SPARC: Maybe this acronym for the Simon Property Authentic Brands Retail Concepts was purposely crafted to send a message that many of the withering Simon Properties’ malls, co-owning and leasing spaces to many of the stale and losing brands in the Authentic Brands portfolio, would spark new life into both. I wrote about Simon and Brookfield’s acquisition of the dying JC Penney, Too Big to Fail stating that it was a short-term move to save Simon’s and Brookfield’s butts from a massive exit of not just JCP but also the hundreds of other …
The Mom Whisperer: Evereve’s Secret Sauce
How many retailers do you know that were founded and inspired by a woman who found herself crying alone with a baby stroller in a dressing room? Evereve’s husband and wife cofounders, Megan and Mike Tamte, pride themselves on being “the biggest women’s apparel retailer that you’ve never heard of.” My first reaction upon visiting the website was, it’s an off-price world right now. So how does Evereve justify charging full price on brands like Free People, Michael Stars, and Revolve? Style and Substance When I hopped on a Zoom call with …
Mobile Shopping Is on The Move: Retailers Need to Move with It
After months of pandemic-induced retail shutdowns, it comes as no shock that consumers turned online to do their shopping. Non-store retail sales grew 22 percent to end the year just under $1 trillion ($968 billion). In a nearly $4 trillion retail market, excluding autos, gasoline and food service, that means roughly one-out-of-four retail dollars happened outside brick-and-mortar stores’ four walls, including $883 billion conducted through electronic shopping and direct mail. The Digital Retail Highway What may have gone unnoticed is how …
Mobile Shopping Is on The Move: Retailers Need to Move with ItRead More
Are You Willing to Give Up Your Career?
Is anybody else waking up in the morning now thinking “What is it that I do and will I still be doing the same thing in the future?” Compounded by the fear of losing a job, we are questioning the value of our professional roles and wondering if we have the skills required to adapt to a new world of work in a post-Covid era. This applies equally to the next-gen tech natives as it does for veteran CEOs who now operate in a digital marketplace. Who Am I? As statistics build, we are faced with the reality that Covid-19 will be a dramatic game …
Eat Your Credit Card
What would it take to get you to eat a credit card every week for an indeterminate amount of time? Answer: You’re already doing this voluntarily. When I first heard that there was a massive chunk of plastic in the Pacific Ocean twice the size of Texas and three times the size of France called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, (GPGP), it blew my mind. But that concept is so abstract I just can’t get an in-my-face, personal feeling or tactile sensation. So, it eventually ends up in a part of my brain where I compartmentalize all the horrible …
The Retail Workforce of the Future
Millennials and Gen Z make up around half of the global workforce. Many are frontline retail workers whose jobs were impacted during the pandemic. Whether they were laid off, suffered reduced hours, or had to switch from a nonessential retail job (such as cosmetics sales) to an essential one (such as stocking shelves at an Amazon warehouse), there is nary a next-gen whose career trajectory wasn’t deeply impacted by the last year of lockdowns. Job Insecurity Slows Frontline Employee Loyalty The pandemic showed frontline retail workers the …
Macy’s Off-Price Gambit Is the Only Way Forward
In recent weeks, Macy's has resumed expanding its Backstage off-price chain, following a pause while the department store giant fought through the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic last year. Since the beginning of April, the company has opened 26 new Backstage stores within full-line Macy's locations. That brings the Backstage store count to an even 250. Another eight new locations are set to open on May 15, putting Macy's close to its target of opening 45 new Backstage stores within Macy's full-line stores in 2021. The retailer also plans to …
Lowe’s Latest Move in Its Battle with Home Depot
It’s not easy being number two. Ask Avis or Pepsi…or for that matter Gimbel’s. Second place been the retail cross that Lowe’s has had to bear for much of its existence. Lowe’s is a good retailer that is increasingly becoming a very good retailer, but it has the misfortune to have to compete against one of the best retailers in the country: Home Depot. No matter how much Lowe’s advances, it always seems like Depot remains just out of reach. Total Home That gap however could get much smaller as Lowe’s picks up the pace of its Total Home …