It's easy to talk about lifelong learning in an abstract sense. Nobody would argue that, as a retail leader, you should continue educating yourself as the field evolves - particularly considering the disruptions the pandemic has sparked. Continuing education has proven to boost confidence and credentials in managing a team. An impressive 63 percent of adults in the U.S. have taken a professional class or training in the past year. Maintaining expertise - especially fast-moving tech prowess -- is both a professional responsibility and a …
Experience
How the Coronavirus is Going to Change Our Lives
In its recent review of A Bit of a Stretch, a prison memoir from filmmaker and ersatz tax fraudster Chris Atkins, The New York Times reports on his observation that sexual pornography isn’t the primary tool of gratification and anticipation of release in the British prison system. Rather, GQ’s brand of capitalist porn is the lusted after publication of prisoners’ choice. “Prisoners drooled endlessly over Orlando Bloom’s watch or David Beckham’s shoes, believing they too could possess these luxuries if they sold enough drugs,” Atkins is quoted …
Get Ready for the Great Retail Reckoning
"Make no mistake, it's not revenge he's after. It's a reckoning." That was one of Val Kilmer's (as Doc Holliday) many memorable lines from the 1993 movie Tombstone, referring to Kurt Russell 's (Wyatt Earp) vendetta against the "cowboy" faction that killed his brother. I like to think I have an extensive vocabulary, but that reference to "reckoning" sent me to the dictionary where I discovered an archaic meaning of the term as "a bill, a payment or settlement of an account." Pay Up A reckoning, or a settlement of an account, describes what …
A Tale of Two Generations: Same Crises, Different Outlooks
States have been slowly reopening after the coronavirus pandemic saw stores, schools, work, and life in general shutdown months ago. For Gen Z and millennials, Covid-19 marked yet another crisis that affected these younger generations. But it seems to have impacted them differently, and that may have an effect on how retailers reach out to their target customers. The Trifecta Millennials and Gen Z can be forgiven if they feel shaken lately. After all, how many "once in a lifetime" crises hit during their formative years and kept right on …
A Tale of Two Generations: Same Crises, Different OutlooksRead More
A Closer Look at Brands That Are Thriving During Covid
These are challenging times, but not all retailers are struggling. The 8.7 percent drop in retail sales from February to March didn’t hit every sector. While clothing and accessory sales took the biggest hit, certain retailers––such as those selling home furnishings online––unexpectedly benefitted from consumer shopping behaviors during the pandemic and signs point to the fact that they’ll continue to thrive after the outbreak. Beyond the obvious sanitization companies like Clorox and Purell, video conferencing apps (Zoom and Google Hangouts), …
A Closer Look at Brands That Are Thriving During CovidRead More
“Wanna Chat…With A Brand?
Let’s shift our gaze from the current moment where an undercurrent of uncertainty colors everything. It is easy to feel like we are treading water both professionally and personally, but if we look outward, things are changing at a rapid pace. As I have heard repeatedly in recent weeks, this pandemic has accelerated shifts that were already underway and/or, a decade’s worth of change has rained down on our society in fewer than six months. One area where this is especially true is the integration of voice-activated smart speakers into our …
Is Kanye’s New Gap Collaboration Dead on Arrival?
It’s supposed to be the collaboration of the decade. Right when Kanye West’s Yeezy brand launched its interactive 3D website, Mr. West announced a new ongoing collaboration with Gap. Kanye will remodel a Gap outlet downtown Chicago as part of the deal. It seems like a good idea, right? The Yeezy/Adidas sneaker collab was hugely successful and Yeezy brought in $1.3 billion last year alone. But this doesn’t mean that Yeezy would also bring new life to the ailing mall-based retailer. There are five reasons why the Gap collaboration won’t match …
Six Unexpected Takeaways from Covid-19
Covid-19 has now been around long enough for us to start drawing some conclusions from our shared experiences. The Pandemic is far from over and has prompted almost everyone to think deeply about their lives, relationships, values and attitudes. Part of this re-evaluation has been caused by so much extra time in shelter, watching a medical, economic and social justice drama unfold on our screens of choice. For essential workers, it has been a 24/7 call to action; for nonessential workers it has been an opportunity to reflect and reset. For …