Blog Archives

Why Even Profitable Retailers Fail

7/26/2021

We know that retail startups are up, but alas, so too are retail failures; even higher than historical norms.

Why is this happening?

Is it Amazon? Or, the pandemic? Or tight money?
Or supply chain problems? Or not enough good employees? Or Covid fatigue?
Unable to keep up with competitors? Overly-demanding landlords?
Downtowns or malls being slow to bring customers back?
Or, some combination of factors? Or...? Or...?

Yes, the headwinds for retailers right now are real, and plenty difficult.

However, it turns out that the underlying causes of failures do not change; like cockroaches, they just endure!

Stage II of the "Pandemic Pivot"

7/19/2021

A little chaotic, isn't it?

Have you shopped in a grocery store lately? Noticed the priority parking spaces reserved for the "professional shoppers?" Or observed those folks darting about the store, staring at their phones, often filling two grocery carts?
Or, maybe you've attended (or plan to attend) a trade show this year. Did you find a "hybrid experience?" That is, a combination of the remote experience – Zoom sessions, special apps, etc – with some live, more traditional elements? Did exhibitors tout their online ordering capabilities? Did you keep having the feeling that something was missing? (Or wondering why you had shown up in person?)
Have you gone into a store, and encountered rows of racks of packages awaiting pickup by customers, or more likely, a delivery driver?
Or, alternatively, gone into a store to pickup an online order for yourself, and been dispatched to the far reaches of the store?

You likely have experienced some of these dilemmas from the customer side. So you know how annoying or unsatisfactory it can be.

But you also are living that dilemma from the retailer's side.

Once again, "Retailing ain't for sissies!"

7/12/2021

"Buy low. Sell high. Collect early. Pay late."
That's the essence of retailing, right? But now, in the early summer of 2021,retailing more than ever demands a strong dose of good judgment.

It's shouted everywhere: "Look out! The inflation tsunami is coming!"

Yikes! It's buying season for many retailers, and the pressures to buy more, now, at these-low-prices-that-won't-last are mounting. And this is only the beginning.

Answers Are Scarce; Questions Aren't!

7/6/2021

Being the owner of a business always has pluses and minuses. Usually the pluses outnumber the minuses. But maybe not so much right now.

If you feel that way, you've got a lot of company. Ugh! But hang on; maybe we have a perspective that you'll find useful and timely. It's called "Misery loves company!"

First, consider where we are. Early July, just past a nice Fourth of July Holiday weekend. The summer and early fall look promising, both for getting "back to normal" and for some leisure hours in the hammock. Nice, eh?

But there are those dark clouds out there.

Why Even Profitable Retailers Fail

Stage II of the "Pandemic Pivot"

Once again, "Retailing ain't for sissies!"

Answers Are Scarce; Questions Aren't!

The Perspective of Retail Experts