It used to be way easier to grow a retail chain. You found a good location, made a deal with the landlord, made improvements, and brought in some inventory and some experienced management to train the new group of employees. If you did this mostly right, a year later (maybe sooner) you had a cash […]
Tilly’s Offers Us Some Thoughts on Retail Stores. Read More »
It’s my belief that PacSun CEO Gary Schoenfeld has mostly done the right things since he joined the company. But so far PacSun hasn’t been able to reclaim the competitive position in the market it used to have. Maybe, if this wasn’t a brutally competitive, over supplied, retail environment, things would be different. But they
Where do They Go from Here? PacSun’s Quarter Read More »
SPY filed a form 15-12G with the Security and Exchange Commission on December 11th. The press release that accompanied the filing stated, “As a result of this filing, the Company ’ s obligations to file certain reports with the SEC, including annual, quarterly and current reports on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K, respectively,
SPY Ceases to be a Public Company Read More »
As with most industry retailers, it’s not exactly a great time for Zumiez. Their October 31st quarterly numbers were disappointing. We’ll talk about those. But I want to spend most of this discussion on where, exactly, Zumiez’s is in the market and how CEO Rick Brooks describes and projects what’s happening in retail. The funny
Television was first demonstrated back in the 1920s. But it was really wasn’t until the late 1950s that it took off. I don’t think breakthrough technologies take 30 plus years to make it into the mainstream any more. Maybe it’s better to say that once they reach their tipping point, their adoption accelerates dramatically. Why?
“Forget Shopping. Soon You’ll Download Your New Clothes” Read More »
A&F (owner of the Hollister brand) had a pretty good quarter. I’m thrilled that their sales fell a bit and want to start by reminding you why I’d think like that (though they tell us it was mostly caused by exchange rates). Here we sit over retailed as an industry and a country with a
As we go through the process of watching Quiksilver try to resurrect itself what issues should have our attention? Certainly not the endless pages of bankruptcy court filings. Not even I’m reading all of those. The process will grind through to its conclusion. The secured creditors will come out more or less intact, the common
The Quiksilver Bankruptcy: Where Should We Be Focused? Read More »
At Billabong’s annual meeting a couple of days ago, CEO Neil Fiske and Global Billabong Brand Manager Shannan North made presentations describing the company’s progress and challenges since the results for the year ended June 30 were announced in July. Let’s see what they said. It’s only been four months since the year’s results were
Billabong Holds Its Annual Meeting; Progress and Headwinds Read More »
The thing is, I really like Skullcandy’s marketing. There is some commonality of message and attitude among their sponsored people (notice I don’t just say team riders) even when those people come from very different places and perspectives. I like it is because while they have, for example, sponsored surfers the message isn’t just about
Marketing and Positioning Matter. So Do Other Things. Skullcandy’s September 30 Quarter Read More »
Unfortunately, I didn’t write that just to get your attention. It’s true. You can read all about it in this article. As you read it, please focus on what it says about Amazon’s goal in having the store. It’s all about gathering and using data, says the author. Retail today is about getting the right
This Should Get Your Attention: Amazon Opens Its First Brick and Mortar Store Read More »