One of Mark Twain’s classics is the double-entendre, “Denial ain\’t just a river in Egypt.” Amazon is a trigger point for denial, which is rampant in consumer retail (or fill in your industry here). Executives, directors and workers are in […]
#Amazon Ain’t Just a River in Egypt Read More »
Please note: This article was published before the CEO changeover at Macy\’s. Thinking Out of the Box, Literally Last November Macy’s announced a collaboration with Brookfield Asset Management and an “out of the box” strategy to address 50 owned and
Macy’s: Imagine What Could Be There Read More »
Okay, okay, we know everyone, including us, has proselytized about the problems retailers face today. The inconvenient disharmonic convergence of factors including changes in consumer attitudes, tech, resource constraints, big data, economics, shifting demographics and politics has skewered the industry
Thanks to Fung Global Retail and Technology, we can show two revealing charts that raise more questions than answers. First of all, while the announced number of store closings total roughly 500 more than store openings, Fung doesn’t account for
Store Rationalization, or Price Deflation? Read More »
Across industries, backbone systems are showing heavy signs of wear and tear. TOBE fears that the remedy may be more rebuild than renovate. Easier said than done we know, but it bears a frank discussion. The bright side: there are
TOBE Says We’re On Shaky Ground Read More »
A Conversation with Michelle Lam, CEO, True&Co. Perhaps the most talked-about concept in modern retailing is big data. Every brand is enchanted with the idea of using sophisticated analytics to improve its understanding of consumers and drive smarter decision making
Big Data Empowering Small Decisions Read More »
A Conversation with Jeff Gennette, CEO of Macy’s Jeff Gennette was named CEO of Macy’s Inc. in 2017. He began his retail career in 1983, as an executive trainee at Macy’s West. During our recent conversation with Jeff, intriguing insights
The Future of Department Stores Read More »
An Alert From World Retail Congress, 2017 By now, if anybody in the entire retail and consumer facing industries, from C-level executives down to the janitor working the night shift, is not aware of the fundamental earth-quaking changes going on
Stop Talking and Start Doing, Now and Faster Read More »
Shoptalk 2017 in the Rearview Mirror: Part 1 It becomes crystal clear when you are surrounded by 5,600 of your new friends at Shoptalk, most of whom are developers, entrepreneurs, innovators and startups, that traditional legacy retailers should be quaking
It’s the Era of Rationalized Retail Read More »
When I was still on the payroll at Condé Nast, I used to attend an annual pow-wow hosted by a global beauty company (I’ll let you guess which) that I referred to ironically as “Paraben University.” The event took place
From Green to Clean: The Pricey, Status-Driven Evolution of Natural Beauty Read More »
