Preventing Returns

It’s a recurring theme every year when the calendar flips to Jan 1st. No, not resolutions, but rather the wave of returned merchandise after the holiday shopping season. And returns are swiftly becoming a trillion-dollar event. Retailers are also charging customers for returns to help tighten the grip on margin. Customers on local TV here […]

Being Right vs. Getting it Right

A retail executive told us they felt that their organization is too rigid and employees do not push the boundaries of their creativity. Risk-taking is discouraged and has been for some time. Instead of generating new ideas, employees worry about “coloring within the lines.” In other words, they want to be right — like trying […]

Use More When Less Will Do. What?

Part of our time over the holidays was spent on a furniture flipping project – we found a great-looking chair that was crying out for new fabric. In stripping the chair of the old fabric, we probably pulled out close to 100 staples (maybe more) from the seat and back. In putting on the new […]

Macy’s Up For Sale?

Macy’s could be next on the retail chopping block. We have seen this before. Decisions made by investors that have real-estate goals vs. retail goals put the customer last. Hudson’s Bay Company and Saks are getting further away from their customers because they have real-estate moguls telling them how to run retail. Store closures are always part of the […]

“I’m Closing Your File” and Other Lies

You have probably been on the receiving end of cold email pitches from software companies or SEO providers. Often, you are on the receiving end of what’s called a “cadence” of emails designed to get you to respond and set a meeting with the sender. If you don’t respond (and why would you, most of […]

Down on the DM

I was interviewed by the BBC earlier today about Dr Martens and their recent financial results – a 55% drop in profits in its half-year results. Ouch. Investors responded in kind with the subsequent drop in share price. When looking at the assortment of the brand, it’s not hard to see that they have fallen […]

Bad Credit

According to the Wall Street Journal, Black Friday sales were strong but retailers are noticing that getting customers to use store-branded credit cards is a hard sell. The article states… “Income from Target’s credit-card business declined 10% in the most recent quarter, compared with the same period a year earlier. At Kohl’s, other revenue, which […]

Power Generator

The aphorism “meeting the customer where they are” is best saved for the daily horoscope; if you believe in that sort of thing. Meeting customer demand is nothing special anymore, instead, this is table stakes. The customer has an expectation, in their relationship with a brand, to be met where they are. At least at […]

Undercover Boss

How often does retail leadership walk the shop floor? Not in a pre-announced way with the eventual photo-op and subsequent LinkedIn post. I mean, in an incognito way. To see what the customer and employee experience is really like. In a planned visit, of course the store will be presented in a pristine manner. Staff […]

Strong Cider

I wandered down to Soho to see the pop-up store of the TikTok famous brand, Cider Fashion. I was curious to see how this ultra-fast fashion brand was going to delight the customer given its popularity.  Let me tell you, the cider wasn’t very strong. As a merchant, I found the store to be woefully […]