Retail Strategy Group | The Merchant Life

High Tech vs. High Touch The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is poised to reshape the way we work. Every sector will feel its impact. This includes health care, retail and everything in between. As technology evolves, the question becomes how do we evolve in parallel? John Naisbitt provides the answer in his book “Megatrends.” Although published in 1982, his insights are as relevant today as they were then. One quote stands out in particular: “The more high technology around us, the more the need for human touch.” Even though it's easier than ever to be high tech, it can't be at the expense of being high touch. Read more about the need to balance tech/touch in our contribution to Vision Monday. The link is in the comments. #technology #AI #retail

Last week, Liza Amlani spent a few days with Enterprise Ireland and some fantastic Irish brands in New York City. The brands were in town to study the US market and find opportunities for growth. We also went on retail safaris, checked out Coterie and the latest insights from the Accessories Council. Liza was brought in to teach them how to get market ready, determine what stores were the right fit, and getting those retailers to say yes. We have a full rundown of the experience in our latest edition of The Merchant Life newsletter. Here's a bonus: A short video clip from Day 1 of Liza's workshop series discussing how brands can get "retail ready." #retail #merchandising #wholesale #enterpriseireland

Mastercard’s Excellence in Customer Engagement Summit is taking place next week and Liza Amlani will join Angie Rieger, EVP and Chief Transformation Officer of Lands' End, along with Emilie Kroner of Mastercard. They will talk about the evolving customer journey and what brands can do to connect with them in the right way at the right time. Here's why you should come and attend: 🔸 Power the future of your business with macroeconomic updates and assess the forces shaping North America’s consumer markets. 🔸Hear how your peers are using data-backed insights and business experimentation to optimize performance and drive efficiencies. 🔸Learn how to leverage trust, innovation and a customer-centered loyalty and engagement strategy as you work to win over today’s digital consumers. 🔸Connect and exchange best practices with leaders from a variety of industries including retail, travel, dining, consumer goods manufacturers and more. 𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐠𝐨 𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟕! Brand and retail leaders can register here: https://lnkd.in/eTtCJFJf It’s completely free to register – Join brands like Lands End, Marco’s Pizza, Maurice’s, Designer Brands, JCrew and more and the anticipated 150+ attendees to share, learn, and develop ideas of how to better engage your customers. #retail #loyalty #cx #customer #retailtransformation #mastercard

Just Shove It Onto The Shelf! Our colleague, Neil Saunders, posts shop floor pictures on LinkedIn during store visits. When he does, we grab the popcorn and scroll through his post and the comments. Neil doesn’t mince words when describing both the good and bad of his visits. Recently, he discussed Kohl’s and their relaunch of Limited Too in their stores. He said in Retail Dive that this is fine and good if the retailer doesn’t just shove apparel onto the shelves. Well, apparently that is the strategy and you can find the apparel hanging from the racks like sausage in a deli. There is much for brands to learn as they seek out wholesale partners. They can start their learning with this edition of The Merchant Life newsletter. #kohls #merchandising #wholesale #dtc

More supply equals more demand, right? Not exactly. Brands are paring down their assortments because customers don't want an "endless aisle" anymore. Customers want what they want. Swipe through the document to read more of our take on supply/demand. For the full edition and more retail insights, subscribe to The Merchant Life newsletter. #retail #merchandising #assortmentplanning #productdevelopment

A barrier to talent development is the silo mentality of retail management. Different functions in retail often work on different (and often, divergent) goals. So, what’s the future of emerging talent if they don’t move across functions to gain a broader perspective of the business? Read more in our contribution to The Robin Report. Link to the article is in the comments. #talentdevelopment #retail #merchandising #retailnews

Insights for Success. Acquiring customers isn’t costly, losing them is. And, they can be lost when a company fails to deliver on what the customer is looking for. But, why should that even happen in the first place? Especially since companies can get more information and insights about their customers than ever before. How can retailers/brands make use of insights for product creation and not just for marketing? We discuss in our latest contribution to Retail Insider. Link to the article is in the comments. #insights #marketing #retail #productcreation

Nike Should Say NIMBY. Nike has apparently “missed the running boom” while brands like ON, Hoka, and Asics have capitalized on it. One way these competitors are winning over runners has been to show up in Portland, OR and engage with the running community in Nike’s backyard. Reps from those competing brands reportedly show up more frequently than those from Nike. Runners comment that Nike doesn’t dominate run culture like it once did. As companies aggressively market on the ground, they can make a move when a runner wants to try something new. Seems like the home team is having their fridge raided. Or are they? Nike’s sales clocked in at $51 Billion in 2023 while competitors like New Balance and ON hit $6.5 billion and (almost) $2 billion respectively. So, there shouldn’t be much to worry about. And therein lies the issue. Open up your copy of Shoe Dog and find the section where Phil Knight writes: "Some banker, creditor, or competitor may try to stop me, but they’re going to have to bleed to do it." It doesn’t seem like competitors today have to sweat all that much, let alone bleed, to take market share. Consider that when we walked the exhibition floor at The Running Event in 2022, there was a ton of activity and hustle at the ON and Hoka booths. In contrast, the Nike booth was dull, empty and lifeless. While others gain traction, Nike waffled on a wholesale strategy, makes lame excuses like “remote work stifles creativity” and reportedly has a climate of risk-aversion. Here’s the deal. If Nike wants to dominate running, it can. It has the money, the brand power, the talent and a history of winning. In fact, if it wants to win anywhere, it probably can. For example, the most popular athlete in the US right now is Caitlin Clark. Nike elbowed Adidas, Puma and Under Armour out of the way to make sure she signed with the Swoosh. Nike is also showcasing new innovation under the brightest lights at the Paris Olympics. So, this isn’t a business issue. Nothing to do with EBITDA or margins or distribution channels or marketing campaigns. This is about embracing the competitive spirit that carried Nike through its embryonic stages. Having a sense of pride knowing that Nike is the OG of winning the market one customer at a time. Knowing that playing it safe means giving opportunity for the competition to pull ahead. And that starts with winning in their backyard first. #nike #running #innovation #retail #winathome

The System Always Kicks Back. Here’s your science lesson of the day: In Chemistry there is such a thing as an “Equilibrium Law.” It is more commonly referred to as Le Chatelier’s principle, named after the French chemist Henry Louie Le Chatelier. To describe the principle in layman’s terms: If you disturb a system, the system always kicks back. Turns out that in retail, processes and systems also kick back. Consider this scenario: Brands have an assortment comprised of seasonless or core/basic items and new fashion items. The seasonless stuff is evergreen in the assortment, while the fashion stuff catches the eye of the customer. So, if fashion is what draws attention, then brands go all in on fashion. But, this leads to overdevelopment and over-assorting products. This in turn leads to excess inventory, markdowns and losing out on margin. Eventually, the system kicks back. SKU’s are cut, open-to-buy budgets are reduced, and inventories are right-sized. However, the assortments are scaled back to the point where they start to be perceived as bland and boring. The system kicks back again. Time to ramp up the fashion part of the assortment to gain relevance. You can see the conundrum here. Read more about this and how brands can do better by heading over to our blog. The link is located in the comments. #retail #processinnovation #innovation #processimprovement #merchandising

Being materialistic is a great thing. So, ignore what the minimalists tell you. Allow us to explain. Accelerating speed to market helps retailers/brands prevent excess inventory, drive full-price sales, and preserve margins. Increasing speed comes from innovating the processes that are used to bring products to market. In other words, how brands go to market as opposed to what brands bring to market. One example of this process innovation is transforming the relationship between design and materials. We discuss this in detail in our contribution to Sourcing Journal entitled "There's No Shame in Being Materialistic." Read more here: http://bit.ly/4c43p9w #sourcing #materials #processinnovation #retail #apparel