending years in the financial industry, he began to focus on the need to prepare people (especially young people) for making the right career choices. Part of this is his website GottaMentor, where mentors and coaches provide real-world advice on a variety of career issues. Here’s some advice from Ron about preparing for your own career:
>>TILE brings you exclusive interviews from people doing great things in SPEND, GROW, and GIVE. To view more, click on TILEcasts in the TILE Library.
Have a burning question or someone you’d like to see interviewed? Let us know – just Ask TILE!
Caio Fonseca On Painting, Collecting, And Going Your Own Way
Monday, March 29th, 2010Caio Fonseca is a painter and a New Yorker. For years he’s been traveling the world, learning and perfecting his art – you can see the results in the Metropolitan Museum, The Brooklyn Museum, MoMA, The Whitney, and the Smithsonian (to name a few). Caio was kind enough to make a TILEcast with us one afternoon. We think you’ll like it:
>>TILE brings you exclusive interviews from people doing great things in SPEND, GROW, and GIVE. To view more, click on TILEcasts in the TILE Library.
Have a burning question or someone you’d like to see interviewed? Let us know – just Ask TILE!