Retail behemoth Target Corporation’s recent announcement that it has committed to spending more than $2 billion by 2025 on products and services from Black-owned businesses, including ramping up the number of minority-owned brands on store shelves and Target.com to at least 500, is setting a new bar for what it means to be a retailer in an era when racial justice and equality are front and center in American national discourse. The mega retailer also announced that it would engage with more advertising, marketing, and construction companies …
Management
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Purpose-Driven Retail
Purpose-driven retail is more than just a buzzword… it’s the new standard. Contrary to popular belief, purpose-driven retail and conscious capitalism are not the same thing. Conscious capitalism works to elevate humanity through every component of a business, while purpose-driven retail refers to a retail business built around an altruistic central purpose or core motivation. Have you heard the slogan “your vibe attracts you tribe?” The retail version would be, “Your purpose attracts your customers.” This isn’t theoretical: nearly …
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Our Workforce Under Pressure
How do you understand and motivate today’s workforce? Being a corporate leader today has never been more complicated than it is right now. The demands of operating a business are daunting between the logistics of sourcing products, managing supply chains, financial engineering, marketing, sales, data analytics, communications and personnel management. Power Shift For over 40 years, the mantra of CEOs and CFOs has been to shun any concern other than those of shareholders’ demand for profits. That mantra has been efficient beyond belief. …
Will Corporate America Continue to Steer Social Policy?
Remember when retail and politics were separate entities? In the past decade, brands have been called upon to take a stance on social and environmental issues. Speaking out about incendiary policy is mainstream and no longer a role relegated to millennial-focused outdoor brands such as Patagonia and REI. The retail landscape has never been more polarized. Even Patagonia has taken a more active role in politics by openly endorsing senate candidates, lobbying for environmental issues and adding tags to clothing that say “Vote the A••holes …
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Saks: Unlocking Value, for Whom?
I will state my opinion right up front. I believe Richard Baker's move to split the Saks Fifth Avenue and its ecommerce business into separate companies, which he calls "unlocking value," is simply applying a fancy buzzword, disguising what will ultimately lead to a real estate play. The reality is somewhere, way down deep in his real estate DNA, he clearly sees his personal cash-generating machine where it always has been -- in real estate. So, don't fall for unlocking value in the retail enterprise as a strategy to improve and accelerate the …
Activist Pirates Attack Kohl’s
I've seen this horrible movie before with one notable actor leading the attack on Children's Place in 2015. Johnathan Duskin, CEO Macellum Advisors GP, is apparently leading the sequel, "Activist Pirates Attack Kohl's," along with Legion Partners Holdings, Ancora Advisors and 4010 Capital, (with an equity position of just under 10 percent). They are determined to replace five board seats (down from nine) ostensibly to drive cost cutting, including executive pay packages. The activists also want to boost revenues and margins through better …
Beyond Retail: Walmart’s “Everything Service”
The Beyond Burgers brand reflects a sea change of a whole new generation of environmental and animal friendly consumers. New products and new business models are emerging at an accelerated pace, driven by consumers and envisioned by savvy, progressive thinking CEOs. So, it strikes me that Walmart CEO Doug McMillon's investor day announcement that they would use their physical and digital platforms to drive businesses beyond retail -- from advertising to health care (and more) -- is the beginning of a new tech era portfolio business model, made …
21 Global Disruptors
From Tel Aviv to São Paulo to New York City’s Garment District, the onset of the pandemic in 2020 forced widespread change and innovation across the retail ecosystem. From big retail chains and brands to technology enablement and alternative payments, CEOs across the globe were forced to adapt to a new reality – one in which being able succeed online moved from being essential to absolutely mission critical. But improved digital performance wasn’t the only outcome that can be traced back to the pandemic. Amid these strong headwinds, retail …