Insights

That sound of nervous pacing you hear every night at 3 a.m.? It’s America’s retail executives. They’re feeling the pressures of a rapidly evolving sales landscape and trying to figure out how to stay one step ahead — or just keep up.   From demanding consumers who expect a bargain at every turn to new technologies, from an aggressive e-commerce marketplace to a U.S. economy that refuses to kick into gear with any consistency, the challenges retailers are facing demand a shift in thinking and strategy.

Photo: Adam Ketcheson, VP marketing and business-to-consumer   A company named after the first reptile to develop the feather for flight is expanding its store portfolio.    Arc’teryx Equipment, a manufacturer and retailer of high-performance outdoor apparel and equipment, has opened a 2,300-sq.-ft. flagship in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood. It is the company’s seventh fully-owned retail store in North America, with two more locations to open by yearend. 

The surge in health-conscious retailers is evident wherever one shops. In the space of a few years, the likes of Lululemon, Fresh Market, and Orangetheory Fitness have proliferated in shopping centers. But Whole Foods, arguably a chief driver of the trend, has transformed its own business as well as that of centers.  

The Unilever-Dollar Shave Club deal reflects the growing importance of emerging brands, vertical integration, and the consumer direct route to market favored by new CPG market entrants such as Dollar Shave Club, Honest Co., and NatureBox.

Macy’s may be flailing, but the department store icon can’t be accused of taking its struggles lying down. As sales were falling 7.4% in the first quarter of 2016 (numbers that represented the fifth straight quarter of declining sales, and capped off a year in which Macy’s stock prices were nearly halved at 47%), Macy’s continues moving forward on plans to roll out its new off-price Backstage concept – both as a series of new stand-alone stores and as in-store locations integrated inside a number of existing Macy’s stores.

Photo: Jeff Rubin, Founder, CEO, It’Sugar (Credit: Patrick Gray, Kabik Photo Group)   Jeff Rubin, founder and CEO of It’Sugar, has always had a sweet tooth — and a passion for retail. His father owned a chain of toy stores in the Midwest. After leaving the toy business, he went on to open a chain of bulk candy stores.  

Photo: Colin Calvert (Left) and Caroline Pham (Right)  

Summer is an interesting time in the world of retail. With lazy vacation-stilted months in June and July and the comparatively bustling back-to-school energy of August, it is a season of contradictions. While, yes, the unique challenges and opportunities of summer sales patterns and scheduling are different than any other time of the year, understanding what is likely on tap for retailers this summer requires an appreciation for certain universal factors that play a role no matter what the calendar says.