A Buffalo’s Dozen

Much has been made of the use of data, analytics, and technology in pro sports. Regardless of the advances, the fundamentals of the game should always be executed with precision. Tell that to the Buffalo Bills, who had 12 men on the field at the start of a critical game. Only 11 are allowed. They […]

Part Time Referee

NFL referees are part-time employees. Maybe the league should consider making them full-time. Executives should be part-time referees to occasionally mediate disputes in their companies. The key word is, occasionally. If executives are frequently getting involved to play referee, that might be a sign of a bigger problem. Let’s keep the full-time officiating in the […]

Haste vs. Urgency

There’s a difference between acting in haste versus acting with urgency. Haste – Moving quickly, but without control. Doing things in a frantic manner, almost to the point of panic. There is a sense of nervousness, anxiety, and stress. More mistakes will happen when working this way. Urgency – Moving quickly, but with control. Doing […]

Get a Gift Receipt

According to a recent WSJ article, retailers just want the right amount of stuff this Christmas. They might want a gift receipt. “After a holiday of too much inventory and unflattering margins, retailers are trying to avoid the same mistake.” Are they though? Shipping delays, supply chain bottlenecks, and exorbitant ocean container shipping rates… are […]

Broken Telephone

The game of “broken telephone” is often a riot at parties. For those who don’t know what this is: Players gather in a circle and player one comes up with a message. They whisper it into the ear of someone next to them. That second player repeats the message to the next person and so […]

From Macy’s to Under Armour

I love it when guest speakers come into my Fashion Business Marketing class to talk to my students. Maria Carlton, Sr. Director of Global Go To Market at Under Armour, visited from Baltimore to speak to my class about her career in retail. She started as a buyer at Macy’s, worked her way through the […]

Hype

Hype trains are built to, eventually, crash. Think about companies like Theranos, WeWork, and FTX. Once touted as examples of innovative and breakthrough companies, have now been exposed for being utter nonsense. Digital freight startup, Convoy, suddenly announced that they are shutting down operations. Once a magnet for VC money and high-profile investors, their lack […]

The Profitable Corner

When I first started at Ralph Lauren in 2015, sales were mediocre for Lauren. The UK wasn’t doing as well as Germany or France and no one really knew why. Margins were eroding, profitability was down and excess inventory was piling up. These things were not good for business and I had to get to […]

It’s Not You. It’s Me.

We presented yesterday in NYC for the Canadian Consulate General’s Technology Accelerator program. Our discussion focused on process innovation in retail and how that impacts the adoption of technology. Why is this particularly important right now? Well, Results from a recent PwC survey show that only 17% of supply chain executives say that technology implementations […]

I was talking to DVF…

Our friends at the Accessories Council invited me to an intimate event at the beautiful Rizzoli bookstore for Diane Von Furstenburg’s book launch.  DVF embodies women before fashion and she did not disappoint. She told a vivid story of how she started the brand by becoming an expert on prints and jersey, but not quite […]