All around us, 360 degrees and 24/7, globally and in virtually every part of our lives, we hear, read and see the almost desperate need for not incremental, but fundamental, change. From politics to economics to society to the environment […]
There’s a lot of bluster coming out of Yadashi Yanai, CEO of Fast Retailing (parent of Uniqlo), about how his company is going to be the biggest apparel retailer in the world by 2020 at some $64 billion in sales,
UNIQLO…A Gap Re-Run Read More »
The latest announcement from American Apparel would have been a real “yawner” had it not involved two people who are polar opposite people, yet identically iconic in polar opposite ways. First there’s Dov Charney, the remarkably visionary Founder and CEO
American Apparel: A Last Chance Lost? Read More »
I don’t care how much cash the Gap is sitting on or how much they generate on a daily basis. Just as Sears keeps pumping blood (cash), through its veins, Gap is, and has been for a long time, staying
A Case For Euthanasia? The Gap on Life Support Read More »
To say that major changes are afoot at J.C. Penney would be an understatement. In June, the company announced that Ron Johnson, head of retail at Apple, would take over the helm of the $20 billion department store chain when
Looking Back, Looking Ahead: Q&A With JCPenney CEO Mike Ullman Read More »
Best Practices from Kurt Salmon Near-sourcing, or producing products closer to where they are ultimately sold, is growing in popularity. As more companies bring production closer to home, they’re putting a new twist on globalization, or in some cases, reversing
Reverse Globalization: The New Dollars and Sense of Near-Sourcing Read More »
Here we are, on the edge of a maelstrom of global events, geographically, politically, economically, environmentally, socially and culturally, all with potentially far-reaching outcomes. And, while those outcomes may differ by continent, country, and even locality, they will not be
Consumer Facts from Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle Monitor™ How did apparel retailers fare in the just-ended Back-To-School season? Although as of this writing the final quarterly grades have not yet been posted, the handwriting on the blackboard indicates that retailers were
Retailers Jockeyed to Stay at the Head of the Class for Back-To-School Read More »
Me-Ality™ Market Insights From Unique Solutions Who isn’t turning over every rock these days looking for growth opportunities? Apparel brands, with their almost obsessive focus on style, cost and value, might actually be overlooking one of the most important factors
If The Clothes Fit…The Topline Grows Read More »
It was a holiday weekend and just like clockwork, it arrived in my mailbox: The latest circular from Macy’s, advertising a mattress sale. Didn’t matter if it was Columbus Day, Labor Day or St. Swithen’s Day, there was a mattress
