Redirect -- PEUR postings

To all Yellow Baggers fans...you are now being directed to our new blogging platform on PEURIST.COM -- PEUR postings (http://peurist.com/peurpost). The Yellow Baggers posts will soon be archived and available for viewing at a later date.

Philly Daffy's Space....Nordy's?

For those not in the know, we'll be archiving the Yellow Baggers blog and redirecting over to our new blog space, PEUR postings, over at http://peurist.com/peurpost.

In the meantime, some news finally came out about the Daffy's location in Philly, and to new stores that may occupy the space.  Phillymag.com reports that it will be occupied by multiple retailers, including 'some variety of Nordstrom.' --

LINK ---
"Meanwhile, we continue to await the news of which store–or stores–will be moving into the Daffy’s space. We did post a countdown clock based on what a broker told us, but that just made readers hostile because we blew past the deadline by eons. What we believe now, based on multiple tips, is that there will be more than one retailer in the space, and one of those will be some variety of Nordstrom."

PEURIST Memorial Day Sale on NOW

Been a while since the last post, but this blog will eventually redirect to a new blog located on PEURIST.com.  For now -- enjoy the Memorial Day Sale, going on through Monday -- ALL Suits, Blazers, Jackets and Shirts on Sale. Suits are all $199; Blazers & Jackets for $119; Emmett London shirts for $54.99, and one beautiful shirt, Made in Italy, for $29.99 (see below) -- note the tag indicating the size...might bring back some memories.

Interesting Read -- Herald Center Redevelopment

Interesting article just put up on the redevelopment of Herald Center now that Daffy's has moved out.

http://commercialobserver.com/2013/04/heralded-joseph-jerome-on-daffys-and-the-herald-centers-retail-renaissance/

FINALLY -- BOTTOMS UP!!!

They sure took their sweet time, but some pants are finally up on PEURIST right now. So far, five colors of some really awesome chinos made of extremely soft cotton in a perfect slim fit, all made in Italy. More pants are expected up later this week, along with the entire shorts selection hopefully through the weekend. Progress is slow and steady, but hopefully it will all be worth it once the merchandise moves the way I hope it will. Keep watching here and following us on Facebook and Twitter for more updates.

Daffy's Creditors Paid in Full

Well probably one of the last Daffy's related items you'll see here, but news broke yesterday that Daffy's creditors have been paid in full, and the company has won approval for its Chapter 11 plan.  A news article at NJ.com indicates that the full payment to creditors leaves approximately $18M left over for the company's shareholders. Full article here.

Daffy's --> Top Shop/Eataly?

Just some various articles that have been popping up in my inbox -- apparently TopShop is in negotiations to rent the former Daffy's Herald Square space, which would probably be a good fit. Additionally, the former Times Square spot (one of the nails in the Daffy's coffin) is being marketed for lease at $2.2 Milllion -- the article states Daffy's lease was only $800,000/year. The company that owns the property wants to try and attract something along the lines of Mario Batali's 'Eataly.'

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/13/realestate/commercial/hectic-times-square-is-keeping-the-developers-busy.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

http://ny.racked.com/archives/2013/03/11/could_topshop_move_into_the_old_daffys_space_on_34th_street.php

As for Philly, prior articles have stated that the two bidders on the space are one that ones to use the entire building, and another that only wants the first four floors plus the basement, with the fourth floor as office space.  Additionally, one of the bidders is supposedly a European company, while both are clothing retailers. Just a hunch here, but my guess is that the two bidders are C21 and Topshop. C21 did a similar deal in Paramus, where they took the lease of the former Stern's/Macy's and did not use the entire space, and converted some of it to office space. As for Topshop, it's a bit of a wild guess, but a Philly store would make sense after New York. Honestly, I'd love C21 down here, but could do without Topshop - we have plenty of retailers trying to sell us cheap junk that we don't need another retailer trying to sell it. Then again, I rarely buy much at C21 due to the prices other than ties. But such is why PEURIST was created, to fill that Daffy's gap, and it will hopefully be here for a long while to come. (good segue, no?)

More Discounter News

Century 21 just announced that they're moving into Jersey Gardens soon. IMHO, one of the worst decisions ever made, considering the clientele that goes to that particular mall, and the merchandise C21 carries. Their price points are simply too high for that kind of situation.

From the map on the Jersey Gardens website, they'll be moving into the old Daffy's location.  I can't imagine how that will be anywhere near big enough to house a Century 21 -- perhaps they'll have a much more limited selection targeted at the local crowd.

Would love to hear any details or comments.

Philly Daffy's Update

News coming out of Philly this week is that the Daffy's Philadelphia location is in the final two weeks of bidding between two apparel retailers. No names were given, but I would very much venture a guess that one of the two is likely to be Century 21. I honestly can't think of a store that would fit better into that space, outside of maybe a Target (Marshall's already moved in at 10th & Market, and Burlington is located there as well).

Link for more info: http://www.phillymag.com/realestate/for-sale/daffys-center-city-is-down-to-2-bidders/

PEURIST Update

Been a while since my last YB blog update. Wanted to give everyone a quick update on PEURIST, and other items of interest. PEURIST is going well, but slow. Still a good number of items to get up on the site, a few suits from Papa & Sons, pants and shorts from Royal Hem, and an assortment of items from Alessandro Dell'acqua. The goal is to get the remaining RH and Papa & Sons items up by the end of the week, and be able to say 'Bottoms Up!' very soon (Get it? I know, it's corny). Along with that goal, we are going to start an advertising campaign for the site, probably a small directed campaign on SF, and a more general one through Facebook/Google.

The broader goal w/the ad campaign and final merchandise push is to get a large chunk of inventory moved by the end of this month/beginning of April that would allow for a potential trip back to Italy at the end of April. I am very interested in some new opportunities that have arisen there, though am debating about whether to pick up more S/S items or start buying for Fall/Winter at that point. I have the chance to get a good selection of items of Daniele Alessandrini and Paolo Pecora items, but they are all for Fall and it's hard to sit on merch. for a long time, especially when we are going to transition into what will hopefully be a fast turnover business (and you would not believe the beautiful items that Copen Group has from last Fall - I saw it in October, and was drooling at the quality, including a new brand they started called Borgo Veneto).


And if everything goes according to plan, the site photography will mostly transition to a professional photographer. The hope is that once more people know about the site, there will be a need to get the merch. up quicker, and in better shots that I can do myself. Still a ways out but it is on the list.

Finally -- the reason PEURIST has been on such a slow move since its grand opening -- the full time job. For those that don't know, PEURIST is not my day job. It's what gets done with the little spare time that I have after working 9-XX everyday in the office (often including weekends). I'm an attorney by day at a large firm, and for better or worse, I am often left with either no time at the end of the day, or just enough to come home, eat, watch an hour of tv and go to bed. It's especially bad right now given that several people are out of my department w/new babies - great for them, but I'm stuck picking up the slack. If anyone out there is in need of a trademark attorney w/a few years of experience, I am looking for a change of venue, as it were ;)

So that's it for now. Please do check out PEURIST if you haven't already done so, and feel free to share a link to the site on your own social media platforms. We could use the free publicity. 

More on PEURIST + Another Discounter Bites the Dust

We've started adding more to our line of Royal Hem (made in Italy) items to the website -- some great blazers, and a beautiful linen/cotton blend suit for Spring -- more will be added this week, and pants/shorts will be added next week - check it all out at PEURIST.COM

And a quick bit of local news for those in the NJ/NYC area, local discounter Big M Stores, owner of Mandee's and Annie Sez, has filed for bankruptcy today, citing the devastating effects of Hurricane Sandy as ruining its turnaround plans. Full story here.

5pm EST -- PEURIST.COM

Happy New Year! It's 5:40am, and I'm trying to get this site to a point where people can actually buy something on it by 5pm today. Hasn't exactly been the easiest thing to put together a full time job (one that generally extends well beyond the 9-5 hours), but I love the merchandise and really want to make this brand into something special. Hope everyone out there will at least come take a look at the items we have up for sale -- more will be added later in the week, on a daily or semi-daily basis as time allows.

1/1/13

PEURIST Coming Soon

Well for those who haven't been following the new Twitter feed over at twitter.com/peurist or the Facebook page over at facebook.com/peurist, PEURIST.com is getting ready to launch pretty soon. The Facebook page already has some sneak peeks of our first run of merchandise from a great UK brand, Emmett London, and the merchandise from the recent trip to Italy will be here quite soon, and will likely be up for sale on the site in time for the holidays.

So lots of great things happening, and I hope you'll keep following the progress and, more importantly, check out our merchandise :)  Yellow Baggers will eventually forward over to PEURIST.com, which will have its own blog section discussing some great euro brands, while the Facebook page will feature exclusive sneak previews of merchandise and allow for interactivity with customers - comments, complaints, critiques, etc... will all be welcome. And if you're in the Philadelphia area, or are w/in driving distance, drop a line if you'd like to shop in person (by appointment only) once the merchandise comes in -- you can reach me via PM on Facebook or Twitter, or if you're an SF member, you already know the drill.

And if you can help publicize the site in any way shape or form, that will probably be the one thing we need most. I'm going to be putting in plenty of blood, sweat and tears to make this happen, but the old saying of  'if a tree falls in a forest, but no one is around to hear it...' could not be more true. This little experiment will be useless if no one knows about it. In the coming weeks once things get a bit more solid in terms of the website and the merchandise, I will be out there promoting it, but I could certainly use any additional help.

And on what will probably be the last ever Daffy's related note, interestingly enough, the Daffy's Facebook account magically reappeared today w/a video about the Giants. Probably just an accident, but one can always dream.

Facebook -- More Pics and Previews

Folks -- Check out the PEURIST Facebook page over at http://www.facebook.com/peurist. I will be discussing more details about the recent trip to Italy, with more pictures and previews of merchandise. I will also be profiling designers from across Europe that may one day make to the site.

We will soon be integrating this blog into the PEURIST.com website, so stay tuned for info about that as well.

Italy Recap

Seeing as I'm stuck inside my apartment for the next two days, figured I'd give a quick recap of the remainder of my trip. Without giving too much away --- after the stop at JCM in the north of the country, I headed along the east coast of the country (on the Adriatic Sea) and visited two men's suit manufacturers. One of which, most Daffy's customers are already quite familiar with, the other is a new stop I found on my own. Suffice it to say, both stops proved quite successful, and I placed a large order at the first for Spring/Summer 2013 items, and picked up a small quantity of suits and sportcoats at the second for both Fall and Spring items.

All in all, it was a great trip and I am very excited for things coming in the next few months. I have a good batch of high quality shirts from a UK label that are ready to go, once the website is up and running, which will be put together in the next few weeks. And the items from Italy should be in the States towards the end of next month.

So, in the meantime...
-- Follow us on Twitter -- http://www.twitter.com/peurist
-- Like us on Facebook -- http://www.facebook.com/peurist
-- And keep checking the site for updates -- http://www.peurist.com

Stop 1: JCM, Bologna

The first stop today was in Bologna, home of Jey Cole Man. JCM is in Centergross, Bologna, what is apparently some sort of protected industrial zone - only reason I mention is b/c there are tons of other brands there as well - Maestrami, Piero Giudi, Arsenal Uomo, Master Coat...a long list, but, given my schedule I only had time to make a formal visit to JCM, though I did peek in at Maestrami - really beautiful suits, though you wouldn't know it based on the stuff on Yoox.

Anyway, pics are up on Facebook -- http://on.fb.me/RqEb76. Will have more tomorrow as we make our next stop in Civitanova-Marche to meet with 'Royalty,' as it were. 

Next Stop...Milan

We're headed out tomorrow for our first buying trip and could not be more excited. Direct flight to Milan, and then the first meeting will be in Bologna on Monday. We'll be starting up a new blog, likely on tumblr w/pics taken along the way. So be sure to follow twitter.com/PEURIST and the Facebook page, where we'll be posting updates including a link to the new tumblr page.

Italy, Here I Come

Well, it's official. I have booked my buying trip to Italy for the week of October 21st. Starting up north and working my way down south. Still working out which vendors I will be able to meet with, but am very excited for the few that have already agreed to meet with me.

Exciting things are coming folks....stay tuned :)

Special Awards for Donations to PEURIST

Well, as things have started off slow, I have decided to enhance the fundraising with some special incentives. If you are a small guy, you will particularly love this stuff -- i.e., size 36-38US.  For a donation of $250, you can get a Jey Cole Man (made in Italy) wool coat, or a Patrizia Pepe (made in Italy) leather jacket. For a donation of $200, you can get a Gazzarrini (made in Italy) suede jacket. Great stuff, pics below.

DONATE NOW AT INDIEGOGO.COM/PEURIST