Dopamine production via the lens of the 3Ds: Discounts, Discovery & Delight.
From the WWD Summit, 2017.
The 3Ds: Discounts, Discovery & Delight
Month: April 2018
Disruption & The Bridge: A Video Clip
The world’s leading experts studied the challenge, identified the opportunity, and – sparing no expense – built the solution. It was perfect. It performed as expected. And, it was useless.
Lately, the term “disruption” is often used, and misused. In the business community, disruption is used to describe economic transformations, changes to consumer path-to-purchase, shifts toward digital consumption, the “retail apocalypse,” and jobs lost.
At our factory in Central America, disruption takes on a deeper meaning.
This video is about disruption, innovation, and leveraging historical expertise…
What I Should Have Said, But Didn’t
Last week in Las Vegas, during the largest fashion industry trade show, MAGIC/PROJECT, I delivered the keynote presentation for the YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund and UBM Advanstar. It was entitled, “Disruption is the Mother of Invention.”
At the end of my presentation a woman stood up to ask a question. Actually, she made a statement.
“I own a fashion retail store,” she exclaimed. “I’m a good merchant, it’s a good store. It’s been in business a long time. Customers shop my store with their smartphone in their hand… and then they buy the item on Amazon Prime.”
She cried out, “it’s not right. It’s not fair.”
And then she said,
“What do I do?”
My answer was “textbook,” when the last thing needed was a textbook. Continue reading “What I Should Have Said, But Didn’t”
Will Another 80,000 Retail Stores Close?
Take a deep breath…
UBS Financial estimates that for every 1 percent increase in eCommerce penetration to total retail sales (excluding food & gas), 9,000 retail stores would need to close in order to maintain current levels of sales per physical store.
This would be the equivalent to shutting down seven Toys ‘R’ Us chains.
Department Stores & Apparel: The Future is Blurry
Morgan Stanley predicts that the department store share of the apparel market will drop from 24 percent in 2006 to only 8 percent by 2022.
Many analysts continue to predict that, this year, Amazon will become the largest retailer of apparel in the United States.
Top apparel retailers are ranked as Walmart, Amazon, Target, Macy’s, Kohl’s, The TJX Companies, Gap, Costco Wholesale, Nordstrom, Ross Stores, and JCPenney.
Continue reading “Department Stores & Apparel: The Future is Blurry”
22 Billion Minutes per Month
Americans spent 22 BILLION minutes on Amazon shopping platforms in December 2017 alone. More than the next nine platforms combined.
Interestingly, there is a large gap between time spent and dollars spent on mobile vs. desktop devices: while Americans spent nearly two thirds of their online shopping time on smartphones or tablets in Q4 2017, more than 75 percent of e-commerce dollars were spent on desktop devices. This indicates that many people browse products on their mobile devices, but prefer the convenience of a larger screen and keyboard to complete the checkout process.
#retail #ecommerce #shopping #smartphones #tablets #checkout #mobiledevices eBay Walmart Kohl’s Target Macy’s
Data and chart from Statista Global comScore, Inc.
What I learned from playing a doctor on TV
I’m not a doctor, but I really did play one on TV.
25 years ago, I sold consumer products, mostly luggage, to HSN and QVC. I hired a “guest host” to appear on-air, to work with the network “show host” and to demonstrate our products. One day the guest host was delayed, and I ended up with make-up on my face, a microphone up my shirt and an IFB in my ear. Continue reading “What I learned from playing a doctor on TV”
Which Type of Innovator Are You?
Choosing the right innovation model for your company is all about context.
This article from Boston Consulting Group well articulates the need to evaluate industry context, your culture and core competencies as they relate to innovation.
Industry context matters because only a subset of models can succeed in most industries. Some models are better suited to—and increase shareholder value in—certain industries and sectors than others. For example, four models drive TSR premiums in consumer retail:
- Creators take on more risk but can achieve dramatic success. Lululemon Athletica, for example, capitalized on the growing yoga movement by offering a distinctive life style brand that encompasses everything from the actual products to the in-store customer experience to corporate philanthropy.
- Solution builders create loyalty by understanding specific shopper segments and meeting their needs. For instance, Target delivers a “cheap but chic” set of offerings that meet the needs of its young, often trendy customers.
- Leveragers create a superior business model and then capitalize on it to sustain a position of industry leadership. Costco, for example, combines everyday low prices, a lean supplier network, and a members-only approach to stand out from the retail pack.
- Expanders achieve rapid share growth by moving into adjacent markets. For instance, Amazon brings its consumer data analytics, logistics capabilities, and exceptional customer service to an ever-expanding number of retail sectors, including fashion, luxury apparel, and—with the company’s recent purchase of Whole Foods—brick-and-mortar grocery.
Read the BCG article, Which Innovation Model is Right for You?
Everything That Can Be Invented Has Been Invented
In 1889, Charles H. Duell was the Commissioner of US patent office. He is widely quoted as having stated that the patent office would soon shrink in size, and eventually close, because…
“Everything that can be invented has been invented.”
Charles H. Duell*, 1899The “Eureka” effect is based upon an ancient myth regarding the Greek mathematician Archimedes, who upon discovering how to measure the volume of an irregular object, supposedly leaped out of a public bath, and ran home naked shouting “eureka,” (I found it).
Most of us would agree that there is still much to be invented and discovered. We tend to think these new “inventions” will be more extraordinary, advanced and innovative than those which preceded them. This is not entirely true. Many prior advances were revolutionary and extraordinary. An invention need not be revolutionary, or even unique, to be significant. Finally, many “new” inventions are derivative of their predecessors.
From door locks to light bulbs, shovels to toilets, and the classic mouse-trap, innovation comes in many forms and from many directions, often right under our noses. Sliced bread? Bottled water?
Nothing is so basic, or so great, that it cannot be made better. Continue reading “Everything That Can Be Invented Has Been Invented”
For legacy companies facing disruption, corporate innovation won’t be enough
Today corporate innovation is all the rage. Large companies host accelerators, launch internal startups, and court potential startup partners in a quest to harness young companies’ innovativeness and energy for themselves.
But large legacy companies shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater by neglecting their core business and assuming it has minimal room to grow.
In this article, I will detail how our company, Randa Accessories, grew from 25 to 50 percent market share in several categories and channels by focusing on its core business and adjacent “bridge” categories, and offer some takeaways for other businesses based on that experience. (I will also describe how Randa launched its own successful internal startups — I’m not saying corporate innovation isn’t useful, just that it needs to be one part of a broader strategy to excel.)
First, a little about Randa. You many not know our name, but you know our products. Our products are available under 50 brands, and are sold at over 20,000 points of sale, and millions of digital touch points.
We’re the world’s largest men’s accessories company. We sell ties, and belts, wallets, bags, hats, slippers and luggage.
Randa is completely vertical, business-to-business and direct-to-consumer, with 4,000 employees working from 23 global offices.
Our culture emphasized growth and efficiency and led us to success in revenue, margin, penetration, and market share.
For example, we’re the leading supplier of belts to Nordstrom… and to Walmart, to Kohl’s and to Amazon, and The Hudson’s Bay, Liverpool, Printemps, El Cortes Ingles, David Jones, John Lewis and to Costco.
We spent over $50 million to assure that when a consumer walks into a retail store for pants, they immediately see our belts nearby. Dress shirts? There are our ties…
And then, we hit a wall.
Continue reading “For legacy companies facing disruption, corporate innovation won’t be enough”
