Retail insights at the intersection of now and next. Unfiltered. Unbiased
We get that companies want to protect their valuable brand names, but Buc-ee’s, really? Over the past few months, they’ve sued at least half a dozen retailers—maybe more—for names and/or logos that they say are too similar to their iconic beaver character.
Join Shelley and Alice Pope, author of The Trust Algorithm: How Leaders Build Trust with Generative AI to get up to speed on a current trust recession. Alice says that we are facing more customer data than ever yet have a deeper skepticism about AI than ever.
Are you sure you’re measuring what matters? Talk to the finance team, and they have entrenched benchmarks defining a brand’s success. What they don’t have are the intangibles that can make or break long-term success. These measurements can baffle an analytically trained financial mindset. The case in point: Return on Experience (ROX) is a concept that defies the logic and the measurable precision of ROI to a traditionalist. That doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be measured.
Fashion brands are facing the prospect of higher inventory costs thanks to an EU ban on destroying unsold apparel, accessories and footwear. As of July 19, large companies are now prohibited from incinerating or sending unsold products to landfill. Why major brands ever thought this was morally justifiable is another question. The new rules also cover customer returns and force fashion retailers to prioritize selling products through discounts or alternative markets, donating them or preparing them for reuse.
I’ve spent four decades walking supermarket aisles and restaurant floors trying to spot the next place where food and commerce would collide. I’ll admit this one surprised me. Cannabis retailers in San Francisco are about to become the new competition for restaurants and supermarkets
With the entire home furnishings category, especially furniture, in the doldrums, retailers in the sector are looking at new categories, including services, as the way to save themselves. But will it work?
Shein, the Chinese-origin online seller of trinkets and baubles, first came on the U.S. scene in 2017, and then really exploded in the early 2020s. It sent shockwaves through a whole genre of American apparel and gift retailers who couldn’t compete with its fast—and impressively cheap—business model.
Join Shelley and Ben Seidl, CEO and Co-Founder of Autolane, as they discuss the potential crisis brewing at malls and stores for managing these fleets of cars. Major retail landlords, including Simon Property Group, Federal Realty, and Jamestown, are already installing driverless parking infrastructure across properties in Austin, Atlanta, Phoenix, San Jose, and beyond.
H&M’s pivot toward ongoing partnerships with niche designers and independent collectives marks a fundamental shift in its retail strategy: it’s sustained cultural relevance over short-term noise. While legacy luxury houses often struggle with agility and genuine relatability, independent creators hold the cultural trust that big brands crave.
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