Regulating Fear

Did you hear that the head of Fast Retailing, the company that owns Uniqlo, has threatened to leave the US in response to onerous tariffs and a push to manufacture clothes in America? Also, did you read in Modern Retail about DTC brands coping with the Trump tariffs? Not surprisingly, many brands were fearful and […]

The Customer’s Customer

I gotta tell you, there’s a lot of bad selling going on out there. I think I’ve lost count of the poorly written, cold emails that hit my inbox. Most describe a desire to help with my e-commerce site — but I don’t operate one. There’s also the “lucrative partnership opportunities” from retail tech vendors. […]

Store Spotlight: Adidas at The Well in Toronto

Last week, I visited with Lesley Hawkins, the Head of Retail for Adidas Canada. We did a walk through of the Adidas store at The Well here in Toronto. The Well is a new shopping/residential district at the corner of a growing area in the city. For reference, it’s close to Rogers Center where Taylor […]

Stay Basic

I’m no baseball fan. I could never really get into the sport. I only went to games when I could get cheap tickets and go hang out with my buddies. However, it’s timely to mention baseball because of the World Series with the Dodgers winning in five games against the Yankees. The history of each […]

Here, Use the Private Line.

In Volume 36 of our newsletter (written way back when we were on Substack) we talked about the use of a multi-track calendar for product creation. The benefits of a multi-track include: Responding to customer demands rapidly. Innovation is treated as a process and not just as an event. More efficient product development by acknowledging […]

Talking Shop at Shoptalk – My Recap

As many of you know, I was in attendance at Shoptalk in Chicago last week. That means I got to see many of YOU at the show. I also had the pleasure to be in conversation with merchant leaders on stage at Shoptalk. Here are the highlights from those discussions: First was Denise Incandela, the […]

Not Everything Needs to be On-Demand

Here’s some news that no one expected. Or wanted. The footwear company, Allbirds, has announced that their products will be available for on-demand delivery from Uber Eats. This announcement is part of Uber’s “Climate Collection” on Uber Eats where a selection of climate-conscious brands are being made available for delivery. Considering the spectacular and well […]

You Know What? I’ll Have the Word Salad

I have NFL games on the TV while writing this. I notice that most post-game interviews with players and coaches are filled with meaningless fluff. Recycled answers of “We have to play harder” or “I have to do better and that starts with me.” Teams that stink have coaches saying “Well, we have to take […]

Store Spotlight: Bloomingdale’s

I have walked through thousands of stores in my time and I frequently see the disconnects between marketing and merchandising. I’ve seen the good, the bad and the downright ugly. Bloomingdale’s, however, proves to be a notable exception by producing something outstanding. While I was in NYC, the team at Bloomingdale’s took the Enterprise Ireland […]

High Tech vs. High Touch

The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is poised to reshape the way we work. Every sector will feel its impact. This includes health care, retail and everything in between. As technology evolves, the question becomes how do we evolve in parallel? John Naisbitt provides the answer in his book “Megatrends.” Although published in 1982, his […]