On a Wednesday evening in April, I find myself in a well-appointed home in Brookline, a wealthy Boston suburb, sipping wine and eating macarons with a dozen oncologists from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Sitting around a coffee table displaying Asian art and colorful books about design, the women—colleagues from the same medical research group, aged between 40 and 60—aren’t talking about their work. “Oh, you never wear bright colors, but that red looks so good on you,” says one to the other. “I keep buying these pants every season, because they fit so well,” another says. “They are perfect for hiding problem areas on your tummy.” I’ve joined these women for a trunk show run by Cabi, a social shopping brand that operates in the U.S., the U.K., and Canada. It was founded in 2001 by Kimberly Inskeep, a finance executive looking for a flexible career after her kids were born, and Carol Anderson, a fashion designer in need of a new way to market her products. Together with ten of their friends, they launched Carol Anderson by Invitation (hence, Cabi), a line of clothing that they would sell in their homes in a party-like setting. In the brand’s parlance, they were creating “alternative stores.” Over the last 15 years, the company has steadily grown, and its team of 3,500 salespeople around the world generate more than $250 million in revenue a year. The concept of selling directly to your friends has been around since the 1950s Tupperware party. But direct selling... Continue reading at 'Fast Company'
[ Fast Company | 2017-05-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
Barnes & Noble's Nook unit didn't have its greatest quarter. The $160 million in revenue the new Microsoft-backed spin off raked in was slightly better than last year's $152 million, but still a significant drop from $220 million. In a sign of the growing ubiquity of e-readers however,... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-11-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 27/07/2011 - 07:47 Amazon.com is experiencing its "fastest growth" in more than a decade with accelerating Kindle sales, according to its founder Jeff Bezos, but at a cost to the bottom line. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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