Some retailing truths

April 26, 2005

Dear Sir :

In response to Saks of Devonshire "going out of business sale ?" of April14th., published Monday April 25th.

I can assure Saks of Devonshire that I was no more and no less than an employee of Trimingham's. Neither part of Senior Management, nor a member of The Family. Nor did I receive any prompting from any source other than the two hostile letters which led to my spontaneous outpouring of support for the troops at Trimingham's.

I apologise if I gave Saks the wrong impression. The company policy regarding selling at US Retail or below was not a policy aimed at tourists. It was a policy initiated to try to persuade Bermudians to shop at home, thus leaving the "profit" dollars here in the Bermuda Economy, thus contributing to employment and employment tax and general running costs, which, as the writer is evidently aware, are considerable in Bermuda, purely because of the nature of the size of the economy and of its importing-overheads, namely high duty rates and high freight rates.

Over the years, Trimingham's has presented luxury goods, commercially-viable designer apparel and Accessories, superior quality world-famous brand names, prestigious tabletop and home textiles, the most sought-after fragrances and cosmetics, jewellery, children's clothing, intimate apparel, and so forth. Merchandise was sourced from the world's most significant marketplaces and vendors . We always presented "something which is different".

The business had been "kept alive" not so much by a "compliant local bank" as Saks supposes, but by a rock solid volume of annual sales figures provided by the above product assortments and by the sales and merchandising team.

It was not the sales volume, nor was it any decline in local consumer confidence which led to the decision to close Trimingham's. The sales volume in the last full year of balanced inventory operation would have provided positive results had other factors undergone review and re-alignment during a period of re-organisation. This is only my opinion, which, although it is derived from a half-century of retail experience, is gained from the telescopic perspective of a very low ladder rung , hence I am not in possession of all the relevant facts.

Regarding Saks' ire over the matter of discounts. Last week I went into the store to take a former colleague to lunch. Bearing in mind that a full team of sales associates remains with the company throughout the closedown ? I could not get near the counters which were thronged with customers with their hands full of bargains ? so maybe not every Bermudian resident concurs with Saks' criticisms.

Could it be the bannering, so despised by Saks, which is attracting the attention of shoppers and drawing them into the store to load up on bargains !

Incidentally, some of the world's most dedicated and knowledgeable Persian Rug dealers are located on and around Fifth Avenue and Madison in the 30's. For hundreds of years, New York has been a veritable treasure house of Persian, Caucasian, and other oriental carpets, tapestries, and rugs. Saks might sneer at their business tactics, but the knowledgeable show respect for the quality of their inventories.

Finally ? and I promise no further retorts whatever Saks throws at me ! ? I should like to thank Saks for at least agreeing with me that Trim's Team should have our sympathy. But don't let that get in the way of shopping the store for the things which you will need and might not easily find after the store closes its doors for the last time, and for the new deeper discounts and the great bargains which will continue to be offered all the way through until the closing date!

In praise of Mr. Caines

May 2, 2005

Dear Sir,

I have always admired people who quietly and consistently make tremendous sacrifices for the betterment of Bermuda and those who do so without asking for public praise or recognition. One of these people is Crown Prosecutor, Wayne Caines who works in the Attorney Generals Chambers.

When I first met Mr. Caines I was suffering from the soul-devastating and unexpected loss of my beloved grandchild Cassidy (Salahuddin). I was not familiar with the justice system, but I was determined to see the person responsible for her death prosecuted and punished to the fullest extent of the law. Throughout this extremely difficult time, Mr. Caines became my family's guardian angel. He patiently and gently explained the legal process to us, hugged us when we became distraught and frustrated, explained the complicated aspects of the law to us and during the trial personally ensured that we knew what to expect. He went far and beyond the call of duty. This gentle giant of a man, who works so tirelessly in Bermuda's overcrowded justice system is an asset to this community and is a role model to young people, especially young Bermudian men.

Mr. Caines, who sat second-chair to then attorney general Mr. Ratneser during the murder trial of the man convicted of murdering my grandchild, regularly sacrificed spending time with his family in order to meet the demanding challenges of his job. He accomplished this with a quiet dignity and elegance that many of Bermuda's leaders should envy.

I cannot express how much my life and the life of other members of my family have been enriched through our association with Mr. Caines. I am so pleased that I had the opportunity to meet this man who continues to be a brilliant, caring, respectful and ethical part of Bermuda's legal system. May God continue to bless him.

Let's fix this problem

May 3, 2005

Dear Sir,

I am quite amused by all the rhetoric going around. I am the operator of the one-time Beach Concession at Church Bay, Southampton and currently Warwick Long Bay Beach Concession.

We offer all kinds of very grass roots necessities to the visitors there. We are limited because everything has to be removed on a daily basis and this "preserves" the environment at the beach. No worries there, I agree.

I am looking at the "progress" the individuals in charge are making and am amazed. It has taken toooo long to fix what is broken.

And if we think that governments anywhere else in the world are different, we are going to be jolted awake when we go independent. Today's inactivity of Government is nothing compared to what will be ...These things take time. But why so? We are a very small place. Should be fairly straightforward. When the government needs something it is done almost overnight. The Government praises the work of people in the community who invest in the tourist product but they do very little to actually maintain what we have here already.

The small project at Church Bay should have been fixed at the latest the year after the storm. It is that simple and everyone in the diminishing tourism effort knows this. Who cares though? I do not see much effort from this Government on most issues unless there is something to be gained from it.

What a shame... is all I have to say. Life is too short, my friends. As it stands at Church Bay the work is going out for tender about now. Maybe the beach will be accessible again in July at this rate but I said that last year too. Stand up and be counted, and let's do something, shall we?