A Closer Look at Brands That Are Thriving During Covid

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These are challenging times, but not all retailers are struggling. The 8.7 percent drop in retail sales from February to March didn’t hit every sector. While clothing and accessory sales took the biggest hit, certain retailers––such as those selling home furnishings online––unexpectedly benefitted from consumer shopping behaviors during the pandemic and signs point to the fact that they’ll continue to thrive after the outbreak. Beyond the obvious sanitization companies like Clorox and Purell, video conferencing apps (Zoom and Google Hangouts), …

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Can Bed Bath & Beyond Recover…And How Will They Do It?

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Perhaps no American retailer's fall from grace has been as swift or dramatic as has Bed Bath & Beyond's. Legacy retailers like JC Penney and Gap have deteriorated slowly over long periods of time but BBB as recently as just a few years ago was considered one of the best in the business of retailing. Its myriad of problems has been well documented: an aging and bloated physical store fleet, lack of attention to building its e-commerce business, an inefficient supply chain that hadn't kept up with modern retailing practices and an insular …

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Macy’s and Unsubscribed…Who?

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I have this theory that the future post-pandemic retail landscape will be populated by the giant-sized retailers who have successfully survived their pre-Covid downward trend, as well as surviving the downward slope post-Covid. However, since the big brands have such expertise in AI and analytics to drive personalization, including localization, they will change their business models. They will only keep their giant footprints or flagships in select, outperforming urban areas and A-ranked malls (but only AFTER they have been converted into …

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

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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 …

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J.C. Penney May Survive Covid-19 (For the Wrong Reasons)

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The moment of truth is nearing for J.C. Penney. The struggling department store chain faces a July 15 deadline to gain lenders' approval for its bankruptcy reorganization plan and thereby unlock additional bankruptcy funding. Unless two-thirds of its bankruptcy lenders consent to its restructuring plan by then, J.C. Penney will be required to pursue an immediate sale of its assets. That could lead to a liquidation and the effective disappearance of this iconic brand. J.C. Penney's rapid fall from relevance over the past decade, plunging mall …

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“Wanna Chat…With A Brand?

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Let’s shift our gaze from the current moment where an undercurrent of uncertainty colors everything. It is easy to feel like we are treading water both professionally and personally, but if we look outward, things are changing at a rapid pace. As I have heard repeatedly in recent weeks, this pandemic has accelerated shifts that were already underway and/or, a decade’s worth of change has rained down on our society in fewer than six months. One area where this is especially true is the integration of voice-activated smart speakers into our …

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Crate & Barrel Has a New CEO

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Here's a fascinating development in retailing: Replace a good merchant with another good merchant. What a concept. Crate & Barrel, the iconic lifestyle home furnishings retail chain announced over the past few days the departure of current CEO Needa Montgomery and her successor Janet Hayes, a former Williams Sonoma veteran with a good pedigree. As so many big retailing companies bring in operations and financial types to run their businesses, what's happening at Crate is a refreshing reminder that if the store isn't merchandised right, …

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Signals of a New Normal

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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: …

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