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 »
Success in today’s increasingly competitive retail landscape requires delivering superior customer experiences centered on one thing: convenience. But how can retailers capitalize on consumers’ thirst for convenience while maintaining or growing margins? The ability to properly segment, identify, and understand
Polarization in Retail Read More »
An interesting piece of research recently crossed my desk from business development firm Marvin Traub Associates. The firm works with companies in the retail, consumer, fashion and luxury industries to optimize their businesses across channels, borders and classifications of product.
Why HENRY loves DAVID, and It’s Sure to be a Long-Term Romance Read More »
Are you sick of hearing about Amazon, the voracious Pac-Man of the modern world, chomping on your lunch in ever increasing ways? Think about it: If Amazon’s revenues are growing at the rate of 20 to 30 percent annually, while
Amazon, Bigger Than You Think, and Their Loyalists Eat Your Lunch Read More »
How do boards of traditional retailers cope with the need for governance and guidance in this moment of disruptive change? Capitalism may be at its best as industry disruption allows for new business models to better meet consumer demand and
Retail Board Governance in the Age of Disruption Read More »
According to Moody’s Investors Service, 13.5 percent of their retail and apparel portfolio is distressed, compared to 16 percent during the Great Recession. This little factoid, along with the recent announcements of thousands of store closings across the industry, bankruptcy
Are We Into Creative Destruction or Just Plain Destruction? Read More »
When did baby monitors and election booths become weapons of mass disruption? At what point did a GPS or our own F-16 fighter jets become potential tools for America’s enemies? This makes no sense; of course a fighter jet will
Best Retail Advice – Go Hack Yourself! Read More »
When the Museum of Modern Art opened its new building in 2004, admission was priced at $20. And the cultural world gasped. Behind closed doors, snobs carped that New York City’s cultural elite would have to rub elbows with the
Shopping + Culture Read More »
It’s no secret that people are shopping less in physical stores. Walk through any mall on most days and you are struck by a noticeable lack of shoppers. Shrinking crowds are a well-documented phenomenon, a result of double-digit e-commerce growth
How Mass Merchants Are Waging the Battle for Brick-and-Mortar Share Read More »
A Conversation with William P. Lauder, Executive Chair, The Estée Lauder Companies Vats of indelible ink have been used to question and revise the future of retail, including our interviews with key industry figures. William P. Lauder, executive chairman of
What Retailers Can Learn From a Beauty Company Read More »
