
Manage & Travel
My life has become a series of trips to NewYork and managing 3 stores. Yes I had a manager in each of the 3 stores. My free time was buying trips to New York, 3-4 times a year.
What happened next? My pal Al fell in love with a down comforter line he was buying for the stores. The company was in Japan and the comforters were manufactured in China. Al phoned the owner, who lived in LA and told Mr. Yano that he’d love to represent them nationally. And of course Yano was absolutely up for that idea. So Al took the job and left me a new inheritance.
I inherited the 3 stores and the fun (that’s a joke.) I did go to market in NewYork at the same time that Al was showing his down comforters in NewYork. We actually stayed in different hotels. He was with his sales team at the Grand Hyatt, I was closer to the linen showrooms and the Art Museums at the Hilton.
Al and I did get to have dinner a couple of the nights he was in NewYorkbut of course with the Japanese enclave. Many of my first week nights I was entertained by the sales reps. Broadway shows and dinner. One year I saw the same broadway hit 2 nights in a row. (The reps don’t check with their competitors about what shows they’re taking me to.) I stayed on for a total of 10 nights, 5 for work and 5 for art. That was a bonus to myself. I visited one art museum and at least one gallery a day for those extra 5 days. And I ate in my favorite delis and pizza places (enough of that rich food.)