retail

Wal-Mart Moms

Tim Manners — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 09:59:14 -0400

Wal-Mart is out with a fascinating presidential election poll of its female shoppers (a.k.a. Wal-Mart Moms) that reveals as much about Wal-Mart's fortunes as it does about Obama's and McCain's.

The poll of five battleground states finds Sen. Obama leading in three (Virginia, Nevada, Colorado) and Sen. McCain in the other two (Ohio and Florida), albeit by slim margins all around.

FAO Schwarz

Tim Manners — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 11:09:05 -0400

A tour of the FAO Schwarz flagship store in NYC should be mandatory for everyone who wants to understand the relevance of really good retail.

When last we left FAO, we left it for dead. Every single one of its stores was closed, and it was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Seems like yesterday but that was five years ago. FAO had made the fatal mistake of attempting to compete with Wal-Mart and Toys R US on price and, worse, its merchandise mix had turned pedestrian.

Sigrid Olsen

Tim Manners — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 11:08:44 -0400

The news that Liz Claiborne has closed all 54 Sigrid Olsen stores is sad indeed for Sigrid and the boomer women for whom her fashions were designed. But it was also a setback for those who see retail as less of a tactical tool of sales and distribution, and more a strategic medium for marketing a lifestyle.

INTRODUCING HDSS® AUDIO INTO THE RETAIL ENVIRONMENT

Carlton Plummer — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:42:10 -0400

The reproduction of sound and
picture has evolved over many decades and has resulted in the present state of
the market. The display portion of the video has progressed into a high
definition version. The sound is stagnated by the lack of revolution or
evolution in the loudspeaker industry.

Economy Candy

Tim Manners — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 11:06:12 -0400

Economy Candy, on New York's Lower East Side, is not a huge store, but it creates a huge impression. It is actually rather narrow, although it is long and the ceiling is high. It feels like a warehouse and a small shop all in one shot.

Retail Strategy

Tim Manners — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 10:33:52 -0400

For all intents and purposes, retail strategy is an oxymoron. Most marketers view retail as a tactic, not a strategy. They see it as a function of sales, not marketing. But those who understand the potential of a "retail strategy" to make or break a brand have a real edge over those who don't.

Quiksilver's Spice Girls

Tina Dupuy — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:30:54 -0400

In the hip Silver Lake section of Los Angeles, nestled between a Latino folk-medicine shop and a beauty salon, there is a loft space that could be an art gallery. Two people are inside. As I enter, one woman chirps, "Hi," then turns back to her conversation. They don't ask me to leave. They don't ask me anything. I look at the art on the walls: no prices, as there would be at a gallery; nothing for sale; no explanatory signs. Just a disclaimer stating we're being filmed for promotional purposes.

The Home Depot Experience

Manuel Saez — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:35:36 -0400

In the last two years I have seen a consistent and ever growing decadence at big box retailers in the US. Recently I found myself choosing NOT to shop at Home Depot, but instead to visit a smaller retailer further from my home cutting out an hour from my day. The reason I switched is clear. I favor a better shopping experience over convenience. So do a lot of people I know. Some are even forgoing lower prices.

Client Experience

Lisa Larter — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 20:36:23 -0400

What has happened to old fashioned customer service? In more and more retail environments today I see a lack of interest in actually helping your customers. Why is that? Why is it when I go shopping at Future Shop for a widget they send me to WalMart and seconds later I find what I was looking for hanging on a peg in the store? Why is it that sales reps seem more interested in surfing the web on Retail Store computers thatn in talking to the customer??? And we wonder why Starbucks is closing stores?

Mind Space

Tim Manners — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:05:01 -0400

The next big thing in retail merchandising is here and it is ... nothing.

At least that's the thinking at the new Jil Sander Store in Soho, which, according to a story in Sunday's New York Times magazine section, is stone, cold empty save for "a system of louvers that rotate at regular intervals to enclose the entire space in whiteness or open it up to reflected glimpses of the outside."