Retail insights at the intersection of now and next. Unfiltered. Unbiased
It was once beloved and respected, but now it’s besieged and repelled by a curious transformation we don’t see very often in the retailing world.
This week Albertsons filed a $9 billion lawsuit against Kroger accusing it of messing up the deal. C’mon Albertsons, this is coming up two years from the day the deal was nixed and you’re just now getting around to filing a lawsuit? What does this say about your sense of urgency, perhaps reflecting the culture of your entire company? Again, I don’t know who’s right and who is wrong, but it seems to me that when a company says it’s been done wrong with something this big, it’s got to move faster to try to seek justice.
Join Shelley and Birdie Smith, Head of Sales at Happy Returns, as they reveal how the smart play is to transform returns into a growth lever; retailers that give shoppers options, speed, and convenience can turn a return into the next purchase. They also discuss what happens when AI agents start handling returns for the shopper and why only two percent of retailers believe they can detect return fraud heading into the holidays.
The immediate priority for retailers hit by cyberattacks is to understand where critical systems depend on technology that is outdated, remotely accessible, or managed by third parties. The complexity of guarding from cyberattacks is only going to get greater as AI enters more systems and hackers get smarter, more inventive, and more attuned to the practical and reputational damage they can wreak.
The work of scientists and researchers deserves celebration, but solid climate, energy, and technology breakthroughs need costly infrastructure and sustained funding to scale. Relying on private philanthropy like the Bezos Fund for climate research says a lot about this country’s expressed values while laying a fragile foundation for our industry’s future.
Mary Jo Pile’s well-earned career in retail is a great example of taking what you have learned and then applying it to your own business. She worked her way into store, district, and regional management; then vice president, executive vice president, and shop owner.
Spoiler alert: Consumers are not simply trading down. They are reallocating trust, loyalty, and wallet share to brands and retailers that make their value unmistakable. Too many leadership teams still treat this behavior as a temporary pricing problem when the real issue is the company’s value proposition.
If the name doesn’t ring a bell, maybe you’ll recognize its former name: Bed Bath & Beyond. Not the fabled Big Box category killer that fell on hard times and eventually melted down. This is the resurrected entity that has changed its name, corporate strategy, place of business and personnel more times over a shorter period than just about anybody else in the retail space.
Join Shelley and Michael Beecham, President of California Pizza Kitchen, as they reveal why the founders were brought back and where the smartest path to today’s diner may lead to a vending machine or the frozen food aisle.
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