Operations

If you're looking for a story about yet another retailer devastated by the Covid pandemic, barely surviving and on the brink of insolvency…this isn't it. But if you want something positive, about how a retailer, seemingly written off before the pandemic, has risen to the occasion and gotten back on its game with its prospects looking up for the future, welcome to the story of At Home. As recently as this past April the home furnishings Big Box store, with about 220 locations around the country -- all of them closed -- was on many people's …

At Home Finds Itself the Right Store at the Right TimeRead 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

It sounded like the perfect retail model. Brandless was the brand that wasn’t a brand with a direct-to-consumer, product-centric sales strategy. For the first two years, every product was just $3. Brandless maintained that this was made possible by the fact that they didn’t charge a “brand tax” and were thus positioned to pass on the savings that would have been spent on marketing and packaging. In February, Brandless announced they were halting operations. But less than six months after freezing functions, Brandless is coming back. Here’s …

What DTC Home Brands Need to Do DifferentlyRead More

Oh, yes. It’s callout time. Deloitte spoke to “The Great Retail Bifurcation” well before the Covid crisis. But, since Covid spread to the Western world, we’ve seen a 26 percent increase in commercial Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings in April alone. Retailers without a strategy to remain relevant and agile aren’t going to make it through this. And there are certain retailers that seem to be going out of their way to estrange themselves from the few customers they have left. The “what are they thinking” force is strong with some of these …

Which Retailers Alienated Consumers During Covid Shutdowns?Read More

The confusion, debate and politics surrounding wearing a mask or face covering rages on and retailers are front and center as the United States grapples with flattening the Covid-19 curve and protecting states from having to shut down a second time. Although no federal mandate currently exists, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says everyone "should wear a cloth face cover when they have to go out in public." The CDC also says, "face coverings are meant to protect other people." Science supports that wearing masks can and …

Masks: A FlashpointRead More

When COVID-19 ground everyday life to a halt, the impact on the retail industry was immediate and severe. The fashion industry, which offers anywhere from twelve to many dozens of deliveries per year, was left staggering as the pandemic forced far-flung overseas factories to shut down. Orders were cancelled, or retailers and brands refused to pay for completed goods because sales nosedived as stores were ordered to close. During the ensuing months, the havoc wrought by the coronavirus generated discussions about the practicality of near-shoring …

Why ‘Made in USA’ Could Really Become More of a RealityRead 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

The media has been busy proclaiming the coming death of both the store and experiential retailing in a voice that has grown progressively louder over the course of the last decade. The scourge of Covid-19 is now being touted as the cataclysmic event that will signal the coming of a dramatic shift in the channel mix of retail. Some even have predicted that the penetration of digital sales could reach 40-50 percent of total sales by 2021. But what if the metrics the industry typically uses to measure channel performance are wrong? This 50 …

Measuring the New Normal: Retail’s KPI ChallengeRead More