Today we’d like to introduce you to Jane Hali.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jane. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I have always loved apparel and retail, as a teenager, my Saturday’s in NYC consisted of shopping 5th Avenue from 57th street to 34th Street. I didn’t have to buy anything, I wanted to know what was “happening”.
As a teen I knew I wanted to be a buyer, that was the only executive level at retail I knew of, therefore, I went to Baruch College, Zicklin School of Business, City University of New York and majored in marketing with a specialization in retail.
Upon graduation, I interviewed with every major department store in the area, and at that time they were plentiful. I decided on Bloomingdales because I was accepted to their Training Squad which is prestigious to this day. I stayed with Bloomies for 2 years moving up the ranks, however, I wanted to be a buyer and it was taking longer than I liked. I, therefore, moved to Macy’s and moved up the ranks quickly there. By the age of 24, I was a buyer.
After leaving Macy’s I was VP Merchandise Manager for Rodier Paris USA, we had a chain of stores in the US. I moved on to wholesale and then consulting to retailers with a specialty in European and Mexican retail. Through my consulting work in 2003, a sell-side retail analyst sought me out and asked if I could tell him which retailers were “hot” and which were not and why. Of course, that is what I did every day and a new career was born.
I found the financial world to be interesting, challenging and something new. I began as a consultant to sell-side analysts, then moved on to buy-side analysts and formed a retail investment research firm within other companies. I continued this unit for other consulting companies until my last, the WGSN Group. They stated they were going public and there wasn’t room for my unit. However, they let me buy my unit from them and take my clients with me. Jane Hali & Associates was born in April 2015.
I now love having my own business because I direct my team to what I think is important- servicing clients with quality research, reporting and consulting. At most companies, sales is the major focus, not quality. At JHA we are proud of our work, analysis, and aid we give our clients.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It is never smooth but there are always creative ways to solve problems. The number 1 problem is outreach for adding to the roster of clients.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Jane Hali & Associates – what should we know?
Jane Hali & Associates provides proprietary and customized research in retail, apparel, footwear, and Accessories. Ours is an industry and consumer-driven perspective. Everyone at our firm comes from the industry we report on. We are global in scope focusing on macro trends as well as company-specific developments.
What sets us apart is my development of PIE+O, our trademarked and a proprietary methodology for analyzing retail and brands. As the retail landscape, has changed due to consumer shifts, we believe the way retailers/brand are analyzed should also change.
The traditional 4P’s of retail- are no longer accurate. As the retail landscape, has changed due to consumer shifts, we believe the way retailers/brand are analyzed should also change. Therefore, we analyze 1. Product 2. Influencers/social media, 3. Experience in store and online, and omnichannel- not multi but omni.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
We are a boutique research and consulting firm and our success comes from the amount of time, effort and quality work we give our clients.
I have had the majority of our clients stay with me for over 10 years.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1001 Yamato Road, Suite 302
Boca Raton, FL 33487 - Website: jhaliassoc.com
- Phone: 561-288-0675
- Email: jhali@jhaliassoc.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jhaliassoc/
- Twitter: @JHaliAssoc
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-hali-160192b/
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