Apparel is considered a discretionary purchase. Really? Most would agree we have little choice as to whether or not we purchase and wear clothing, and it’s considered ‘de rigueur’ in most social settings. The array of apparel choices is truly […]
Fashion or Fitness – What’s a Portfolio Manager To Do? Read More »
The Second City has racked up something novel. For the first time, the city has come together to fulfill a mission of sustainability, urban beautification, and economic development through creating flower gardens specifically for use in a fine fragrance. Tru
How Chicago Grew Its Own Fragrance Read More »
I resent the fact that I can’t walk down a street in New York City without breathing in a potentially lethal amount of second-hand smoke. So imagine my satisfaction when, on February 5, CVS announced it was going to cease
CVS: Blowing Smoke? Or Truly Concerned for our Health? Read More »
Attention all: You are no longer in control of your marketing messages. How many times, and in how many ways, have we declared that today’s consumer has total power over all of commerce? Hundreds? Thousands? I don’t know, but certainly
Social Networks – Flipping Traditional Marketing on its Head Read More »
Just as globalization and information combined to create what Thomas Friedman aptly coined the ‘flat world,’ these transformational forces are driving the democratization of luxury. Exclusivity has been replaced with near mass availability, anywhere and anytime. Technology and social media
Globalization and Democratization Impact Fashion, Too Read More »
Pardon me for using the “guns don’t kill people” metaphor. But people are now using the incredible power of technology and the Internet in ways that are disruptively changing our entire culture: some of it awesomely positive, but some of
Technology Doesn\’t Change People, People Do Read More »
Little-Known H-E-B Shows the Way As the post-recession era drags on, the dynamics of retailing are changing, adjusting to the new normal. As we’ve seen lately in the pages of the Robin Report, some retailers that didn’t fare any too
Growth by Foreign Expansion Read More »
All of us move through our lives with a clock ticking inside our heads. Even in troubled economic situations, time, rather than money, is our most important commodity. That clock tends to tick at relative degrees of loudness. You can
The Meaning of Time Read More »
Today’s fashion companies operate in a highly competitive environment, driven by increasingly fickle, price-conscious consumers, rising costs and clothing trends that change at light speed. With increased drops, the proliferation of SKUs and an incessant demand for newness, the big
Going Hybrid: The Next Stage for Fashion Retailers Read More »
There’s a growing disparity in the way some economic data have moved since the recession. On the one hand we have employment and income figures, which tell the story of a sluggish U.S. recovery with a long way to go
The $2 Trillion American Rip-Off Read More »
