The Anatomy of an International Fashion Retailer – The Giorgio Armani Group

Of all the international retailers, luxury fashion retailers are typically the most prolific as measured by the number and diversity of foreign markets in which they operate. Furthermore, for most, the contribution of foreign sales to total sales is equal to, if not greater than, that achieved by the most active international retailers (Moore & Fernie 2004). Yet, while the significance of the luxury fashion retailers’ foreign activities is now acknowledged in the international retailing literature, there have been calls for more in-depth, company specific appraisals of the strategies adopted by such firms (Doherty 2000; Moore, Birtwistle & Burt 2004). Doherty (2000) has argued in particular that further case study research in the area of fashion retailer internationalisation would provide much needed insights into the apparatus that supports their international success

The internationalisation of foreign fashion retailers into the UK - identifying the motives, methods and operational challenges

Fashion companies consistently prove to be the most prolific and successful of the international retailers. Success is attributed to small format size, single brand emphasis and economies of format replication. These factors contain the costs, and risks, of foreign market expansion. Evidence from the British fashion market attests to the aggressive expansion policies of foreign fashion retailers who, in the past decade, have disrupted the competitive equilibrium of the UK market. This study examines the motives, methods and management challenges that foreign fashion retailers face, and adopt, as they establish operations within the UK. Drawing from the wider international business and international retailing literature, seven research propositions direct the first, positivist research stage. Via a mail survey, sent to all foreign fashion retailers with stores in the UK, the study identifies that these are proactive internationalists, drawn to the UK to exploit the opportunities afforded from niche markets and brands with significant consumer appeal. The research also notes specific differences between designer, specialist and general fashion retailers in terms of motivations, entry methods, operating strategies, critical success factors and the problems they encounter. The second phase of the research is interpretivist in nature and examines the actual process of internationalising fashion retail operations within the UK from the perspective of seven case companies. The study concludes that the foreign entrants remain within the British market for reasons of exceptional profitability, reputation and consumer and competitor intelligence. The central contribution of the study resides in the identification and analysis of the facets integral to the actual process of successfully internationalising fashion retail operations; notably the incremental development of effective central and local management structures, the clear demarcation of management decision-making responsibility, and the staged development of product ranging and development, brand positioning and distribution planning policies

Plasma homocysteine, folate and vitamin B(12) compared between rural Gambian and UK adults.

The disease risk indicator plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) is influenced by genetic and environmental factors, including folate and vitamin B(12) status. Little is known about the determinants of tHcy in rural West Africa. We explored the hypothesis that tHcy in rural Gambian adults might vary between the sexes and physiological groups, and/or with folate and vitamin B(12) status. Comparisons were made with a British national survey. Non-pregnant Gambian women (n 158) had tHcy concentrations (geometric mean 9.0 micromol/l) similar to those of non-pregnant UK women (n 449; 9.4 micromol/l), whereas pregnant Gambian women (n 12) had significantly lower values (6.2 micromol/l). Gambian men (n 22) had significantly higher values (14.7 micromol/l) than British men (n 354; 10.8 micromol/l). Gambian lactating women and British men and women exhibited significant inverse relationships between log(e)(tHcy) and folate status; however, only the British subjects exhibited significant inverse relationships between loge(tHcy) and vitamin B(12) status. In the British sample, and in Gambian lactating women, folate and vitamin B(12) status variations together accounted for 20-25 % of the variation in log(e)(tHcy). Within the UK, black-skinned adults had folate and tHcy levels similar to those of their white-skinned counterparts, but significantly higher vitamin B(12) values. We conclude that, whereas folate and vitamin B(12) status are similar between British and rural Gambian populations, tHcy is higher in Gambian men and lower in pregnant Gambian women, and that serum vitamin B(12) values appear to be higher in black-skinned than white-skinned British subjects. Possible reasons are discussed

On Mutualism, Models, and Masting: The Effects of Seed-Dispersing Animals on the plants they Disperse

© 2020 The Authors. Journal of Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society Species interactions are context dependent, in that their direction and magnitude can vary across ecological conditions. For seed dispersal interactions—especially interactions between plants and seed-caching animals—the direction of the interactions is often obscured because of seed mortality inherent in seed handling and the delayed effects of fitness benefits received by plants. It is, therefore, an open question in ecology to understand the ecological contexts under which seed dispersal interactions are facilitative, antagonistic or null. We review the fitness benefits of animal-mediated seed dispersal, extend a recently published model to include negative density-dependent effects, and review the feedback between seed production (with a focus on masting) and seed-caching animal populations. Negative density-dependent effects are pervasive and strongly affect the direction of plant-seed-disperser interactions, and including them into models will give a more accurate understanding of the direction of the interaction. Including negative density-dependent effects also makes the interpretation of interaction more mutualistic since seed dispersers decrease seed densities. Additionally, there is substantial interannual variability in seed production in most nut-producing plant species, and the lags between seed production and seed-disperser population sizes complicate and limit inferences made about the direction of interactions in any given short-term study. Synthesis. If we wish to know the direction of species interactions in real ecological communities, we need models that contain a minimum level of biological realism. For complex and long-term phenomena such as context-dependent species interactions we should embrace a multifaceted approach of short-term field research, long-term field research, simple models, and complex models to form a more robust understanding of the ecological problem of context dependency

Patrick’s Point State Park Habitat Restoration Plan

Ongoing efforts at Patrick’s Point State Park (PPSP) seek to restore the ecosystems contained therein. Over time, non-native invasive plant species have become established within the Park. This habitat restoration plan (or Plan) aims to aid in restoring native and sensitive habitat through the removal of non-native invasive species. The Plan will take many different approaches to targeting the invasive non-native plant species depending on the target species and specific site conditions

Independent evaluation of a simple clinical prediction rule to identify right ventricular dysfunction in patients with shortness of breath

BACKGROUND: Many patients have unexplained persistent dyspnea after negative computed tomographic pulmonary angiography (CTPA). We hypothesized that many of these patients have isolated right ventricular (RV) dysfunction from treatable causes. We previously derived a clinical decision rule (CDR) for predicting RV dysfunction consisting of persistent dyspnea and normal CTPA, finding that 53% of CDR-positive patients had isolated RV dysfunction. Our goal is to validate this previously derived CDR by measuring the prevalence of RV dysfunction and outcomes in dyspneic emergency department patients. METHODS: A secondary analysis of a prospective observational multicenter study that enrolled patients presenting with suspected PE was performed. We included patients with persistent dyspnea, a nonsignificant CTPA, and formal echo performed. Right ventricular dysfunction was defined as RV hypokinesis and/or dilation with or without moderate to severe tricuspid regurgitation. RESULTS: A total of 7940 patients were enrolled. Two thousand six hundred sixteen patients were analyzed after excluding patients without persistent dyspnea and those with a significant finding on CTPA. One hundred ninety eight patients had echocardiography performed as standard care. Of those, 19% (95% confidence interval [CI], 14%-25%) and 33% (95% CI, 25%-42%) exhibited RV dysfunction and isolated RV dysfunction, respectively. Patients with isolated RV dysfunction or overload were more likely than those without RV dysfunction to have a return visit to the emergency department within 45 days for the same complaint (39% vs 18%; 95% CI of the difference, 4%-38%). CONCLUSION: This simple clinical prediction rule predicted a 33% prevalence of isolated RV dysfunction or overload. Patients with isolated RV dysfunction had higher recidivism rates and a trend toward worse outcomes