News
Amazon to remove some perks and financial incentives with minimum wage bump
Some Amazon employees may make less money despite the company's decision to raise its U.S. minimum wage to $15, Yahoo Finance reports.
The details: Although Amazon employees may make more per hour, warehouse workers told Yahoo Finance that the company is removing perks and incentives — such...
The Big Surprises in Tencent/BCG’s Report on Chinese Luxury Shopping
Executives of Chinese technology giant Tencent Holdings, in New York City for the marketing industry's annual "Advertising Week" events, released the striking results of a report done with Boston Consulting Group on the digital behaviors of Chinese luxury consumers. Chinese luxury consumers will account for 40 percent of the...
Why Fashion Stores Shouldn't Join Amazon's Data Behemoth
Largest acquisitions in fashion & fashion e-commerce in 2017-2018. While many major brands have already surrendered to Amazon's allure of supreme online traffic, brands and fashion stores should resist joining forces with the data monster that is ultimately set out to consume them. For the same reason, having their...
Why Amazon is fighting for $15
Amazon didn't just wake up one morning and decide to be nice. Well, as Derek Thompson observes, though surely all retailers would prefer to pay lower wages rather than higher, if everyone has to pay higher wages, Amazon probably wins, because "As the industry leader in robotic technology, Amazon...
eBay accuses Amazon of using its messaging platform to poach sellers, sends cease-and-desist letter
eBay sent a cease-and-desist letter to Amazon this week, accusing its e-commerce rival of using eBay's messaging platform to poach sellers. The Wall Street Journal reported that eBay found 50 Amazon sales reps around the world who sent more than 1,000 messages to eBay sellers. In the cease-and-desist letter...
Saudi Arabia denies halting multi-billion dollar solar project with Softbank
WSJ reported early this week that Saudi Arabia was said to have “shelved” plans to build the $200bn with Japan's Softbank in favour of a broader ......
Softbank proposes to offer free power to solar alliance countries
Japan's Softbank Group Corp <9984.T> has proposed to offer free electricity, after 25 years, to International Solar Alliance member-countries that sign power purchase agreements, Chief Executive Masayoshi Son said at a renewable energy conference in New Delhi on Wednesday. SoftBank said in 2015 that it would foray into India's...
Interview with Forte Fitness CEO Lauren Foundos on the future of fitness distribution and commerce
Interview with Forte Fitness CEO Lauren Foundos on the future of fitness distribution and commerce...
Quip-Target partnership points to a new type of retail arrangement
Quip is the latest direct-to-consumer company to start selling its goods at Target, joining Harry's razors, Casper mattresses and Native deodorant. Quip is selling starter kits for $25 at all 1,800 Target stores and Target.com, but if people want to buy refill brushes, they have to buy them from...
How American Girl, T-Mobile And Hershey's Designed New Experiences In Retail
"Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it's. really how it works." Admittedly, Jobs was talking about designing computers and other high-tech products. Is retail design about how the spaces look? How well they sell? How many people walk in the...
Retail growing faster than the rest of the economy
Report: Majority Of Global Consumers Are 'Belief-Driven' Buyers
Two in three global consumers are now "Belief-driven" buyers, per the report - up from 50% last year. Consumers are now just as likely to express purchase intent based on a brand's values as they are based on the features of a product. The report advises brands to remind...
Why conversational commerce could mean the death of websites
Most businesses thought brick-and-mortar retail would disappear and the website would reign supreme. While websites can be a good source of information for consumers, businesses often find themselves swimming against the tide here. With websites, consumers are forced to find and read a series of static pages to get...
The retail war over bed-in-a-box
Last week, we reported that old retailers are learning new tricks from the younger upstarts. That's happening right now in the mattress business.
What's going on: For decades, a few mattress kings ruled America — Tempur Sealy and Serta Simmons among them. Then, hip startups like Casper, Leesa and...
What 13 Years and 200 Retail Store Launches Have Taught Tory Burch About Leadership
Tory Burch, the founder and CEO of the billion-dollar brand of the same name, designed her company around purpose, social responsibility and women's empowerment. Along the way, Burch has used her wealth to bring her idea of casual high-end attire to life with the help of design experts such...
Long Live the High Street: How AI Is Transforming Brick-&-Mortar Retail
Not only are you arming customers with access to a wealth of knowledge, you're augmenting your staff with a reliable, always-on digital colleague who can provide whatever information is required in real time and make sure the customer's journey from initial fact finding, to making the purchase, is as...
Beijing retail veteran says market still strong for 'fresh' shopping experiences
As China's internet titans continue talking up the concept of "New retail", which promises to transform the country's shopping landscape using cutting-edge digital technology, it is easy to see why many think big data now holds the key to understanding and grasping the country's consumer spending patterns. Oliver KH...
Fashion brands put the focus on retail
Fashion brands including Michael Kors, Alice + Olivia and Gucci are shifting their focus from wholesale deals to direct-to-consumer retail efforts. "We're putting a lot more focus on our customer now, because to understand them means to serve them better, which needs to grow," said Andrew Rosen, CEO of...
Canali Brings Its Italian Designs to Chinese E-commerce
Italian menswear brand Canali is entering a new partnership that will see its designs sold on e-commerce hub Secoo. The Canali online store has gone live on September 14, offering a variety of high-end menswear such as suits, coats, knitwear, jackets, shirts, pants and accessories. Secoo's Canali offering will...
Interview with Forte Fitness CEO Lauren Foundos on the future of fitness distribution and commerce
Interview with Forte Fitness CEO Lauren Foundos on the future of fitness distribution and commerce...