Posted
on Jul 13, 2010
Retailers have the opportunity to make "permanent part-time" positions even more advantageous to the stores and the employee. It could become your competitive edge for attracting and keeping the best employees. Here's why.
Even in this tough economic situation, there are people who want only...
Posted
on Jul 7, 2010
Oh my. Once again, our premise holds true: "Retailing is a mirror of society."
All sorts of traditional loan facilities have either dried up or become so very arduous that potential users are discouraged. And this dearth of debt availability - the credit crisis - shows no sign of...
Posted
on Mar 22, 2010
Your retail business has survived to date, thanks in large part to your guts and guile. You have slashed expenses, controlled inventory like never before, and cut deals with vendors and landlords.
As "rent relief" expires, however, retailers are finding landlords much less flexible. (They have...
Posted
on Mar 10, 2010
Retail sales results for February have come out, and two major tracking services - Retail Forward and the International Council of Shopping Centers - report that comp store retail sales rose at least 3.7% in February: "their best monthly gains since the economy began its meltdown in November 2007."...
Posted
on Jan 26, 2010
The SBA is extending its incentives to banks to lend. What will it take for those funds to be available to retailers? They sure haven't been so far.
Many independents need to replace their legacy POS system. Upgrade other technology. Remodel. Create a more exciting "customer experience." Add...
Posted
on Jan 18, 2010
Common wisdom is that banks are not lending, especially to independent retailers. "Ah, those deadbeats!"
Well, last week we did what you could do. And guess what happened? We were amazed that four banks out of four initial bank meetings took great interest in potentially loaning over one million...
Posted
on Jan 8, 2010
On Wednesday, the 13th, in Anaheim we are speaking to "the best of the best" in the music retailing industry. We believe the topic of our 90-minute presentation is SPOT-ON, as they say.
After considerable discussion with the group's leadership, it surfaced that the greatest threat to these...
Posted
on Jan 6, 2010
Amazon's best-selling holiday item was its own Kindles. And now Google is selling its Nexus One smart phone online, directly to the customer (bypassing Google's previous customer, the phone carriers.)
Yep, selling to the ultimate consumer IS the definition of retailing. Increasingly, manufacturers...
Posted
on Dec 30, 2009
Florin Rotar profiles the Swedish retail sector and assesses the challenges it is facing
Like most developed economies, Sweden has been facing a difficult macroeconomic environment. This has certainly had an impact on the challenges and opportunities of Swedish retailers: in 2009, GNP is...
Posted
on Dec 14, 2009
With high staff turnover intuitive solutions can save a fortune, says Argility’s Andrew Blatherwick
As we all know retail operations have one of the highest staff turnovers of any industry. We also know that good customer service is more important today than at any other time in history;...
Posted
on Dec 8, 2009
Russell Dorset at Maginus explains how speciality retailers can use technology to help them reduce costs and expand across channels while delivering a faultless customer service experience
It doesn’t matter how much value for money retailers offer their customers, if they choose to...
Posted
on Dec 6, 2009
Now, we have good news and we have bad news. (As though you haven't had enough of the latter.) Oh, and then we have some more good news.
First, the really good news. Although we have been perched out on this limb for months, we still believe, overall, sales between Thanksgiving and December 31 this...
Posted
on Dec 2, 2009
With disposable income down and many running costs on the up, today’s retailers have it tough. Jasmine Yalds takes a look at the in-store technology that is allowing retailers to improve service, increase efficiency and boost the bottom line
Today’s retailers are experiencing a business...
Posted
on Nov 18, 2009
Lindsay James takes a look at how retailers should be changing their marketing strategies to embrace digital channels and connect with the customer on a more personal level
Today’s consumers have the world at their fingertips. At the touch of a button or the click of a mouse they can not...
Posted
on Oct 21, 2009
Retail is a mirror of society. And "society" is moving away from malls.
Consider the important social networking role that stores - and malls in particular - have played since their inception. They were the place that people would go to see and be seen, to meet with friends and neighbors; they...
Posted
on Oct 16, 2009
A quick recap of the good, the bad, and the ugly about the economy:In September, retail sales (excluding autos) increased 0.5%, the second monthly increase in a rowUnemployment is not expected to have a material drop for several quarters. (This is traceable in part, we believe, to the widespread...
Posted
on Sep 11, 2009
Loyalty programmes can deliver great benefits to retailers, but if badly managed they can be a waste of time and money. Moti Lichi explains how systems help companies avoid the pitfalls
In today’s world, retailers seeking to benefit from loyalty programmes are faced with many challenges....
Posted
on Sep 1, 2009
ShiSh Shridhar looks at how making the online shopping experience more of a social activity may just increase customer satisfaction and boost sales
Shopping is undeniably a social activity. As more retailers realise the need to embrace social media, they’re also recognising that there are...
Posted
on Aug 27, 2009
Right now, the changes going on in the economy are simultaneously encouraging and discouraging. What a time to be in retailing!
Yes, the overall consumer confidence level is rising. Finally! In fact, we are predicting that Holiday 2009 sales volumes will, in a macro sense, recoup about 50% of last...
Posted
on Aug 19, 2009
Retailers know that in order to reach a broader customer base, they need to embrace multiple sales channels. Lindsay James looks at the issues facing retailers in defining and executing a multichannel strategy that will carry them into the future.
In today’s retail environment, purchasing...
