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Under Pressure
Those of us with memories of 1950’s kitchens may remember pressure cookers: a heavy metal pot with a rubber gasket that we were always told was a bomb and a really good way of killing vegetables. I...
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Supervalu’s Unsuper Future
In its most recent fiscal year it scored $36.1 in sales volume, driven by a widely diverse portfolio of assets. Those assets include a large-scale wholesale business plus many retail stores ranging...
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A Toys Story
There’s a certain irony in the fact that the world’s very first category killer was also the first of its big-box ilk to be severely challenged and nearly decimated by the even bigger-box mass...
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Tesco Felled By Hubris, Leaves USA
Quitting the country is the easy part. Now, what about all that infrastructure? Chronicle of a Failure Foretold Years from now, MBA students will be puzzling over how Tesco, the British food retailer,...
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The 10 Commandments of Home
TO: Ron Johnson, Plano, TX FROM: A Higher Authority RE: The Way to the Promised Land Cecil B. DeMille, where are you now that we need you? The expedition that Ron Johnson is leading the Penney-ites on...
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Walmart’s Hire-a-Vet Program: Patriotic Gesture? Or Good for Walmart?
American veterans returning from war have had a history of finding employment at Fortune 10 companies. After the Korean War they got engineering and sales jobs at IBM and Texaco. After Vietnam they...
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Hogwash
And if You Believe It, I “Have a Bridge to Sell You.” Hogwash is a great word, as I was reminded by my colleague, Judy Russell, CEO of consultancy Markethink. First used in the 15th Century, it...
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Bribery, Felony or Line Item?
Are we all felons bribing our way though international commerce or victims of corruption, forced to pay the price of admission? Let’s face it. Bribery is a cottage industry in many countries—part of...
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African Sun
My consulting practice takes me all over the world. Through my travels, I have the unique opportunity to be a student of human nature and behavior – especially when it comes to the retail marketplace....
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Amazon Frightened the Behemoth And It Boomeranged
That would be the Walmart behemoth, still the one and only behemoth of its size in the world, the last I took count. At about $61 billion in annual revenues, Amazon is still a puny contender to...
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Thinking Beyond the Box
The Incredible Universe was…well, pretty incredible. There was no store like it ever before – and there’s not likely to be one like it ever again. For those of you who have gone through retail...
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Caracas Lost Dreams
I noted more than a few binoculars focused this morning on the military airfield outside my Caracas hotel. It’s likely they were searching the ground for evidence of the military coup I heard whispers...
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Elastic Pricing: Beyond Dynamic
Click to See Full-Sized Hardly a day goes by without an article or discussion about “dynamic pricing.” By now, we all know that dynamic pricing refers to the ability to present prices to specific...
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Unintended Consequences: The Price Race to the Bottom
Conventional supermarket retailers can’t catch a break — even sometimes. Conventional operators — Kroger, Safeway and the like — face a vast array of competition developing on all sides. That includes...
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LIDL Defies Odds, Thinks America
Are they Nuts? Could it be that that Lidl executives have taken leave of their senses? Maybe so. They’ve announced plans to plant a large number of stores in the US, notwithstanding its overseas...
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Store Employees’ Roles Need to Change…and Change Begins with Leadership
Why do customers visit brick-and-mortar stores when it is often easier and cheaper to buy online? It’s obvious…because consumers want to see and touch the product, experience the brand, interact with...
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Opening the Door on Target’s new Threshold
Perhaps the Dayton family should have come up with another name for its discount department store start-up back in 1962 if it wasn’t prepared for the inevitable – and as-it-turns-out endless –...
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Delhaize’s New Way Forward – A Blueprint for Retailers?
Changing markets and disruptive technologies have shaken many retailers to the core. Many are flailing about in all directions in hopes of chancing on a solution. Barnes & Noble wanted to convert...
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In Search of The Future
The Past is Not Prologue I feel your pain, your anxiety, your confusion. I’m just relieved it’s yours and not mine! You are in the middle of chaos, the “Wild West,” in search of the new frontier, and a...
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Re-Urbanizing America
Suburban Sprawl Gives Way to the Not-So-Mean Streets of the Big City The Great American Dream isn’t dead, but it’s certainly on life support. After decades of unprecedented growth, suburbia has been...
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