In so many ways, the date of a new year is arbitrary. In Western societies, we’re still on the Gregorian calendar, but there are plenty of cultures that walk to a different time drummer: Hebrew, Maya, Chinese, Navaho, Islam. Yet […]
Ten Leadership Lessons from 2020 Read More »
Unintended consequences of Covid-19 are that it’s easier to find a captive audience and we now regularly spend time waiting in lines. In the spirit of making lemonade out of Coronavirus lemons, I decided to conduct a quick, socially distanced,
Amazon’s Superpower Read More »
Trust is paramount when selling to a generation that lists “shared values” above all other brand attributes but price. However, establishing trust with next-gens is no longer a simple proposition. A strong “About Us” page and mission statement won’t cut
Establishing Credibility with Next-Gen Consumers Read More »
You know the expression \”Go Big…or Go Home?\” Well, for Nordstrom, it\’s more like \”Go Home…and Go Big.\” As the upscale department store faces the severest challenge in its history, ramping up its home furnishings department and offering a full-blown
Why Nordstrom Needs to Go Home Read More »
Being declared nonessential during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns perfectly captures the literal truth about mall-based specialty retail. In fact, specialty stores only exist in the first place because they are magic. They invite us into beautiful stage sets, create new
Specialty Retail’s Reformation Read More »
Sometimes it helps to stand back and look for the big truths hiding in plain sight amidst massive mounds of little insights, false positives, mistaken assumptions and, well yes, wishful thinking. Such a truth revealed itself as I took my
The Winter of Our Discontent Read More »
At some point in the last decade, the great American luxury retailer Tiffany & Co. lost its identity. Its many attempts to redefine its brand to attract millennials have produced mixed results. Will the $15.8 billion acquisition by French holdings
Will LVMH Recreate an Identity for Tiffany? Read More »
Although “nimble” and “agile” aren’t two attributes I typically ascribe to the beauty industry, there’s something that feels decidedly “fast on their feet” about the way Ulta Beauty and Sephora announced alliances with Target and Kohl’s, respectively, just as the
Classing Up the Joint Read More »
It’s the little things in life. Would you rather get a $38 tube of lipstick in a utilitarian brown cardboard box … or in a beautiful white Chanel-branded mini shopping bag filled with samples wrapped in a silky pouch, all
Retail analysts and executives have long known that the U.S. is \”overstored,\” with far more retail space per capita than other countries. More specifically, one could say the U.S. is \”overmalled,\” with roughly 1,200 malls (depending on exactly how you
A Smaller Nordstrom Footprint Read More »
