CARS 231: Introduction to Apparel and Consumer Retailing - The University Libraries

CRS 231: Introduction to Apparel & Consumer Retailing

Basic Ideas
Determining what your company is
Company information, profiles, history
More sources for researching designers
Plagiarism discussion
APA citations

CARS Librarian: Steve Cramer
smcramer@uncg.edu
336-256-0346
AIM & Google Talk: stevebizlib

Learning Objectives for Sept. 11:

Learn basic concepts of company research (private v. public; parent v. subsidiary);
Know how to determine if a company is public, private, or a subsidiary (or maybe it's really a brand or label);
Gain experience finding company profiles using library research databases.

A. Basic Ideas

1. Is the company private or public?

Public companies have stock traded on an open market.

These companies are required to file financial information with the government.

Therefore, if a company is publicly owned, detailed info is easy to find.

Limited Brands example:

A private company has few (or no) shareholders.

Privately-owned stock is not available for market trade.

Detailed info about a private company is usually harder to find.

What you get when you search Yahoo Finance for a private company:

2. Is it a subsidiary?

Subsidiaries are companies owned by other companies (ex. Old Navy is owned by The Gap Inc.).

If you want detailed information on a subsidiary, you need to look up the parent company's info.

Example of a corporate family tree, with Bath & Body Works highlighted:

Limited Brands example from the Corporate Affiliations library database.
Screenshot from the Corporate Affilations database

3. Finally, could it be a brand, trademark, or label?

For example, White House/Black Market (WHBM) is a trademark of Chico's FAS Inc.

You might be able to find some sales and marketing information about a specific brand/trademark/label, but don't count on it.

Otherwise, research the company that owns the brand/trademark/label.

B. Determining what your company is

Do a "Quote Search" in Yahoo Finance or Google Finance to see if the company is listed on a stock market.
Or, on the company's homepage, look for an "about our company" or "for investors" link
- These are usually on the bottom of the homepage.
- Only a public company will have a "for investors" link.
Or, look up the company in ReferenceUSA (U.S. Businesses or International Businesses).
Finally, if you think it might be part of an international company, try the Corporate Affilations database.

C. Company information, profiles, history

MarketLine Business Information Center

Covers public and the largest private companies.

Provides 10,000 company profiles.

Covers companies from around the world.

More info

ReferenceUSA

Covers private and public companies.

Provides descriptions of 14 million U.S. companies, including retail locations as well as the headquarters location

Also covers international businessess.

Search results can be downloaded.

More info

Contemporary Fashion, 2nd ed. (2002)

Provides histories, commentaries, and bibliographies on designers and designing houses from around the world.

Part of the Gale Virtual Reference Library.

More library databases for company research

D. More sources for researching designers

Article databases like Proquest, Ebsco, and LexisNexis Academic.
- These cover 1000's of magazines, newspapers, and journals.
Fashion and retailing blogs via Technorati or Google Blog Search.
Web-based news via Google News

E. Plagiarism Discussion

Citing or Plagiarizing Exercise (PowerPoint)

Writing Center
- Writing Center plagiarism guide (pdf).
Citation Machine
iMinerva IM answer service
Library APA citation guides (see below)

F. APA Citations

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed., 2010
APA Style Guide to Electronic References, 2007

You can borrow these from the library's Reference/AskUs Desk.