Budman keepin' it real on Fox

Canada got a big shout-out on Fox Business TV network on Monday when Roots co-founder Michael Budman was featured in a live interview. Mr. Budman told the American audience that his 180 stores are doing just fine during the recession and he emphasized his company's leather products, including a new footwear line, are made in a factory in Toronto - not offshore. "And that's a good thing in this environment," he said. How did you resist, asked the Fox interviewers. "A few years ago we got talked into going offshore by senior management, which is no longer with us. ... When you let products get made offshore, you lose the realness."

Mr. Budman, who excels at cool product placement, was sporting a leather satchel across his torso - as seen in a recent movie, The Hangover. The Fox team giggled over the "man's purse" but Mr. Budman would have none of it. "It was created for women but men are starting to take to it. We've sold over 100,000. It's the next big idea for us and it's made right in Canada. I've got my BlackBerry in here," he said, loading on the Canada hype.

A sushi-free Stampede?

Publicity machine W. Brett Wilson likes to scoop the Calgary Stampede festivities with his annual "Garden Party" for 500 in his backyard to raise dough for charity. This year's recipient is 777 Run for Sight, which targets preventable blindness, and is tonight. But his firm, FirstEnergy Capital Corp., is also set to throw its annual "First Rowdy" bash for clients during the Stampede. He tells us it's likely 1,500 people will attend: "It's one of the survivors in Calgary - in a corporate community that either cancelled or shrunk its entertainment budget dramatically - it is full steam ahead."

Indeed, there was a stampede last fall during the darkest days of the downturn as Calgary businesses trimmed or cancelled their 2009 extravaganzas, notably law firms and the large public event, the Doggie Doo Rodeo. Event organizer Jocelyn Flanagan figures corporate partying will be down 10 to 25 per cent. Yet she also tells us "we're still seeing a lot of Stampede events happening but obviously people are concerned about cost and perception - more perception than anything." One way to do that is to ramp up the charity, she says. Another is "taking Stampede back to basics. Over the past few years it's gone from beef-in-a-bun to shrimp and sushi ... There's nothing wrong with beef-in-a-bun."