CNN (October 8)
“Wall Street’s top activist investors are raising lots of cash and gearing up for battle over the next year…. The group see more opportunity to disrupt the consumer discretionary sector, which includes retailers, than in any other industry.”
Tags: Activist, Cash, Consumer sector, Disrupt, Industry, Investors, Opportunity, Retailers, Wall Street
Inc (September Issue)
SwanLeap has become “the fastest-growing private company in America.” Based in Madison, Wisconsin, the company “uses an artificial intelligence platform and custom software to help huge manufacturers, retailers, and other clients save money on shipping, and better manage their supply chains.” In 2013, SwanLeap’s first year revenues totaled $110,000. In 2017, the firm took in “just shy of $100 million, good for a nosebleed-inducing three-year growth rate of 75,660.8 percent.” In 2018, it’s aiming for $500 million.
Tags: AI, Fastest-growing, Growth rate, Manufacturers, Retailers, SCM, Shipping, SwanLeap, U.S., Wisconsin
Barron’s February 21)
“Retailers had a great holiday season to end 2017…but not all of them will be able to hang on to that momentum throughout the year.” Despite some gains, such tighter inventory control and higher gross margins, “investors will be more focused on whether or not companies can sustain that momentum, given how retail was trounced last year by worries about Amazon.com and e-commerce in general.”
Tags: Amazon, E-commerce, Gross margins, Holiday season, Inventory control, Investors, Momentum, Retailers
Retail TouchPoints (January 4)
Despite a strong holiday sales season, “a real department store turnaround will demand a lot of work.” 2018 will represent “a major ‘prove it’ period for department stores. The sector has taken quarterly sales hits for several years, forcing major players to shutter hundreds of stores, but early holiday numbers indicate these retailers have harnessed some positive momentum.”
Tags: Demand, Department stores, Holiday, Momentum, Retailers, Sales, Sales hits, Turnaround
Fast Company (December 24)
Despite fears of a brick-and-mortar retail apocalypse, many retailers “are flourishing in the age of Amazon. After all, more than 90% of retail sales still happen in the real world, and as relentless as Bezos is, it’s not likely he’ll swallow up all of brick-and-mortar on his own. The truth is that the bigger Amazon gets, the more opportunity it creates for fresh, local alternatives. The more Amazon pushes robot-powered efficiency, the more space there is for warm and individualized service.”
Tags: Amazon, Bezos, Brick-and-mortar, Efficiency, Flourishing, Fresh, Local, Retailers, Service
The Week (April 9)
“Corporate America almost uniformly craves tax reform. But businesses are deeply split over whether to support the…20 percent tax on imports coming into the U.S….. Major U.S. manufacturers like Boeing and Caterpillar are behind the idea. But retailers like Target and Ikea, as well as other companies that import most of their goods, are lobbying furiously against it.”
Tags: Boeing, Caterpillar, Corporate America, Ikea, Imports, Manufacturers, Reform, Retailers, Target, Tax, U.S.
Los Angeles Times (November 25)
“Retailers are waging a war on Thanksgiving.” This “traditional day of family gatherings and relaxation is dying at the hands of those who can’t wait even six hours to reach into our pockets in order to line their own.” More and more retailers are opening earlier and earlier on Thanksgiving. They “seem to feel Thanksgiving is just an inconvenient speed bump on the road to Christmas profits.”
Tags: Christmas, Family, Gatherings, Profits, Relaxation, Retailers, Thanksgiving
New York Times (June 27)
The outsourcing model is broken. “Most American and European brands and retailers use a rotating cast of hundreds of third-world suppliers, instead of establishing long-term relationships with fewer of them.” The result is a race to the bottom and horrid catastrophes like the building collapse in Bangladesh which killed more than 1,100 people. Things must change. Retailers should “contract with fewer factories and establish long-term relationships with them. If they did so, they would have to monitor fewer factories and would have greater influence over suppliers to demand upgrades and changes.”
Tags: Bangladesh, Brands, Collapse, Europe, Factories, Long-term relationships, Outsourcing, Retailers, Suppliers, Third world, U.S.
Washington Post (November 22)
Until, 1939, Thanksgiving was observed on the last Thursday in November. By moving it up to November 23, the fourth Thursday, from November 30, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s goal was to help retailers benefit from a longer shopping season. The move set off years of arguing over when the real Thanksgiving should be held. “Today, Thanksgiving is a settled issue, its observance cemented in place by goodwill, consensus and the National Football League’s scheduling department….. There are many factions in America, as always, but only one Thanksgiving, and it is neither Democratic nor Republican — a state of affairs for which all can be thankful.”
Tags: Democrats, FDR, NFL, Republicans, Retailers, Thanksgiving
Time (November 19)
Thanksgiving Day falls on the fourth Thursday in November in the U.S. The following day is traditionally known as “Black Friday” because the accounts of many retailers move from red ink to black ink as they reach profitability for the year. To maximize revenues, Black Friday sales have been creeping up, with stores opening earlier and earlier. Now many are opening on Thanksgiving Day, creating a “new class divide:” those who do and don’t work on Thanksgiving. “Perhaps it’s time for shopping moratoriums so that everyone can give thanks, instead of just those who have more to be thankful for.”
Tags: Black Friday, Class divide, Retailers, Thanksgiving, U.S.
