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…
We are thrilled to be a part of the ongoing success story that is the Canadian Technology Accelerator (CTA) program by the Consulate of Canada in New York City, focusing…
In high school chemistry, our teacher presented a lesson on molecular motion. He showed us the three ways that a molecule moves. Translation: It moves from one place to another.…
A new drinking game – take a shot anytime someone in retail mentions the term “customer-centric.” Or some variation thereof. "Put the customer in the center of all decision making” …
Re-think speed to market. Instead, look at Velocity to Market. In physics, speed has no direction. It’s simply a number. A measure. Of distance over time. But... Velocity has a…
As a retail buyer, my vendors loved me. Buying appointments were a breeze. Vendors didn’t have to show physical samples of items already proven to be top sellers or the…
KPMG recently published its Retail Executive Outlook for 2023. 71% of retail executives are prioritizing supply chain efficiency for this year. How will they accomplish this? Their top priority to…
Exceptional retail merchants possess these three traits: They know who their customer is. Thus, they know how to serve them with the product they want. They know how to curate…
The typical retail end-to-end process can be visualized, simply, as a line. This makes sense, the end-to-end is very much a linear process. As such, visibility into the product journey…
Retailers use loyalty programs to keep customers coming back to them more often and spend more when they do. There is one more layer to this. Loyalty is about forsaking…
Products don’t tell stories. People do. Product assortments shouldn't be telling stories - rather, they must have a distinct point of view. It reflects what the brand stands for. There…
Welcome to The Merchant Life - the newsletter where over 800 of your peers get merchandising insights and an insider perspective of all things retail. We were recently in NYC to speak at…
Welcome to The Merchant Life - the newsletter where over 800 retail pros gain valuable merchandising insights and the insider perspective of all things retail. We’re writing this as we travel through Europe,…
Howdy and welcome to a special, mid-month edition of The Merchant Life newsletter. We’re working away on our regularly scheduled merchandising insight coming your way on September 1st. In the meantime, there…
Welcome to The Merchant Life - the newsletter for retailers and retail enthusiasts seeking the insider perspective of all things retail. In recent news: we joined the Footwear Distributors and Retailers Association (FDRA).…
Welcome to The Merchant Life - the newsletter for retailers and retail enthusiasts seeking the insider perspective of all things retail. In this edition, we give you a taste of our latest trip…
Welcome to The Merchant Life - the newsletter for retailers and retail enthusiasts seeking the insider perspective of all things retail. In this edition, we pull up our favorite Eames chair, flick the…
Welcome to The Merchant Life, for retailers and retail enthusiasts seeking the insider perspective of all things retail. Fun fact, I was an off-price merchant back in 2006 and looking at…
Welcome to The Merchant Life, for retailers and retail enthusiasts wanting the insider perspective of all things retail. Endless aisles, staffing challenges, and unanswered product questions… Today’s consumer experience is frustrating.…