News
The Data-Informed Future of Retail
The National Retail Federation recently increased its retail sales growth forecast for 2018 to 4.5%. That's a $159 billion increase on top of 2017's $3.53 trillion in retail sales. The opportunity to seize the future of retail is upon us. Today's retail CMOs are tasked with making crucial decisions...
The ups and downs of the life of Gilt Group, interview with Triangle Capital partner Richard Kestenbaum
Richard is a co-founder and Partner of Triangle Capital and has been an investment banker for over 35 years. Richard has a great deal of experience advising clients in merchandising businesses, particularly in the Retail & Consumer sector. Richard is an often-quoted expert on the retail and merchandising industries....
Despite Looming Brexit, Luxury Brands Bet on London Retail
As international tourists and ultra high-net-worth Londoners continue to spend, luxury brands are also continuing to open new stores in prime central London locations, notably on Bond Street and surrounding locations in Mayfair, as well as the affluent West London district of Chelsea. Real estate agent Savills, which handles...
The ups and downs of the life of Gilt Group, interview with Triangle Capital partner Richard Kestenbaum
Richard is a co-founder and Partner of Triangle Capital and has been an investment banker for over 35 years. Richard has a great deal of experience advising clients in merchandising businesses, particularly in the Retail & Consumer sector. Richard is an often-quoted expert on the retail and merchandising industries....
Blockchain In The Retail Industry
While numerous articles have been written on the ways that blockchain technology can disrupt the retail industry by reducing transaction costs or increasing efficiency, many have overlooked the impact of regulation and compliance. Before diving into where blockchain technology could aid compliance, it is important to understand what we...
Interview with Bob Negen CEO of WhizBang Retail Training on how to help SMB retailers survive and thrive in the digital age and e-commerce
WhizBang! Retail Training on how to help SMB retailers survive and thrive in the digital age. Independent retailers or mom and pop stores as we also know them are a foundational part of the global retail community and industry, and perhaps some of the most stressed members of this...
How Working in Retail Made Me Hate Humanity
I recently caught up with two former colleagues-who now hate humanity as much as I do-so we could share our worst experiences working in retail. My names isn't Juli-I had to sign a confidentiality agreement back when I worked for these horrible hellholes. The woman took one of the...
We've Created A Monster: Retail's Growing Returns Problem
At the beginning of the year I published "A Baker's Dozen Of Provocative Retail Predictions For 2018." In No. 11, I opined that the industry's problem with returns would soon start to get the attention it deserves. For awhile now I have seen the growing rate of costly product...
The ups and downs of the life of Gilt Group, interview with Triangle Capital partner Richard Kestenbaum
Richard is a co-founder and Partner of Triangle Capital and has been an investment banker for over 35 years. Richard has a great deal of experience advising clients in merchandising businesses, particularly in the Retail & Consumer sector. Richard is an often-quoted expert on the retail and merchandising industries....
How CVS is redefining convenience
Historically, CVS has capitalized on convenience - 85 percent of customers in the U.S. live within five miles of a CVS location - but customers' idea of convenience is evolving. To cater to these new expectations, CVS has introduced home delivery to customers nationwide. "We call it redefining convenience,"...
Hitachi and India's Largest Gov't-Owned Bank Partner on Major Digital Payments Platform
Hitachi Payments has partnered with the State Bank of India to establish a nationwide digital payments platform, according to a press release published by Hitachi Oct. 29. Under the aegis of the government's "Digital India" campaign, Hitachi will provide SBI with solutions including its Internet-of-Things platform "Lumada," which was...
Jet.com strikes deal with Blue Apron to sell its meal kits online, Blue Apron shares surge
Walmart's Jet.com is now selling meal kits by Blue Apron, as the e-commerce company tries to build out its platform and grocery assortment to compete with Amazon and Whole Foods. Starting Monday, shoppers in the New York area will be able to purchase four different meal kits for same-...
Walmart unveils Sam’s Club Now, its answer to Amazon Go, opening soon in Dallas
Walmart-owned Sam's Club will soon open a cashier-free store concept that rivals Amazon Go. Walmart unveiled a new concept called Sam's Club Now Monday that aims to bring a new shopping experience powered by smartphones into the competitive retail world. The store will be in Dallas, and at 32,000...
Levi's, Disney test Snapchat social commerce
Brief: Levi Strauss has partnered with Snapchat to sell Disney-branded merchandise at the clothing company's store at Walt Disney World's Disney Springs shopping complex in Orlando. Snapchat users can try on a virtual version of a limited-edition Mickey Mouse hat with an augmented reality lens before buying the item...
The ups and downs of the life of Gilt Group, interview with Triangle Capital partner Richard Kestenbaum
Richard is a co-founder and Partner of Triangle Capital and has been an investment banker for over 35 years. Richard has a great deal of experience advising clients in merchandising businesses, particularly in the Retail & Consumer sector. Richard is an often-quoted expert on the retail and merchandising industries....
Placemaking: A precedent for retail industry
Large retailers are following the global trend to give shoppers diverse experiences by turning their malls into destinations where shoppers can do pretty much everything. The retail property market in Thailand has remained challenging. These facts have made "Placemaking" a frequently discussed topic among retail professionals in Thailand, despite...
How Retail Stores Are Beginning To Adapt
One of the stores jumpstarting the effort is Naadam, whose hero product is cashmere sweaters. The two stores sell the same product but one is about an ethical, sustainable supply chain and the other is about a social and political message. The Lingua Franca store is also interesting because...
Can Luxury Brands Capture the Billion-dollar Opportunities in Travel Retail?
The global travel retail market, encompassing airports, 'downtown' stores and cruise ships, is expected to reach $85 billion by 2020, up from approximately $70 billion in 2017, according to Generation Research. As the industry grows, tremendous opportunities are springing up for brands and retailers. The 2018 Trinity Forum, being...
The ups and downs of the life of Gilt Group, interview with Triangle Capital partner Richard Kestenbaum
Richard is a co-founder and Partner of Triangle Capital and has been an investment banker for over 35 years. Richard has a great deal of experience advising clients in merchandising businesses, particularly in the Retail & Consumer sector. Richard is an often-quoted expert on the retail and merchandising industries....
E-commerce is winning the holidays — and killing Black Friday
Americans are spendings less and less money in brick-and-mortar stores during the run-up to the holidays, shunning the crazy lines they once formed outside big-box stores on Black Friday. The big picture: Shoppers plan to spend 57% of their budgets online but just 36% in physical stores, per a...