We live in an era of chaos. Government-by-chaos isn’t working out too well, and retailing in the era of chaotic disruptors is facing big risks as well. But hope prevails. When it comes to retailing, sometimes there’s opportunity in chaos. […]
We live in an era of a perpetual imbalance of supply and demand, and, therefore real-time price deflation across almost all consumer-facing industries. Indeed, price promoting has become the basis of competition. And, as we all know, this is a
Holiday Happiness: Go for It While You Can Read More »
I remember evenings hunched over the kitchen table with my mother pasting S&H Green Stamps into a passport sized book, ignoring the sickly sweet taste of glue as we anxiously filled enough books to get our “free gift” from the
The Rewards of Loyalty Read More »
Full disclosure: it is easier to write about succession planning than to execute on it. Recently two fashion industry firms made headlines with the announcement of new CEOs—Ralph Lauren Corporation and J Crew. Why did both companies have to reach
Who’s Your Successor? Read More »
Researching this blog post before dawn on December 12, I thought maybe my morning cup of high-test coffee hadn’t kicked in yet. Why? Because the home page of kyliecosmetics.com looked exactly like the beigey-nude, tone-on-tone core imaging on kkwbeauty.com. Were
Kylie vs. Kim: Two Sisters Battle It Out for Beauty World-Dominance Read More »
On a recent afternoon, I saw two twenty-something women photographing vegetables at the bustling Whole Foods store on Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street in New York City. After taking several shots of organic beets and swiss chard in various arrangements,
For Millennials, “You Are How You Food Shop” Read More »
Mark Twain once remarked, “the reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” If the word “omnichannel” had a voice, it would say the same thing. Recently, numerous pundits have urged that we close the lid on the coffin and inter
Omnichannel\’s Death…Not So Fast! Read More »
Retail’s new normal has arrived. We’re in the depths of disruption and intense competition, and while many have pegged it as the “retail apocalypse,” that thesis has been debunked. Retail is simply going through a period of disruption and change
Retail’s New Normal: What to Expect in 2018 Read More »
It’s taken a little longer than probably most people expected, but it appears that CB2 is finally entering puberty.The little kid sister to Crate & Barrel is about to mark its 18th year in business; by this point it should
From the Cotton Gin to Field Robots and Mobile Fashion Shows, Cotton Keeps Current Today, technology is advancing more rapidly than at any time in history. We see examples of this every day, literally in the palms of our hands:
