You can’t really check in...but you’ll never want to check out. The RH Guesthouse, the (very) boutique hotel property that was years in the making is only the latest manifestation of the home furnishings retailer’s quest to become a luxury brand across any number of formats and disciplines. It also represents the newest entry into the hospitality space for companies in the home and fashion sectors looking to continue to build out their connections with their uber-upscale customers. RH Ups the Private Guest Experience Uber-upscale only …
Experience
The Inside Story on Two Decades of Fashion Madness
As the top editor of Women’s Wear Daily and W magazine, and CEO of Fairchild Publications, Michael Coady had a front row seat at the collections in Paris, Milan, Rome, London, and New York for 30 years and his book is filled with personal observations and edgy anecdotes. The Robin Report is exclusively bringing you a series of five excerpts from Fashion Madness. Read on, and order Coady’s e-book to get the complete inside story. Fashion Madness Fashion was turned upside down and inside out in the 70s and 80s by the greatest collection …
Are You Measuring What Matters?
I’m going to take a philosophical position here as a cautionary tale about the future of retail. “Measure what is measurable and make measurable what is not.” Is this a new edict from the ever-more-intrusive analytics team? A proclamation from anyone under the age of 35 roaming the cubicles? A chapter on marketing in an MBA classroom? The Past as Prelude No. It’s Galileo. Centuries ago it must have been breathtakingly innovative, whispered about in the corridors of the Vatican and debated in the salons of Florence. Or not. Perhaps just a …
Living Icon: Serena Williams’ Legacy
This year is such a bittersweet moment for the legendary Serena Williams. In a cover story for Vogue magazine, she announced that she would be stepping away from her first love, tennis, after this year’s U.S. Open Tournament. The game of tennis has opened an innumerable number of doors for the 40-year-old superstar -- with the most notable being fashion and a major cultural influencer. Williams decided to announce her exit in the most famous fashion magazine in the world, and that alone speaks volumes about who she is and her impact. Plus, she …
What Is Your North Star?
Do you know your organization’s North Star? Or maybe a better question is whether your organization even has a North Star. Not to get all astronomical on you, but Dr. E.C. Krupp, Director of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles and a world-renowned expert in ancient astronomy explains, “The north pole of the sky and whatever stars were close to that point told the ancients there was foundation and structure in their lives. It was an anchor that held the world in place, the stable, motionless hub of the night’s orderly parade of stars. …
Gifting With a Purpose
For gift givers, convenience and flexibility are the two key benefits of gift cards, driving their adoption among people, companies, and marketers the world over. Not so much for the recipient. As efficient and utilitarian as these cards are, they are also highly impersonal and typically have little to do with the tastes, sensibilities, and style of the recipient. Nonetheless, the United States Gift Cards Market was estimated at $158.26 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $167.71 billion in 2022. It is projected to grow at a 6.25 percent …
What If We Reimagined Retail?
I offer you a cautionary tale. Let us take a moment in the waning days of yet another summer we cannot bear to admit is about to end and consider the waning days of another vanishing season. This time, a season of our profound discontent. The Summer of Our Discontent Let us consider retail. And retailing. And retailers. And specifically, all the ridiculous tchotchkes and bad-for-us foodstuffs they offer, with them counting on us to show up and stock up. As we gear up for fall, dare we look at the consumer-centric sector of the economy …
Pete Nordstrom Is a True Innovator and Storyteller
Earlier this year, Pete Nordstrom, president and chief brand officer of the retailer that bears his family name, launched Nordy Pod, a podcast or as he said, he added a new title to his resume. During the hour-long presentation, he invites employees or members of the extended Nordstrom family,” including friends of the company and actual blood relatives, for unscripted chats. As is characteristic of exceptional retailers, Pete is truly interested in people and his authentic curiosity shows in his conversations. His guests over the course of …