Today we had the most amazing breakfast at our hotel. Rows and rows of food all for free and all for us. There were cheeses, waffles, pancakes, meats, you name it! We all got some great breakfast before enjoying our free morning in Verona. After breakfast I showered and got ready to go shopping. Verona has the most amazing shops all on a marble path. We walked and looked at hundreds of designer stores, that we couldn’t afford, but luckily there were some affordable ones. Sephora was the first stop where we all raided Rhianna’s Fenty Beauty line. Then, we went to Aw Lab which is a very popular sneaker store here in Italy. We looked at all the amazing, exclusive sneakers and brands there and knew we just had to get something. It killed me not being able to buy all of the shoes, but I decided on a nice sweatshirt.
After shopping we stopped for lunch at none other than McDonalds. The whole ordering process was all computerized. We ordered not to actual cashiers, but on a screen which was pretty cool and it was ready in about two minutes. Truly a gourmet lunch with chicken nuggets and fries. I’m not proud of this lunch but after eating only pasta and pizza for the past week and a half I just had to. Then, it was then time to meet and head to Mero and More. We got a very interesting lecture on how they operate. They are a client of a logistics company we will be visiting tomorrow morning. We met with the owner of Mero and More as well as the logistics company that helps guide Mero and More to be successful. Then, we got a tour of the facility and got to see the process that goes into making a garment. I felt like I was right in Project Runway!
It was really interesting to see how the fashion industry differs in Italy than in the U.S. For example, they focus on quality and uniqueness rather than mass production. It is very important for Italians to be unique with their clothes for they don’t want to wear the same thing as someone else. Another important aspect is the quality. Italians pride themselves on the quality of their clothes and want what they have to show quality and last them a long time. In the US, companies are mainly focused on making things in high quantities as cheap as they can. This is why they resort to companies abroad where cheap labor is available for mass production.
Tomorrow we get to learn more about how the Consortium guides other companies just like Mero and More to be the best they can and to reach their dreams! See you then!