For the last number years or so we’ve seen the emergence of quirky, innovative and sometimes irreverent consumer shave clubs. Dollar Shave Club and Harry’s come to mind. These businesses are full of personality…some wacky, others cheeky…but definitely not boring. Recent examples of videos from this group are: (here, here, and here). The internet has […]
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Recent articles and events re-inforce the narrative started a few years ago: the retail shake-down cruise is nowhere near over. Issues with once mighty giants like Sears Holdings filing for Chapter 11 – on life support waiting for last minute funding, JCPenny becoming a penny stock for the first time since the 70’s, and others […]
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I recently attended the 2018 Notre Dame Chief Marketing Officer Summit sponsored by the Mendoza College of Business. The theme was “The Future of Customer Engagement in a Digital World”. Top marketing officers from Kellogg Co, TD Ameritrade, Intuit, Keds, Constellation Brands, American Eagle Outfitters, Ally Financial, Edward Jones, and USAA shared thoughts among others.
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We are well into 2018 and we’ve seen our share of stories reinforcing the narrative that large retailers continue to shrink their footprint, (Toys R Us, Foot Locker, Best Buy cell phone stores), while Walmart, Amazon and even several Chinese retailers test larger automation. This new testing is well beyond the adoption of simple tablets at casual dining restaurants like Applebee’s and Chili’s, so we’ll focus on what’s new.
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The last few years have seen some dramatic shifts in the footwear retail landscape. It may have started quietly in 2014, when kids shoe retailer Stride Rite announced it would close 140 retail stores and shift those resources to ecommerce.
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News from the last 30 days has us convinced that a tipping point has been reached with major brands selling online through Amazon. Once a sensitive subject among major brands who feared a backlash and loss of business from their traditional retail channel, the floodgates now appear to be open.
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Recent news of multiple store closings has sparked a hot discussion on whether retail as we know it is dead. – Payless Shoes to file Chapter 11 and close 400 – Macy’s to close 68 – J.C. Penny to close 140 – Sears to close 42 – Kmart to close 108 – The Limited […]
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After launching a year ago and projecting service across two dozen states, Google announced it’s shutdown of Google Compare in the US (and UK) today…reaching a threshold of selling auto insurance in just four states. The reason? It wasn’t as successful as planned. Now while Google is known for experimenting across a wide range of […]
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The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Amazon is axing its Fire Phone due to lack of sales cited in this article from Engadget. As I read the article and user comments I couldn’t help but laugh at my June 2014 blog on how cool this new Fire Phone was, and how its features […]
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Any marketer not aware of the tremendous growth across three key dimensions might be accused of living under a rock in 2015, but it’s in tying them together where we understand them in context. The three dimensions here are: Device, Intent, and Content. (Aka Mobile, Local, Video) Mobile: The biggest force in online […]
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