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  • Sign Up for Disruption: Winning in the Subscription Economy

    Just a few years ago, consumers typically associated subscription services with utilities and print media. Yet the rapid rise of digital technologies has led to an explosion in the number of services available, which cater to almost every aspect of consumers’ lives – from Spotify and Netflix to Birchbox and Blue Apron.  

  • Three Ways AI Can Enhance Customer Experience

    At its recent I/O 2016 developer festival, Google signaled its intent to embrace artificial intelligence. With Google’s fall release of the Pixel phone and, more important, its Assistant, the transition to an AI-powered future is underway.  

  • The CFO’s Expanded Role in Profitably Managing the Retail Transformation

    With the retail environment undergoing the most complex changes in our generation, the sustainability of the current retail economic model is in question.    Historically, retail CFO’s, as the principal financial oficers, were primarily responsible for more traditional finance, treasury, regulatory, information delivery and related functions.   

  • Analysis: The Finish Line stumbles

    While Finish Line notched up reasonable overall sales growth in its third quarter, this has been overshadowed by both very weak comparables and an almost doubling of net losses to $40.4 million.     Overall, the results are markedly worse than last quarter when total sales grew by 5.4%, aided by a 5.1% growth in comparables.  

  • Five Reasons Social Retailing Will Explode in 2017

    For a long time, social wasn’t a closed-loop system; but with the shift of e-commerce to mobile-first, brands can now use the data and features of social media to create hyper-personalized connections that get users to buy. And as a result, retailers can better track in-channel purchases, as well as multi-touch attribution.   

  • New CEOs to Watch in 2017

    The past year brought with it seismic shifts as the retail industry continued to adapt to the evolving digital landscape and changing shopping habits. It also brought with it a changing of the guard, as many companies anointed new leaders to steer their ships in a transformed marketplace.    Here are six newly arrived (or soon to arrive) CEOs to keep an eye on in 2017:    Jeff Gennette, Macy’s Inc.

  • Analysis: Neiman Marcus’ debt burden ‘completely unsustainable’ for firm of its scale

    Neil Saunders, CEO of Conlumino, comments on Neiman Marcus’ first quarter results below:  

  • Survival guide for stores in the Amazon Jungle

    A recent Washington Post article pointed out that Anthropologie posted four straight quarters of flat or declining comparable sales and J. Crew saw comparable sales drop 10% in the last year. Banana Republic has seen a decline in comparable sales for the past 13 months, including a staggering 14% plunge in July. Weak sales numbers have also plagued Gap and Ann Taylor.  
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