The Voice of Retail Podcast: The Material Life
In this episode of The Voice of Retail podcast, Liza Amlani, Principal of Retail Strategy Group, explores the ideas behind her new book on process innovation in fashion retail ‘The Material Life: Process Innovation for Retailers and Brands”. Liza explains why materials, not designs, should drive product creation, how silos inside retail organizations erode margin […]
Equality Is Overrated
If every style rides the same track, your calendar jams and margins get squeezed. In our new Sourcing Journal piece, we argue that product creation needs Acceptable Inequality: replenishment gets an express lane, core runs local, innovation runs in perpetuity. That’s how you ship on time, protect working capital, and free up sampling capacity for […]
Betting On Selling
As seen over at Retail Dive… Saks Global is betting big on its Top Seller Program. Saks wants to bring in talented stylists with a roster of clients / Rolodex. Increasing sales through loyal customers that trust their ‘person’ no matter what department store (or department) they work in is a great move. The challenge […]
Time Capsule
As seen over at Future Commerce…. Time. There’s never enough of it. Teams are constantly sprinting to hit deadlines, leaving little room to test, adapt, or react. Launching a new collection tied to a movie, cultural moment, or Love Is Blind merch drop? Nearly impossible. Unless your process changes. Enter Acceptable Inequality…our version of AI […]
Inventory Woes at Saks
As seen over at Retail Dive: The company is now acknowledging its predicament in stark terms, though it said the situation continues to improve. “Trends within our business demonstrate that when merchandise is present, topline performance improves,” the company said Thursday. “For example, our concession business continues to reflect strong demand from the luxury consumer, […]
Admitting You Have A Problem
In the case of Lululemon, the first step in solving a problem is admitting you have one. Calvin McDonald has clearly stated during the most recent earnings announcement that the assortment is boring and predictable. This doesn’t happen overnight…meaning, the assortment has been predictable for some time now. The reality is that brands like ALO and […]
Who Cares If You Hire The Best.
Accessories and beauty are smart growth plays for Gap Inc. but execution is everything. Accessories are high-margin, outfit-completing items that extend the apparel experience and encourage customers to shop the full look. The opportunity isn’t in more. It’s in curation and innovation. A tightly edited assortment of handbags, belts, and jewelry with modern design, quality […]
Better For Who? Customers? Brands?
Canadian Tire Corporation and Tim Hortons have teamed up on a loyalty partnership…but is it really about customers, or just chasing incremental share? This is less about customer delight and more about two legacy brands scrambling for incremental share in an oversaturated loyalty market. Canadians are already juggling too many programs, and unless the value […]
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 […]