Robin Lewis

In a sentence: Is Foot Locker possibly shedding its mall anchors and accelerating the rollout of its neighborhood Power Stores? For what reason? To escape antiquated malls? To get closer to its consumers? To personalize and localize the brand by becoming a part of, and contributing value to their communities? To create experiences that are cool and awesome to their sneaker culture? Try all of the above. Survival of the Fittest Prior to the pandemic, many experts were predicting that roughly two-thirds of the 1200 major malls in the U.S. would …

“Anchors Away” Foot Locker: Full Power into the NeighborhoodRead More

The wedding took place in 1956 in Edina, Minnesota with the opening of Southdale Center, the first enclosed mall in the U.S. Its beloved anchor spouse was Dayton's department store. At the time, if an astute marriage counselor had defined the term "anchor" as a grip on the bottom of a vessel to restrict its movement, the world might have foreseen the eventual collapse of what was once a beautiful marriage. Here's how it worked in 1956 and up to 2000: the department stores attracted traffic (paying little to no rent) and the malls brought in a …

Malls Wedded Department Stores: Now a Collapsing 64-Year MarriageRead More

Everyone is looking for a silver bullet. I've argued forever that understanding the data leads us in the right direction for running a business that has a profitable future. Good news: A quick snapshot of July's retail performance could be a bellwether about the pandemic's impact on the future of retail. Let's not get too excited, but the increase in total retail sales of 6.8 percent (excluding auto, gasoline and restaurants) from the same month last year may be surprising, all things considered. Discretionary Spending However, there are two …

Covid’s Accelerant on the Future of RetailRead More

In 2016 I wrote an article titled, Personalization The Next and Biggest Thing. The opening lines were "Bring it to me, just for me, new, now & more often." Pay attention to this advice. And now listen with great attention to what I'm about to say. The bar has been fundamentally raised on consumers' expectations in this transformational decade. Not incrementally raised, it's been raised to a level that will require fundamental leaps forward in what you must do to meet those expectations. Just for Me You must relentlessly pursue the …

Subscription Models: Another Post Pandemic WinnerRead More

The Robin Report recently conducted a survey among readers to check the retail industry's pulse regarding how their business is being affected by the three major issues and challenges of the day: Covid-19, the economy, and social injustice. We were also able to gain an understanding of the short- and long-term views on the U.S. economy, how business models would be transforming, as well as some new operational functions driven by the virus that will stick going forward. The New Normal as Defined by the Consumer One of our questions was: …

Signals of a New NormalRead More