Madison Green Apparel’s Post

Proud to be preserving the legacy and tradition of leather and shoemaking in the USA! Most of our Heritage products, like this Beckman boot, originated in the 1920's -1950's, and represents the best of our American values of quality and craftsmanship. Both Leather and shoemaking are craft manufacturing industries requiring a delicate balance of art and science. Unlike plastic or metal, we are working with leather, one of nature's most variable materials. To be successful, it requires a highly skilled workforce having their hands, head and heart actively engaged with the product. It's not the machine that makes our boots, it's the person behind the machine... and this human element is the most critical part of the process. 

INDUSTRY NETWORKING: People Who Changed My Life Who have you met that changed your life, your career, even your very being? I met my list at AAPN events. For example: What better way to highlight a life changer, in this case Jim Hopkins of Hamrick Mills, than to show you photos of him changing the lives of others.    The top two photos show Jim this last month during our sixth AAPN Carolinas Mill Bus Tour. Jim and his crew go above and beyond on explaining wovens and highlighting the technology of the process.    On all of these tours, we are educating some young people who literally do not know the difference between knits and wovens. They know wovens when Jim is done with them.   He knows wovens from his undergrad success learning textiles at the NC State Wilson College of Textiles, like so many others in our membership. From that start, he has invested over 40 years in wovens. Few have seen the history of our industry so up close and personal as Jim.    One other note – Jim is one of the few who has played a round of golf at the first resort golf course in the U.S. (1892) and my favorite round in the world, The Links at Poland Spring in Maine.    The Change? What we hear time and again from those on our tours is their discovery that there are a lot of Americans in this business who are truly subject matter experts. Jim is one of those who have allowed us all to “learn forward together.” Great athlete, good guy, tireless manager – Jim Hopkins. #ProAmericas #AmericasTextiles #WesternHemisphere #Fibers #Yarns #Fabrics #SewnProducts #Apparel #Fashion #Knitting #Weaving #Sustainability #ApparelIQ #SupplyChain #Reshoring #Nearshoring #WesternHemisphere #CAFTADR #USMCA

Of course!

“He is the Chinese Warren Buffett, he is very talented…” said Charlie Munger about Li Lu. #ValueInvesting In 1998, Li Lu heavily invested in Timberland, selling it two years later after a 7x return (!). How did his investment process unfold? Context: During the second half of 1998, amidst the Asian financial crisis, share prices of companies like Nike, Reebok, and Timberland dropped dramatically. Timberland's stock, which was trading at $80 just a few months ago, had fallen to $28-$30. Valuation: At that time (Q3 1998), Timberland had a market cap of US$320 million and was trading at 1.2x P/B, and at or below 5x P/E and P/FCF. Its Working Capital alone was worth US$300 million (and over US$400 million when considering the market value of the Inventory). Retail companies often increased inventory before Christmas. It also had real estate assets worth US$100 million (Net PPE of US$57 million and Gross PPE of US$130 million), while debt was around US$100 million. Essentially, the company was trading below its liquidation value, providing pretty decent downside protection. Quality of Business: The company was earning 30-40% ROCE with revenues growing 7-8% per year, and its Gross Margin had shown recent improvement. A pretty good business! So, why is it so cheap?! And here's the key. Li Lu investigated all the obstacles that would probably have kept 95% of investors away because of the effort it took: - He analyzed the company's exposure to Asia - He visited stores to understand the business - The company had no sell-side analyst coverage - It had 2 series of shares and the owners controlled 98% of the company with 40% of the shares - There were a whole bunch of different shareholder lawsuits (he read every single page) - Li Lu even investigated the owners   He discovered it was a very good business, run by people of the highest integrity and brilliant businessmen. Li Lu probably went ALL-IN (you'd have to be crazy not to do it with complete information). While only three people, including Lu, attended Timberland's investor meeting when cheap, the crowd bloomed to 50-60 when the stock rose sevenfold, highlighting the irrationality of the market. Opportunities like that don't come very often, so when it does, you have to SEIZE IT, and do everything COMPLETE, but you need to do it FAST. Always answer: - Is this a good business? - Do I have enough Margin of Safety? - Can I trust the management? - Why is this opportunity in front of me? If you can't answer these, keep researching! Here you can find a masterclass by Li Lu from 2006 in Professor Greenwald’s class at Columbia: https://lnkd.in/dSVxDgqM I also cannot recommend enough listening to episodes #362 and #363 of the Founders Podcast by David Senra. Great Podcast! PS: Does anyone have a copy of Li Lu’s book “Moving the Mountain”? #ValueInvesting

For those who missed the 2025 Le Vian Red Carpet Revue and Trend Forecast in Las Vegas, here's a quick 30-second recap to keep you in the loop! It was surreal! Now how in the world can we top that for next year, our 25th-anniversary red carpet? #LeVian #RedCarpet #TrendForecast

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How does a company in a niche market continue to grow? By creating opportunities that align with their brand while tapping into relevant trends and conversations. If you didn’t grow up around horses like I did, you might be hearing about Ariat International for the first time. Launched in 1993 by Beth Cross, who grew up on a farm and built her career at top shoe companies, Ariat revolutionized the equestrian world with its patented boot technology focused on rider support. So, how does a company specializing in English and Western equestrian footwear break into the mainstream? Through creativity, strategy, and a steadfast commitment to its core values. Two of my favorite Ariat collaborations are their 10-year partnership with The Compton Cowboys and their recent limited-edition collection with Milton Menasco. Brand collaborations might seem like a leap for a niche brand, but for Ariat, it’s a natural extension of their innovative spirit. The Compton Cowboys - From the Richland Farms of Compton, CA, the Compton Cowboys are seven cowboys and one cowgirl using horses to positively influence inner-city youth, challenge negative stereotypes, and honor African-American contributions to equine heritage. As one of the few Black English riders at my barn growing up, seeing Ariat support this organization deepened my admiration for the brand. Strategically, it’s a smart move—expanding the equestrian world, supporting new riders, and increasing brand exposure. Milton Menasco - This luxury lifestyle brand epitomizes equestrian chic meets Western cowgirl. Originally launched as an Instagram account, it has grown a steady following, merging aesthetics as they become more mainstream. Ariat’s expertise in both English and Western channels made this partnership a natural fit, reinforcing their core value of innovation and expanding their reach. Another win for the brand? More people, from Beyoncé to Bella Hadid, are embracing their "horse girl" era. https://lnkd.in/emMMTztY #branding #marketing #brandmarketing #strategy #horsegirl

'Your strongest steel is forged in fire'. 🤯 Quote from Armagh manager, Kieran McGeeney, yesterday. I hardly ever watch sport as the disappointment of losing can be so crushing. But yesterday's final between Armagh and Galway was utterly gripping, regardless of how much you knew about football. And when Armagh won, it felt like we were part of it. Hopping up and down to cheer, plead, bite nails - from our vantage point of a couch, many miles from Croke Park. It was nerve-wracking from start to finish! The eruption of orange around the stadium was a sight to behold! Galway were favourites to win. Armagh were the underdogs. When Kieran McGeeney took over the team he told them that getting the big win would take time and wouldn't be easy. Trust the process. Their first and last All-Ireland win was in 2002. Most things worth doing *do* take a long time to achieve, and are not easy. Yesterday was a fantastic example of this. Building a brand takes time. That's a reality that might sound unpalatable, when we're promised speed in so many other areas of life. Is there anything that you can look back now on with the benefit of hindsight, that you expected to happen faster? 🤔 Hi, I'm Mary, a brand designer and strategist. I help service-based business owners lift the brand fog. So that you can become more visible and attract the right audience. Download my free interactive guide: 10 Simple Steps to Defog Your Brand - link in profile. #branding #personalbrand #womeninbusiness #entrepreneurship

Tiger Woods’ Putter Choice Has Created an Asset Class It’s no surprise that Tiger Woods is also regarded as one of the greatest putters ever. Putters hold a unique place in golf blending personal attachment with performance, and if you’ve ever seen Tiger’s Scotty Cameron putter, it’s easy to tell that both of those are true. Scotty Cameron putters aren’t just any old putter though, as the highly coveted Circle T models have turned into both a collector's dream and a speculative market, with prices ranging from $2,000 to $8,000 and resale values soaring. Tiger’s use of Cameron putters, even while contracted with other brands, has significantly boosted the brand’s profile, turning these clubs into sought-after items that could even qualify as art. #golf #golfer #tigerwood #scottycameron #asset #assetclass #putter #passion #speculation Chris Forsyth source : bloomberg

So excited to sit down and talk with Tommy Choi Tommy Choi is the co-founder of Weinberg Choi Residential Team with seventeen years in real estate, the team has sold over 2,000 properties and over 1 billion dollars in sales volume. Weinberg Choi is consistently ranked in the top 10 real estate teams in Chicago, which puts them in the top 1% of the Chicago Association of Realtors' top producers. Tommy is also a well-known speaker on leadership and effective communication. Tommy and I talked about having a teachable spirit and where he learned that. The importance of surrounding yourself with the people who grow with you in your leadership and life, while honoring yourself. Tommy shares an entrepreneurial story of watching his mom own and operate a laundromat, the impact that experience had on him growing up, and how some of that helped shape his current business. Lessons from the laundromat, on fear of follow through, and fear of failure. We talked through how to catch the "rebound" to reset our clock to gain more skills that help build more confidence to try again to score. Learning to ask the questions "Who is the author in your mind and the narrative we are speaking to ourselves on failure?" Jenn shares the encouragement of Tommy's story and how that might impact her children. Tommy explains what it means to be a modern-day real estate professional. How to blend the traditional building client base, with our online digital presence, bring value to our content, and the importance of developing our personal brand. The two are necessary for acceleration and growth. Tommy dials down on branding vs a logo while giving examples we can all relate to! If he were a branded show what would he look like? #leadership #personalgrowth #realestate #lifelessons #basketball #marketing #casualcoffeeconversations