Management

American Eagle Outfitters is an amazing success story, propelled by next gens who love it for its honesty and relevant, trending style. It’s the perfect example of a brand from the early aughts that managed to evolve into a Gen Z go-to –– it’s exactly what Abercrombie wishes it could be. CEO Jay Schottenstein has led the brand to new heights as the pioneer in supporting body positivity, inclusive environments and connection with its customers and local communities. AEO came off the pandemic as a nonessential retailer with over $5 billion in …

American Eagle Outfitters: A 2022 Robin Report Retail RadicalRead More

While I’m sure it was just the way it all shook out, there are only men - seven of them, in fact -- quoted in the mid-November official press release announcing the acquisition of Tom Ford by Estée Lauder Companies. Building the Empire In order, they are Fabrizio Freda, EL Cos. president and CEO; Ford himself; Domenico De Sole, co-founder and chairman, Tom Ford International; William Lauder, executive chairman, EL Cos.; Guillaume Jesel, president, luxury business development, EL Cos.; Ermenegildo “Gildo” Zegna, CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna …

Lauder’s Fashion Sense: How Tom Ford Lured the Beauty Behemoth into Untested WatersRead More

The Twitterverse and the rest of the media world erupted with outrage over Balenciaga’s latest holiday ad campaign featuring children posed with teddy-bear bags dressed in S&M bondage gear and another ad that included a copy of a Supreme Court opinion on child pornography Tragedy is a genre of literature that’s been around since the dawn of time, from the Bible to the Greeks to Shakespeare and onward. The drama unfolds from some fatal flaw in the hero’s character, which is something understood and shared by humanity, such as greed, …

Luxury Is Close to a Tipping Point: Balenciaga Takes the RiskRead More

How did I define the CEO of RH, Gary Friedman? As a true radical, and more. Perhaps even an iconoclast. Friedman is unique and complex. A conversation with him can be surreal; he’s a philosopher, an uber-character, energizer bunny, stream-of-conscious rambling brilliant visionary, and unstoppable (until he hits a wall traveling at the speed of light – which is rarely). He’s the poster child for all radicals. And he didn’t just become a radical; he’s been one his entire career. Sometimes he’s flirted dangerously close to failure, but more …

Gary Friedman: The Poster Child of Retail RadicalsRead More

In June of last year I wrote a somewhat scathing article about SPG and ABG’s, (Authentic Brands Group), formation of “SPARC,” (Simon Property, ABG Retail Concepts). ABG, SPARC and JCP Fading Into The Sunset. Long story, short, I said, here is what failure looks like: “Acquire a bunch of once-cool brands on the cheap, license third parties to run them, further license them out to a mall developer, (this is ABG’s model), who then, (along with their Simon Property Group partner), shovels them into hundreds of dying JC Penney stores, (owned by …

Simon Properties Group Acquires for the FutureRead More

“Fashion fades, style is eternal.” This bit of philosophical observation was the final jaw-dropping statement in a 2021 article in The Urban Journal, which opined on Ralph Lauren’s leadership hiccups around 2015. It questioned the brand’s relevance and ability to evolve with the lifestyles of millennial and Gen Z consumers, along with their seamless connection to technology and the internet. The closing statement of that article is all one needs to understand that describes the brand’s ultimate longevity as eternal. And this was re-echoed by …

Ralph Lauren Finally Finds Its New Left BrainRead More

Quiet quitting has become a growing phenomenon thanks in part to social media, with TikTok and YouTube among the biggest influencers. But before we embark on a deep dive into the rise of one of the largest shifts ever in employee attitudes about work, let's take a step back and reflect on what our workers have been through in the past two years. It may provide some perspective. Past Tense The pandemic hit the U.S. landscape in a major way in 2020. Many businesses closed and many employees were laid off. Those who continued working had to …

Quiet Quitting Is a Clear Call to Repair Employee EngagementRead More

Striking the right balance between asking workers to return to the office and providing opportunities for work-at-home has become a challenge for corporate retail executives. So far, workers have been in a position of power to make demands around schedules, but as the labor market tightens up, the employers may have more of a say in the policies of a hybrid work environment. The evidence is clear that employees want to work from home at least for part of the work week. A recent survey from McKinsey found that 58 percent of Americans have the …

The New Rules of WorkRead More