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March 10, 2008
Introducing Our Outdoor Blog
First off, welcome to Blacks’s Outdoor Blog! This blog is aimed at addressing the opportunities, challenges and issues specific to Outdoor apparel retailers. It was inspired by my own passion for the outdoor lifestyle and the experiences I’ve had helping my clients grow and optimize their Outdoor businesses.
While I’ve worked in the retail planning business for over 10 years, helping retailers of all stripes to manage cash flow and profits, control costs and expand in new directions, the Outdoor business is my true passion. It allows me to focus on the retail business – which I love – and the environment. Furthermore, it allows me to help the hardworking merchants I care about. It wasn’t always this way. In the past I’ve done corporate planning for a multi-billion dollar corporation. Each week I went home knowing I coordinated to boost profits for a major retail chain, but I felt unfulfilled.
Today I get to contribute to the success of independent retailers – families and individuals who have put their entire lives into a business. I've become friends with my clients and I deeply feel their pains and triumphs. My drive comes from contributing to the success of these merchants and taking some of the stress out of their lives. I understand that retail can be fun, but very unforgiving. That’s why I concentrate on helping them make smart business decisions that lead to less stress and a better life.
I feel fortunate to work and live in this space and my goal is to share my knowledge and experience in this market with other members of the Outdoor retail community.
This is a growing market and we have a lot to talk about, so let’s get started.
-Jason LeBlanc, Senior Analyst & Merchandising Consultant at Blacks
Posted by Jason LeBlanc at March 10, 2008 06:32 PM
