Articles on
Operations
Who Knew Our National Security Depends on Wood?
Warren Shoulberg
October 16, 2025
Canadian lumber tariffs, started on October 14, are effectively 45 percent. On the retail front, the two home improvement giants, Home Depot and Lowe’s, clearly ...
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A Ukrainian Mall Rises Out of the Ashes
Mark Faithfull
October 13, 2025
A Russian missile hit the mall's roof, causing a fire on the fourth floor. It destroyed the ventilation chamber on the fifth floor and affected ...
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Sycamore Is Now the Sixth Biggest Retailer in America
Warren Shoulberg
October 6, 2025
Prior to the Walgreens deal, Sycamore’s biggest retail holding was Staples, which is estimated to do about $8 billion a year in sales and was ...
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7-Eleven New Standard Stores: DOA
Phil Lempert
October 2, 2025
Trust between franchisees and their corporate entities is already at an all-time low. The 2021 National Coalition survey of 7-Eleven franchisees found that more than ...
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The Greatest Irony of Retailing in 2025: Digital Transformation
Jasmine Glasheen
October 1, 2025
If you’ve been to a grocery store lately, you may have noticed they are featuring neon lighting more synonymous with an Electric Dreams hellscape than ...
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Mango’s Ambitious Expansion Plans
Mark Faithfull
September 25, 2025
What’s interesting about Mango’s approach is that it has stepped away from fast fashion and is pinning its expansion not only on leveraging its Spanish ...
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Contingency Planning for Tariffs
Sarah Holbrook
September 15, 2025
The question is no longer if the economic uncertainty spurred by recent government initiatives will dampen retail activity; the real questions are: by how much, ...
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How Digital Technology Is Revolutionizing Merchandising
Phil Lempert
September 11, 2025
The death of the traditional end cap isn't just about technology—it's about data. These digital displays are collection engines, gathering information on dwell time, interaction ...
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