As usual, the Agenda trade show, Long Beach version, was held July 13 and 14. What was unusual was that it was followed, on Saturday the 15th, in the same space with the same brands attending, by its first consumer show. Having no intention of spending three whole days in the Long Beach Convention Center, […]
Agenda’s Got a Consumer Agenda Read More »
Running an active outdoor business right now feels like a game of Whack-a-Mole. There’s too much retail- right size yours. Whack! Create product that can be meaningfully differentiated from competitors. Whack! Careful on that distribution. Whack! Manage your inventory and expenses cautiously. Whack! Figure out e-commerce without cannibalizing brick and mortar. Whack! Lower growth economy.
Damn- Turns Out the Customer Is Always Right- More Than Ever Before Read More »
In early 2015, I wrote “The Evolution of Marketing & the Future Retail Model.” It’s held up pretty well. In describing that retail model, I hypothesized about how pop-ups might be used. “Retail presence might be in pop up tents, in vans or trucks, on blankets at beaches, in a lift at a ski resort,
A Follow-up on Pop-ups- Popping Up in Interesting Ways Read More »
Marcato Capital Management has taken what is now a 6% position in Deckers’ common stock. That Marcato was buying Deckers’ shares first became public knowledge towards the end of May. Partly in response to this and, apparently, to growing unhappiness on the part of other large shareholders, Deckers has undertaken a strategic review process to
Deckers Under Pressure from Outside Investor Read More »
Specialty beauty retailer Sephora (2,300 stores worldwide) seems to be a bit ahead of the curve when it comes to brick and mortar retail. As this article describes, they are using technology to give control to the consumer and create a “fun” experience for them. They are reducing the role of the sales person and
“You Just Have to Get Traffic” Read More »
At this point, it’s common knowledge that diminishing mall traffic is leading retailers to close stores and/or renegotiate leases with landlords. There are also some store openings going on as retailers, hopefully, find locations and configurations better suited to the fast changing brick and mortar and e-commerce world. But relationships between retailers and landlords are
Retailers and Landlords. Can’t Live With Each Other, Can’t Live Without Read More »
The conference calls get shorter and shorter as Wall Street and its analysts decide the retail sector just isn’t worth their attention. I don’t and won’t invest in anything I write about but damn, this feels like one piece of putting in a bottom in the retail sector. Maybe it will take the recession to
More Retail Perspective; Zumiez’s Quarterly Report Read More »
When I report on a public company’s results, it’s always important to review the numbers. But the more I do that the more I realize my focus needs to be on how companies are trying to transition to the new retail environment in circumstances of high uncertainty. That is, they must transition to something they
A Discussion of Retail Prompted by Deckers’ 10-K Read More »
These quarterly reports from retailers are getting kind of repetitive. It’s not just Tilly’s; they are all controlling inventory, slowing store openings (or closing stores), negotiating with landlords, trying to reduce operating expenses, doing omnichannel things and being generally grateful for anything that improves traffic and generates some incremental sales. Tilly’s conference call printed out
More of the Same: Tilly’s April 29th Quarter Read More »
To my mind, Amazon’s biggest strategic advantage is that they started without brick and mortar retail. The business was built for ecommerce and then, using the systems and data they’ve developed, they could look at brick and mortar making sure to have the right number of stores in the right places configured in the right
What Keeps Jeff Bezos Up at Night- And Why What He’s Doing Should Keep You Up. Read More »