American retail is back with a vengeance. Through July 2018, retail and food service sales have topped 5.5% over last year , according to the Census Department’s Advanced Monthly Retail and Food Services Sales report. The Wall Street Journal credited wage growth and improved job prospects as giving American shoppers renewed confidence to spend. “The robust U.S. economy is spurring […]
Archive | August, 2018
Should a Luxury Brand Take Political Sides? Why It Matters
In the current U.S. culture sharply divided right or left, conservative or liberal, Republican or Democrat, most luxury brands generally don’t think much about the political leanings of their customers. They tend to be inclusive in order not to alienate affluent customers with either a conservative or liberal viewpoint. But that may have to change. […]
Ulta, Sephora and Amazon: Where Is the $56.4b U.S. Beauty Retail Market Headed
LVMH just released its first-half 2018 financials, and by all accounts, its retail beauty brand Sephora is off to a good start this year. While the company doesn’t break out sales of Sephora in its Selective Retail reporting group, it revealed LVMH Selective Retail grew 9% over the same period the previous year and bragged: “Sephora achieved […]
Louis Vuitton or Hermès: Which Brand Wins in the Battle for Authenticity?
Today we live in an age of authenticity. Authentic brands, authentic communications and authentic relationships with consumers is demanded. An overwhelming 86% of consumers say brand authenticity is important when deciding which brands to support, according to a study conducted by Stackla. These findings were validated by another global study by Cohn & Wolfe. In that survey of […]