Mary Meeker is a venture capitalist focusing on the internet and new technologies. She’s a partner at the VC firm of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Every year, Mary offers up her Internet Trends report in the form of slides. This year, it’s 294 slides long, but I’m asking you not to be put off […]
Quality Information on the Internet and Ecommerce Read More »
I see no reason to spend time explaining what’s going on at Zumiez when CEO Rick Brooks has done me the favor of laying it out in his introductory conference call remarks. Read them, then I’ll offer short discussions. “Our top priority is to stay consistent and relevant with our customers in order to expand
A Look at Zumiez’s April 29 Quarter: I Take the Lazy Approach Read More »
For the year and quarter ended March 31, Deckers improved its results as discussed below. Related to that improvement is the progress of its restructuring and operating profit improvement plans. As we review these results, we’ll see that Deckers is confronting the same issues other brands/retailers are confronting as the internet changes the role of
Deckers’ Results for the Year; Sanuk Continues in Cleanup Mode Read More »
I’ve been opinionating for some time now that careful control of distribution was a requirement of brand building in a world of products very similar to competitors. I’ve further said that it might be a good idea to give up some sales and build the bottom line at some expense to the top line. I’m
Defying Gravity: VF’s Quarter and Van’s Results Read More »
I want to introduce you to a web site I subscribe to called Wolf Street. It’s free and you can sign up for emails if you want. Here’s the link the chart below comes from. You don’t have to read Wolf’s article to follow what I’m discussing, but you might take a look at it.
Retail Jobs, the Internet, and the Role of Customer Service Read More »
The Buckle ended its February 3rd fiscal year with 457 retail stores and expects to end the current year with the same number. These days, that may be exactly the right decision; the days of open more stores, automatically earn more money, are gone. So what’s the strategy? Over three years, revenues have fallen from
My research department has been coming up with interesting reads I haven’t had time to pass on. Here are three worth a few minutes of your time. “5 Ways the Future of Retail is Already Here” shouldn’t surprise anybody who’s been paying attention. But it’s interesting to see these five retail evolutions listed together and
Some Ideas About the Retail Environment Read More »
This isn’t the kind of thing I usually choose to write about. After some thought, I wanted to express how sad I was to hear about the recent passing of SPY CEO Seth Hamot. For years before I met Seth, I gave him a hard time. As a public company, SPY was a valuable source
A Brief Remembrance of SPY CEO Seth Hamot Read More »
My favorite part of a Zumiez’s conference call is when CEO Rick Brooks apparently decides the analyst has asked the wrong question or doesn’t quite understand the implications of what’s been asked. Two plus pages of transcript later, sometimes ably supported by CFO Chris Work, we may have forgotten the original question, but we’ve always
Zumiez’s Annual Results; And Tales from its Conference Call Read More »
I’ve spent some time on VF’s 10-K filing for the year ended December 31, 2017. It was a thought provoking read (yes, I know I’m the only one who would say that about a 10-K) that left me thinking about how VF tries to derive its competitive advantage. There are some lessons in it for
VF’s Management Process and Strategy: Thoughts on Their Annual Report Read More »