Shut Up and Take (More Of) My Money

Word on the street is that Costco is going raise their membership fees by $5. $10 if you are an executive member. Fees haven’t been raised since 2017. Costco delivers exceptional value to its member base. This cannot be argued. I mean, where else are you getting your Kirkland brand products, gold bars and club […]

TBD (The Battered Department Store)

Yes, we’re going to discuss THE major merger news that you can’t get enough of. Six Flags completed a merger with their rival Cedar Fair. Worth $8 billion, the merger creates the largest amusement park operator in the US. Rollercoaster enthusiasts and season pass holders are very concerned that their amusement park experience is in […]

Nike Should Say NIMBY

Most sports talk shows stink. There are notable exceptions: Inside the NBA, Pardon the Interruption and First Things First. First Things First is surging in popularity because of the chemistry between the three hosts and their plethora of running gags. One such gag is when Chris Broussard describes the outcome of a home team getting […]

I Want The Whole Sale

The story of the brand Outdoor Voices is riddled with ineptness. Their journey from hyped athletic apparel brand to raging dumpster fire is well documented. In short, its another example of a DTC brand acting as if fundraising is something to be proud of versus building a profitable business. Retail fundamentals were lacking, leadership isolated […]

The System Always Kicks Back

Here’s your science lesson of the day: In Chemistry there is such a thing as an “Equilibrium Law.” It is more commonly referred to as Le Chatelier’s principle, named after the French chemist Henry Louie Le Chatelier. The formal definition of the principle is: If a system is at equilibrium and an outside stress is […]

The Dull Drugstore

One thing stood out for me when living in NYC last year: many of the pharmacies were dull and uninspiring. CVS? Bland. Walgreens? Blah. Rite-Aid? Booooring. If I needed to visit a pharmacy, locations were abundant in the Upper East Side. Although, that appears to be changing. The Wall Street Journal reports that the real […]

There Is No Way Wine is Better Than Pepsi.

Like George Costanza, I don’t drink wine. I drink Pepsi. Well, diet Pepsi. I love the stuff. Skip the can and just stick it to my veins. Diet pop isn’t the only thing that I like about the Pepsi brand. The parent company, PepsiCo, churns out high caliber CEO’s like it does corn chips. I’ll […]

Defense Wins Supply Chains?

I was invited to a lunch meeting at the Economic Club of Canada last week to hear remarks from Canada’s Minister of National Defense, the Honorable Bill Blair. It might seem a bit askew to attend such an event, but the subject matter is directly relevant to the retail industry as a whole. No doubt, […]

You Better Be Direct With Me

I appreciate when people are direct with with me. Just come right out and say what’s on your mind, I won’t be offended. When brands want to be direct with me, I might question the decision. I’m looking at you Levi’s, Canada Goose and Sketchers and others mentioned in the Wall Street Journal last week. […]

The Best Way to Make $10 Million in a Day

I don’t care much for golf. Candidly, I find it boring. When I was younger, I didn’t really “get” the game. It wasn’t until I saw Robin Williams do his standup routine on how golf was invented that I finally understood what the fuss what about. But, if you tell me I can make $10 […]