The poster with the slogan was issued in 1939 by the British. We don’t have anybody bombing our cities or threatening to invade us- exactly- but the coronavirus is a national challenge with social, financial and health related impacts unlike anything most of us have experienced. I’m not sure I’m overstating it to say
Keep Calm and Carry On Read More »
VF continues to manage its brand portfolio consistent with its strategic imperatives. Before moving onto the financials, we’ll take a look at their decision to divest their occupational work brands. It’s consistent with other brand decisions they’ve made.
The first thing you think when you walk into the show is what an incredibly great idea it was to consolidate The Snow Show with Outdoor Retailer. The second thing you think is, “What took them so long?” I imagine the answer to that is quite a soap opera. The next thing I thought was
Thoughts from Outdoor Retailer/Snow Show Read More »
It took two guys like author Chris Diamond and his editor Andy Bigford to make this book as valuable as it is. Their combined 88 or so years in the industry means they have the knowledge, perspective and access to write this book, and the book takes full advantage. When Chris says “ski” he means
Ski INC. 2020; My Second Ever Book Review Read More »
In its 10Q and conference call, Tilly’s is kind of tentative in explaining what they are doing right. Let’s go through the numbers and review a few conference call comments to see if we can tease out an explanation. Revenue for the quarter ended November 2 rose 5.4% from $146.8 million in the prior year’s
Tilly’s: A Solid Quarter. What Did They Do Right? Read More »
I imagine it’s happened to all of us. You need to paint (or if you’re lucky, have painted) a wall/room/house. You go into the store to pick “the right” paint color and are confronted with literally an infinite number of choices- because they can match any color you want. As if the paint chips by
What We Can Learn from New Paint Companies? Read More »
Emerald didn’t report a great September 30 quarter. However, there are some mitigating factors. I’ll discuss those results and the factors below. Before digging into the numbers, let’s focus on issues of strategy and tactics. Emerald’s previous CEO was resigned about a year ago. It happened suddenly and, to the outside world at least, unexpectedly.
How’s the Trade Show Business? Emerald Exposition’s Quarterly Results Read More »
On October 31, I posted an article called “What’s Wrong with Capitalism?” After a couple of paragraphs of me ranting and raving there was a link to an article that described what Ben Hunt calls the “financialization of Texas Instruments. It was disturbing to a few people I heard from and, I hope, to some
The Disaster of Negative Interest Rates Read More »
At its September 29 quarter end, Big 5 had 433 stores down from 436 a year ago. Big 5 “…provide a full-line product offering in a traditional sporting goods store format that averages approximately 11,000 square feet. Our product mix includes athletic shoes, apparel and accessories, as well as a broad selection of outdoor and
Big 5 Sporting Goods. What Should We Think About Their Solid Quarter? Read More »
Well, uh, nothing actually. Okay, not nothing. Some things- sure. There’s no perfect system. But the real problem is that what we actually have is less and less like real capitalism. Adam Smith’s invisible hand and Schumpeter’s idea of creative destruction have both taken it on the chin. Quantitative easing, low to negative interest rates,
What’s Wrong with Capitalism? Read More »