This isn’t really an old Chinese Proverb. I composed it in 2004 to introduce a feature story on the opportunities and threats to be expected from China. Its suggestion, that China will forward-integrate and acquire American assets, including retailers and […]
CHINA:Communists – Capitalists – Conquistadors Read More »
Rob Sweeney answers questions about some big picture issues surrounding the retail industry, current valuations and the capital markets, and the industry’s attractiveness for activist investors. Rob explains why such investors, along with many private equity firms, are particularly drawn
As we head into the over-analyzed, all-important Holiday retail season, I’m having flashbacks to “the land of the rising sun.” However, my image gave way to a deflating sun, as Japan withered from its strong and rising number two spot
Retail expert stresses that businesses will need to push goods ‘pre-emptively and perpetually’ By Ted Boscia – Cornell Chronicle Robin Lewis delivers Nixon Distinguished Speaker Series lecture at Cornell University. Consumer product retailers and wholesalers must rapidly transform their traditional
Robin Presents at Cornell Distinguished Speaker Series Read More »
Is the economy a case of “chickens coming home to roost” to a double-dip recession and a possible deflationary cycle, or a several- year-long “slog” that forces us to accept the fact that slow-to-no growth is our new economic reality,
“Chicken Little” or the “Bluebird of Happiness?” Read More »
“There’s a chance that you get hit by a car. There’s a chance you get a disease. But, they are chances. But, there’s also a likelihood that the [financial] covenant will be worked out, as it has in the past;”
Quotes To Remember Read More »
The changes that have hit retailers and service merchants in the past two years have only intensified the foundational need to maximize revenues, improve operational efficiencies, and forge brands that continue to attract and retain customers. Making decisions in this
What, Where, How and Why They Buy Read More »
We are right smack in the middle of a massive wave of exclusive merchandising. You can’t swing a dead hang tag these days in any decent sized store in the country and not find some brand or label (and they
You Say Exclusive, I Say Exclusion Read More »
The only place where traditional advertising is prospering is in the Mad Men series on AMC. It showcases a bygone era when men wore suits to the office and drank alcoholic beverages at lunch, and few women occupied an executive
Bye Bye Mad Men and Three Martini Lunches Read More »
Throughout the year, Kurt Salmon Associates has discussed numerous localization topics with the industry’s leading retailers. Not surprisingly, a few key themes emerged from nearly all the conversations we had with top executives. Regardless of industry segment or brand positioning,
One Size Doesn\’t Fit All Read More »
