Recently, I was on an Open Society Foundations Campaign for Black Male Achievement panel with superstars Nick Cannon, Russell Simmons, and Lupe Fiasco. At the town hall meeting, I was definitely a little nervous. After all, I was the only kid on stage with the entertainment superstars, but I thought it was important for the hundreds of young black males in the audience to see me up there, because I am one of them.
I am proud to be a black male. I understand there will be obstacles in my life because of this, but I will not allow my skin color or negative images of black males to stop me from reaching my goals and neither should other young, black males.
It didn’t stop President Barack Obama, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., BET-TV Founder Bob Johnson, Tyler Perry, Spike Lee, Russell, Nick, Lupe, Jay-Z, Denzel Washington, Will Smith, or Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Dr. Ben Carson from being successful.
It didn’t stop my dad, New York State Senator Eric Adams, or my grandfather, Retired Lt. of Detectives for the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Wilbert Coleman. And it definitely did not stop my great-grandfather, John Major Miller, who was born in 1916 and dropped out of school in the second grade to help support his family. He hopped a train from Florida to New York City to become the owner of a New York City Taxi medallion.
If our community wants to improve the image of the black male, the changes have to start at home, in the classroom and in the community. Our parents have to love us enough to discipline us and not be afraid to say NO! I’m living proof that discipline still works; my mom is old school. And teachers have to believe black males are teachable. As black males, we have to inspire each other and believe that we matter. Our communities have to show us better examples and encourage us to dream.
As a filmmaker, I want to explore topics that have a huge impact on my generation, especially black males. When I was in middle school, I made my first film, Say It Loud, a documentary that explores the importance of education for black boys. It includes interviews with celebrities Kobe Bryant, Ludacris, Michael Strahan, Vince Carter, Swizz Beatz, and Master P.
I made the film because my friends were not serious about school; they were more interested in sports and rap music. Through research, I learned that less than 50 percent of black boys graduate from high school and that bothered me. I wanted to do something to help encourage black boys to do well in school. The film has taken on a life of its own and inspires all kids.
My second film, Payin' the Price, which will debut in the spring, is a cautionary tale about teen dating violence. I decided to make this film after the Chris Brown and Rhianna incident and after learning that many girls at my school had been in abusive relationships or knew someone who had been.
Through my films, I want to educate, entertain, empower, and inspire my generation, especially black males, to make a difference in the world. I’m just an average kid with big dreams. I believe I can do anything, because I have God on my side, a mom who has set the bar high, and a father, grandfather, and great-grandfather who lead by example, and I have a little brother who looks up to me.
CHAPS EXPANDS PRODUCT RANGE, DISTRIBUTION; RALPH LAUREN NAME WILL BE DROPPED FROM LABEL BEGINNING WITH FALL '04 SEASON.
Daily News Record January 5, 2004 | LIPKE, DAVID NEW YORK -- Chaps is ready to ride solo.
In a move to transform Chaps into a stand-alone lifestyle brand with an expanded range of distribution, Polo Ralph Lauren Corp., sportswear licensee Warnaco and tailored clothing licensee Peerless International will drop the Ralph Lauren moniker from all Chaps apparel, advertising and marketing paraphernalia, beginning with the fall '04 season.
"Ralph Lauren is a premium luxury brand, and one of our strategies has been to reduce the amount of Ralph Lauren product in what we consider the wrong channels of distribution," said Polo Ralph Lauren president and COO Roger Farah. "We've been doing market research over the past two years and were able to ascertain that the Chaps brand has extremely high name recognition -- among the top 10 in the men's market -- and we fully believe that Chaps can be a lifestyle brand unto itself. We went with this strategy to our licensees, Warnaco and Peerless, as our expertise is not in developing mid-priced product. We will continue to move the Ralph Lauren brand upmarket, and the change in the Chaps brand will help decrease the risk of confusion among consumers." The Ralph Lauren name will be removed from all Chaps merchandise in the marketplace, including the licensed fragrance, said Farah. Additionally, the company has plans to expand the brand into women's, kids' and home product with new licenses, beginning with the spring '05 season. "These are big lifestyle categories and there are a lot of people interested in the licenses, but we have nothing to announce now [regarding specific licensees]," he added. go to web site ralph lauren coupon
With the removal of the Ralph Lauren name from the Chaps brand, the door has been opened to expand distribution of the label into a broader range of retail accounts, such as J.C. Penney and Kohl's -- an opportunity that was written into the new Warnaco license, which was announced last September. Additionally, the move will allow the brand to be advertised and marketed promotionally, placing it on an even footing with competitors like Izod, which are often advertised on sale by department stores. Previously, Polo Ralph Lauren did not allow the brand to be advertised at discounted prices, according to Warnaco executives.
"Over the last 25 years the Chaps brand name has developed its own recognition and equity. We are very excited about the new opportunities for the Chaps brand, not just from a marketing standpoint but also because we will be offering product extensions, including a full denim collection for fall 2004," said Kevin Mahoney, president of the Chaps division of Warnaco.
Joe Gromek, CEO of Warnaco, added, "Chaps is the single largest revenue growth opportunity for Warnaco in the upcoming years." Despite the greater marketing and distribution flexibility afforded Chaps under the new agreement, some retailers noted there were some inherent risks in removing the powerful Ralph Lauren name from the brand. "When you lose an icon attached to a sub-brand, it's going to have some impact," said Dennis Abramczyk, executive vice-president at Houston-based Stage Stores. "That name helped with the credibility of the brand and it was an important aspect of getting consumers interested in it. However, I think the effects will be mitigated by allowing retailers to promote the brand more aggressively, which should drive incremental sales. Retailers will have the option of running a high-low strategy, and I think they will capitalize on it." Added Bob Sears, senior vice-president and GMM of men's and children's at Proffitt's/McRae's: "Although we would prefer that Chaps retain the Ralph Lauren label, we believe the Chaps name has a great deal of brand equity and can stand alone." David Lamer, principal at New York-based consultancy Joshuatown Advisors, noted that the new brand strategy only makes sense if new retail channels are tapped. "Unless they move into a wider arena of distribution, such as J.C. Penney, I think this move is risky," said Lamer. "Without the Ralph Lauren name, the Chaps brand is suddenly very ordinary. However, I think Chaps would be terrific in J.C. Penney, and the trade-off could be well worth it if they move into a larger channel like that." Chaps execs firmly believe the brand will thrive in its new incarnation. "We have an extremely loyal customer base, with 92 percent repeat purchasing by our customers," said Mahoney. "And after 25 years of being affiliated with Ralph Lauren we will definitely continue to have a synergy with that name. But starting this fall, all our marketing efforts, including national advertising, POS, and print ads with our retail partners, will be aimed at building the Chaps name as a stand-alone brand." Added Peerless International president Ron Wurtzburger: "This is part of Polo's strategic planning for the future. I don't think the removal of the Ralph Lauren name will affect our sales one bit, as I think the Chaps brand has a great amount of recognition in the marketplace. It's business as usual for us." Warnaco's Chaps sales hit a peak in 1998 of $351 million, but sales have slid since then to $137 million in 2002. In the first half of 2003, sales were $58.7 million, up 3.2 percent from the year-ago period. The steep decline in Chaps sales over the past five years was the result of an effort to "monitor and clean up distribution that we thought was inappropriate," said Farah.
In addition to Chaps' new brand identity, Warnaco's renegotiated license added jeanswear, activewear and swimwear to the agreement, as reported. The new categories are intended to bolster top-line growth, and a new denim collection will debut next fall under the Chaps Denim label. The 230-SKU denim collection will encompass jeans, woven and knit tops, logo T-shirts, outerwear, fleece active pieces, and accessories. Bottoms will carry an MSRP of $36 to $49.50, while the MSRP for tops falls between $29.50 and $49.50. ralphlaurencouponnow.net ralph lauren coupon
Jeans will be available in core, basic and fashion designs, with a wide range of fits (including five-pocket, carpenter, loose, slim, straight and baggy) and washes (including medium stonewash, dark stonewash, heirloom rinse, industrial and black). "We expect the denim release will represent as much as 20 to 25 percent of total Chaps-brand sales in 2004," said Mahoney.
A Chaps Denim advertising campaign will break in fall '04 issues of Maxim, Men's Health, GQ, Sports Illustrated and one women's title. Additionally, to introduce the denim product to retailers the company will throw a market-week party in New York with Sports Illustrated on Jan. 13, and a party at MAGIC with Maxim. The company spends between 6 and 8 percent of total sales on its advertising and marketing budget.
Chaps is currently sold in approximately 1,850 department store doors and 450 specialty store doors. The brand is strongest in the Sunbelt and Midwestern states, with Belk, Saks Incorporated, May Co. and Stage Stores among the brand's biggest accounts.
The Open Society Foundations work to improve the lives of the world's most vulnerable people and to promote human rights, justice, and accountability. This blog aims to bring that work a little closer by giving our experts and grantees a platform to reflect on their issues, sharpen their thinking, and engage in a conversation on how to advance open society values around the globe.
Stay Informed
