The world of shopping – and shoppers – is neatly divided into haves and have-nots. While the recovery of the luxury retail business, due largely to its successful globalization efforts, has been in the forefront of the news a lot […]
Hold the (Window) Dressing Read More »
Is A Dead Business Model If you keep on thinking of yourself as a retailer (see “Borders Today, Barnes & Noble Tomorrow” ) and your place of business as a store or website, and your offerings for sale as products,
Retailers and Stores Selling Stuff Read More »
Custom beauty products are poised to rear their lovely heads again On paper, it sounds like the ultimate beauty experience: To plop down in a swivel chair at a cosmetics counter, or be ushered into a well-appointed cabine in the
Whose Fragrance Am I Wearing? Why, My Own, Of Course! Read More »
As I write this, the “Dog Days” of summer are indeed upon us. Originally coined by the early Romans, the term refers to the period from early July to mid-August when the constellation Canis Major, or big dog, is bright
Well, here we are, right in the middle of the Back-To-School retail season. Kind of analogous to Hurricane Irene barreling up the east coast, one might describe the retail and consumer situation as being right in the middle of its
Hope Springs Eternal Read More »
As Rome Burns The world’s on the edge of an economic apocalypse, and where are its leaders? The Riviera, The Hamptons, Martha’s Vineyard, to name a few. Well, even when they’re around, it’s hard to find a real leader among
Where Have All the Leaders Gone? Read More »
All hands on deck! Those clouds on the horizon are darker than they look. The entire world is on economic thin ice. And, if you think the political blather you’re hearing from across the pond promises any more substantive action
Batten Down the Hatches Read More »
The whole world has decided that Apple – everything about it, everything that touches it, and everybody who is a part of it – is omnipotently supreme, and unique throughout the entire span of the history of retailing as well
Ron Johnson: The Tortoise or The Hare? Read More »
There is absolutely no reason for anyone to go to a bookstore today unless they are assured a compelling experience. The only way Barnes & Noble can avoid a Borders-like implosion is by offering a Starbuck’s café, book signings, perhaps
Borders Today, Barnes & Noble Tomorrow Read More »
Where Have All The Hippies Gone? The American Dream that many so-called “hippies” of the 1960s counterculture movement embraced, chanting their mantra of “Peace and Love,” became something very different once the 1970s, which Tom Wolfe named “the Me decade,”
The New American Dream Read More »
