Ten miles is the average distance that 90 percent of the U.S. population would have to go to reach one of Walmart's roughly 4,700 stores. That is often cited as the real competitive advantage over Amazon for convenient shopping, pick-up and delivery. It took Walmart more than half a century to roll out their enormous national fleet, along with their equally large international footprint of another roughly 7,000 stores. In the U.S., this march to retail supremacy began in the mid-60s sparked by the vision of Sam Walton to provide everyday low …
Operations
The Great Reopening?
The great American closing was straightforward. Stores, restaurants, and the bulk of the economy switched to sleep mode; waking up will be a different matter. The shape of this phase of post-Covid retail is now unfolding. Other countries are well into the reopening and offer us models to consider. Additionally, innovators, driven by opportunity and a problem-solving culture have been rushing potential solutions to market. And finally, for VR, an existing technology that has been awaiting wide-spread adoption, the moment may have …
Farmers Markets During the Time of Coronavirus
In the sea of the coronavirus, I've made my bi-weekly pilgrimage to the Union Square farmers market in New York for fresh food. Whatever the many other negative aspects to the pandemic lockdown - I'm am the lightest weight I've been in 30 years. Yes, it's the stress, but eating only at home, the fresh foods at the farmer's market and daily exercise have made a difference. In various other parts of the country farmers markets have been closed responding to the government requirements for social distancing. In LA the mayor shut down his city's …
What Will Retail Real Estate Be Without Department Stores?
The possibility of losing one or more major department stores is looking more and more like a reality as Covid-19 wreaks havoc on these already financially ravaged institutions. Due to changing shopping behaviors and brands going direct to consumer, the result is that a lot of premium real estate will be available. Down and Out Just in the time it took to write this article there's been a stream of daily announcements. Macy's, J.C Penny, Lord & Taylor, J. Crew, Nordstrom, and Neiman Marcus are all on the edge of bankruptcy. In the …
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When Did the Gap Turn into Old Navy?
Gap is struggling. CNBC reported that Gap’s stock had fallen by more than 25% over the past year before the coronavirus outbreak. Gap’s former CEO, Art Peck, was fired in November of 2019 after a series of missteps led the brand away from the resurrection the retailer needed. Gap recently furloughed the majority of its employees without pay, but extending health benefits throughout shutdowns. So, what’s the problem with Gap? The standout issue is that its offerings have, for some time now, been undifferentiated from those of Old Navy, its …
Good News, Bad News Times for Off-Price Retailers
For off-price stores it is a Dickensian Dilemma: the best of times and the worst of times. When physical stores start to reopen over the next few weeks and months, the nation's off-price retailers will have access to more merchandise than perhaps at any time in their history. And they will be able to buy much of it at just a fraction of its cost. Feeding frenzy would not be too strong a phrase to use. But at the same time, they will be greeted by a shopping population that more than ever has embraced e-commerce for virtually …
Five Forces Shaping Retail’s Post-Pandemic Future
This is a precarious time for all retailers, but particularly those deemed non-essential: Inventories are piled up and on-orders slashed; relationships with suppliers, landlords and employees are fraught; cash is scarce and the timelines for stores opening and customers responding are murky. Many, if not most, are focused only on short-term survival. Multiple Scenarios As we plan for the post-pandemic future, we'd do best to plan for multiple possible scenarios. For over a decade now, we assumed steady consumer spending growth, some jockeying …
Food Retailing and Our New Fate
When it comes to retailing, maybe the most unexpected surprise is that food retailing is just about the only enterprise that remains more or less as it was in the B.C. era (Before Corona). Consumers can still go to supermarkets and other food-retailing venues in person to shop for the goods they need, if they accept the degree of hazard associated with that. They can also order product online. And sales at the major retailers selling food are surging, in a good way. But that doesn't mean everything is exactly the same for food retailing and …