I’ve been thinking quite a bit lately about an article I read earlier this summer, a piece by Krystina Gustafson that appeared on cnbc.com entitled, “For retailers, closing stores isn’t as easy as it once was.” The article points out that, despite the fact that “investors are demanding it” and “industry analysts are pushing for it,” and […]
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Now Trending: Macy’s May See Changes
Macy’s may be flailing, but the department store icon can’t be accused of taking its struggles lying down. As sales were falling 7.4% in the first quarter of 2016 (numbers that represented the fifth straight quarter of declining sales, and capped off a year in which Macy’s stock prices were nearly halved at 47%), Macy’s […]
Retail Rap: www.brick-and-mortar.com
As pure-play retailers take to the streets, what are the site considerations?
Now Trending: Changing the Channels
One of the most important trends to track these days is that of online retailers making the jump to brick-and-mortar. The different strategies and tactics they have taken, and the new and different ways that retailers are adapting to the realities of an omnichannel world, can not only reveal some fascinating truths about retail today [...]
Now Trending: The Replacements
There has been a great deal of discussion and analysis in recent years regarding the ongoing struggles of many traditional department store giants. Brands like Sears, J.C. Penney and Macy’s are scratching and clawing to continue to stay afloat, together with a number of big-box retailers that are also struggling to remain competitive in an […]
Now Trending: A Confusing Curriculum
As the initial results came in for this year’s back-to-school retail spending forecasts, the numbers were about where I thought they might be: down a couple of percentage points. It’s a modest dip, and certainly nothing to be alarmed about given the degree to which back-to-school spending has spiked over the last decade (average back-to-school spending has increased 42 percent over the last 10 year period). So why is it that these numbers are raising some eyebrows among industry analysts and observers?