Archive | 2020

Empty Mall

A Reckoning Is Coming For Retail: Get Ready

“Make no mistake, it’s not revenge he’s after. It’s a reckoning.” That was one of Val Kilmer’s (as Doc Holliday) many memorable lines from the 1993 movie Tombstone, referring to Kurt Russell ‘s (Wyatt Earp) vendetta against the “cowboy” faction that killed his brother. I like to think I have an extensive vocabulary, but that […]

Gap store interior

Kanye West Gets What He Always Wanted In Partnering With Gap

Successful brand partnerships are made when it’s a win-win for both brands. That is what the just announced Gap partnership with Kanye West’s Yeezy brand promises.The Gap brand desperately needs a turnaround plan, with global sales falling from $5.3 billion in 2017 to $4.6 billion in 2019. After trying so hard and failing so badly […]

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sick retail photo-1557076329-cda8f51f2b95

Retail Is Sick: It’s Time for Wellness

I recently participated in a retail webinar on wellness. My main message was that retailers limit themselves if they think of wellness just in terms of products consumers use, wear close to their body, put on their skin or decorate their homes with.All retailers, nonessential and otherwise, have been massively disrupted during the nationwide coronavirus shutdowns. […]

Woman with facemask

Luxury in a Post-Covid World

Letting no crisis go to waste, the MBB big-three consulting firms – McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, and Bain & Company – have all come out with their post-coronavirus predictions for the luxury market. I’ve spent hours digesting their reports, including interviewing Bain’s Claudia D’Aprizio, who is arguably the world’s leading authority on the […]

RH Store, Denver, CO

Gary Friedman Aims to Make RH More Luxury, But Can His Dream Become Reality?

In a recent conversation with fellow Forbes.com contributor Steve Dennis, our wide-ranging discussion turned to RH, the company formerly known as Restoration Hardware.“I was at a conference where Gary Friedman talked about these new gallery stores that hadn’t opened yet. And I thought he was crazy,” Dennis said.I had much the same feeling when I […]

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