Maintaining Relevance

Not too long ago a TODAY SHOW reporter asked me, “Sally, is the pantyhose industry dead?” Without hesitation I replied, “Absolutely not. We still have legs which are better than ever.”

Though the interview focused on legwear choices women have besides traditional pantyhose, we scored an important victory.

Because the plain fact is that our industry has transformed itself since the 1980’s. Like the telecommunications, media and automobile industries, we have responded to changing consumer needs. And we are stronger for it.

While many of today’s decisions are made by necessity rather than choice, the ultimate goal is to maintain relevance. The fact that you are reading this in real time on your computer screen is testament to the power of progress and necessity to remain relevant. Can you imagine thriving without computers running your operations?

And just as your company is continuously reinventing and redirecting resources, so is your trade organization. The recent membership survey results clearly identified The Hosiery Association’s priorities moving forward:

1. Influencing government through lobbying and trade—impacting trade legislation and disseminating globalization information;

2. Influencing retailers to buy from American-based companies;

3. Influencing and educating consumers through proactive public relations to increase consumption of sheer hosiery;

4. Improving operations—social compliance, environmental issues, supply chain management, technology, leadership, increasing labor pool and recruitment; and

5. Improving profitability—controlling the rising costs of healthcare and insurance, social security.

The Board of Directors and staff are anxious to share with you new services developed as a direct result of your feedback. We, too, understand the importance of maintaining relevance.