Read the full article by clicking on this link to the National Retail Federation (NRF) website: Ten brands founded 10 years ago and how they’ve succeeded

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While millions of men and women across the world seize International Women’s Day as a chance to recognize the fight toward gender equality, retailers still have the bottom line in mind.

Retailers — seemingly without exception — are opportunistically leveraging the day of protest to push products. People’s email inboxes were flooded this morning with mass emails, broadcasting messages of “empowerment” and inclusiveness, as well as discount codes and promotions inviting women to shop.

Normally, that kind of exploitation wouldn’t ruffle feathers, but this year it directly contradicts a central goal to International Women’s Day’s “Day Without Women” strike. The strike’s organizers (who also mobilized people for the Women’s March on Washington) outline three ways women can participate: take the day off, paid and unpaid labor; wear red as an act of solidarity; and avoid shopping for one day (with exceptions for small women- and minority-owned businesses). Retailers, it seems, have largely ignored the last guideline.

An email from KateSpade.com with the subject line “women empowering women” touted “on purpose” handbags, which consumers were then directed to on the Kate Spade site.

The email subject line from Tory Burch read, “#EmbraceAmbition,” and invited recipients to “take the pledge” i.e., provide your email address to sign up for a newsletter from the Tory Burch foundation — which also provides a “shop the cause” section replete with T-shirts and bracelets.

Nordstrom’s homepage highlights International Women’s Day with a story “celebrating”  four women who work in the fashion and beauty industries. They also happen to work for brands that sell products through Nordstrom. Provided, of course, are shopping links to items that the women plug in their interviews on the Nordstrom site.

A message from online shopping site Gilt references Beyoncé: “Get in Formation. Our Favorite Female-Powered Brands: Sky Ting Yoga, Erase Spa & More,” reads the Gilt email.

This isn’t confined to the U.S. either, Quartz reports. Retailers in China are encouraging women to celebrate by shopping. Tmall, one of China’s biggest e-commerce portals, is using the slogan “Queen Day, Live your beauty” along with a photo of a woman staring longingly at a red high-heel shoe, rebranding the day to sell material products. Jumei, a site focusing on cosmetics, pledges to “make you look good” on “Goddess Day.”

Steve Goldberg, president of retail consulting firm The Grayson Company, said that retailers’ Women’s Day-themed emails are somewhat disingenuous, and likely won’t translate to more sales for the companies.

“This is not a Hallmark holiday, and it’s not a retail holiday,” Goldberg said. “This is an important day for recognition of certain imperatives for women and for men, so it’s not a good idea for a retailer or anyone to exploit a movement like this. It could backfire.”

On Instagram, an increasingly popular platform through which retailers are directly reaching their shoppers, small brands and international names alike are leveraging the day. HUDA Beauty, a cult favorite with a following of 18 million, offers a makeup giveaway in the name of women’s empowerment. The post is tinged in irony.

The Blonde Salad, led by fashion “influencer” Chiara Ferragni, posted a photo to its 288,000 followers with the caption, “Happy #internationalwomensday from us at #ShopTheBlondeSalad! To celebrate, we have a special edition tee by @melinde_world available! Get it at the link in our bio.”

Instagram “fitness models” like Linn Löwes plugged a 15-percent-off discount code for the site Women’s Best, which offers fitness products, supplements, and sportswear. The list of brands and influencers trying to make a buck off International Women’s Day is endless.

Goldberg said today’s shoppers are looking for authenticity and more genuine outreach, and consumers are holding brands accountable for their political inclinations (as demonstrated by those who boycotted Nordstrom for carrying Ivanka Trump products, in one example.) To be sure, civic engagement is certainly à la mode; T-shirt activism was on display during New York, London, and Milan Fashion Weeks.

For what it’s worth, some brands — still guilty of peddling products on a day intended not for shopping but for reflection and activism — tried to do some good. Marc Jacobs announced a capsule collection with Vogue editor and fashion legend Grace Coddington, the proceeds of which are pledged to Planned Parenthood. Perhaps in one of the least egregious examples of retail activism, Gucci posted a series of photos calling attention not to their clothing but to the Global Citizen organization.

The real change that women on strike will effect is yet to be seen, but one thing is certain: Consumerism will remain activism’s ugly cousin.

To view the published article, click here.

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By David Moin | January 25, 2017

The shakeout has arrived.

For retailers across the nation and up and down the price spectrum, 2017 will be a year of dramatic square footage reduction — and no one is being coy about it.

“Brick-and-mortar retailers will evaluate store fleets relative to e-commerce and make decisions on what they believe to be the right ratio of stores to e-commerce,” Marvin Ellison, Penney’s chairman and chief executive officer, told WWD at an industry fundraiser earlier this month.

It was one of those feel-good kind of evenings — 1,500 people raising $3.5 million for YMA scholarships and programs — but an undercurrent of concern over the state of retailing permeated the crowd in the ballroom of the Grand Hyatt. Consumers have more disposable cash, the stock market is hitting all-time highs, yet there are just too many stores, too much stuff on the shelves and not enough demand. Selling floors have been sapped of business by Amazon and other online players, many malls are losing traffic and retailers are finally coming to terms with what must be done to right-size their store fleets for a better future.

“We have closed stores before, but very conservatively, basing our decisions on four-wall free cash flow — not e-commerce,” Ellison said as he stood alongside John Tighe, Penney’s chief merchant and one of the evening’s honorees. Regarding how many Penney’s units will close, “that’s to be determined,” Ellison said.

Howard Schultz, chairman and outgoing ceo of Starbucks, actually set the tone in December when he said, “We’re going to see a very major downturn in the fact that the country is overretailed in lots of categories.” Ironically, he made the statement while unveiling the coffee chain’s five-year strategic plan to open 12,000 stores by 2021.

Macy’s reinforced the issue right after the New Year, stating that 63 stores would close in 2017 and about another three dozen over the next few years, triggering speculation about a major wave of retail downsizings.

“Macy’s is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Stephen I. Sadove, the former Saks Fifth Avenue chairman and ceo, who was interviewed at the NRF Foundation Gala on Jan. 15. Asked what other retailers he sees downsizing, Sadove replied, “They all will. We don’t need as many stores.”

Some retail experts expect Forever 21, Gap Inc., Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Bon-Ton Stores Inc., Barnes & Noble, Bed Bath & Beyond, HH Gregg, Ascena Retail Group, and a handful of upscale and luxury chains to reduce store counts beyond the normal amount of trimming they do each year.

They pointed to American Apparel recently shutting its entire chain, Limited in the process of doing the same and Sears Holdings indicating this month that 109 Kmarts and 41 Sears units would close this year. They have all been suffering from internal and macro issues. According to The Centurion newsletter for prestige jewelers, about 2,000 jewelry stores shuttered in North America from 2015 through 2016, and closings will continue.

Those predicting a great shakeout cite eye-opening statistics from the International Council of Shopping Centers that there are 24 square feet of shopping center space per capita in the U.S., compared with 15 square feet in Canada, five square feet in the U.K., four square feet in France and three square feet in Italy.

“For the most part, it’s those ‘B’ and ‘C’ malls that are going to have to be very creative about repurposing. There are not tenants of comparable size replacing department stores that are closing,” said Antony Karabus, ceo of HRC Retail Advisory.

But there are alternative ways to repurpose the disappearing big boxes into multiple uses.

Brands emerging out of the web will take retail space, including Amazon, Warby Parker, Combatant Gentleman, Bonobos and possibly QVC and HSN. Eloquii, the web site for the contemporary, fast-fashion apparel brand for women’s sizes 14 to 28, will test brick-and-mortar for the first time in March with a “concept shop” in the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City in Arlington, Va.

Off-pricers also could fill space, including Century 21, the Home Goods division of The TJX Cos., Bloomingdale’s Outlets and Macy’s Backstage, which is primarily carving out space inside Macy’s department stores.

Also on the expansion track: Zara, the Spanish fast-fashion chain; Francesca’s, the fast-growing retailer targeting 18- to 35-year-old women; Five Below, another rapidly expanding chain where everything is $5 or less; Petsmart; Massage Envy; new formats from Nike, Adidas and Under Armour, and Gap Inc.’s Athleta division. Costco is seen opening locations on an “opportunistic” basis, and so could Primark, the chain from Ireland with dirt-cheap prices that in 2015 opened its first U.S. store in Boston and has converted parts of several former Sears sites for additional stores. On the beauty front, Sephora, Bluemercury and Ulta continue to expand.

But these openings are most likely only a drop in the bucket.

On a smaller scale, regional chains such as Belk and Von Maur that have strength in their core markets could pick up a few vacated properties. And some emerging specialty stores, such as Flying Tiger, the Danish chain with low prices, quirky products and whimsical designs, and Kendra Scott, the jewelry and home store chain, could take some space.

Groceries — Trader Joe’s, Wegman’s and Whole Foods among them — and emerging health and fitness clubs such as Life Time and Point of Fitness, are seen as potential remedies for anemic mall traffic, particularly on weekdays when business is slower than weekends.

Skating rinks, comedy clubs, yoga centers, health clinics and incubators for tech and retail concept incubators and pop-ups could be added.

Even more imaginative would be converting mall space to central shipping areas that retailers could piggyback off of; partnering with Disney on innovative concepts, and adding food halls, à la Eataly, viewed as strong destinations in heavily populated areas and alternatives to conventional food courts.

Sadove said retailers must sharpen the focus on the stores worth investing capital in and those stores not worth investing in. To be successful, “you’ve got to keep a store fresh,” he said. But the issue is there is only so much that can be spent on stores given the imperative to spend on new technologies, web site enhancements and omnichannel initiatives.

“We are statistically overstored relative to any other population,” said Steve Goldberg, president of The Grayson Company consulting firm. “As you see the share of spend shifting to digital platforms, it exacerbates the situation. What we are going to continue to see is a rationalization of retail. In the case of Macy’s, what we are seeing is a continued unwinding of stores that were probably underproductive or less productive for years. We will see more closures of department stores for the very same reasons, without any question this year.…On the other hand, other stores will increase their footprint. Primark is opening stores. The off-price sector just can’t get enough growth. Brick-and-mortar is emerging out of the web.”

Wal-Mart will continue to rationalize space by moving to smaller formats, “closing some doors and replacing them with smaller ones. Target probably is in an OK place,” said a retail source.

“Some malls are not going to have any anchors,” said Goldberg. “In some cases, they will get torn down. They just won’t be viable. In other cases they will be repurposed. There are all kinds of concepts emerging that could take the place of department store footprints, from sport facilities to entertainment environments. However, that’s not going to come without significant costs. I’ve also heard talk about medical facilities, office facilities, even residential use.”

“We are fully expecting to see another wave of announcements over the next five or six weeks,” said Lea Overby, managing director of research, structured finance, Morningstar Credit Ratings, regarding store closings. “It’s a fascinating time to be looking at retail. Will it be worse than last year? Probably. Worse than 2009? I’m not so sure. I don’t know if we are going to see that sort of mass disruption with entire sectors getting reconfigured. It will feel like a slow bleed rather than a major hemorrhaging. You might see announcements from companies you might not otherwise expect. Watch the ones that have surprise negative sales. In particular, watch the higher-end retailers.”

“I’m not convinced we are going to see a massive contraction of square footage. I am convinced we are going to see a massive amount of effort to bring higher value to brick-and-mortar in ways that match how consumers want to shop these days and bring digital tools to the physical space,” observed Stefan Weitz, chief product and strategy officer of Radial, a firm that helps retailers with a range of operations and services including logistics, payments and fraud prevention. He sees stores working to provide easier access to products and product information and reviews, so there’s a lot less rummaging.

“It’s about keeping people in stores longer,” Weitz added, noting that Nordstrom’s cocktail bars in certain locations is one way to do it. “While customers are sitting there, it’s an opportunity to message them.”

“We are in the midst of a major correction,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for The NPD Group. “As online becomes more applicable to bigger audiences, everyone is looking at stores with a different set of eyes, and retailers are scrutinizing their store portfolios to make sure every single store carries its own weight. Stores need to go from being product suppliers to lifestyle enablers. They need to figure out how to make my life better. We are spending more money than ever, but not buying more products than ever.”

He suggested a return to the old days when department stores were emporiums filled with hair salons, restaurants, fashion shows, or as he put it, “All kinds of lifestyle and life-enhancing experiences that drive me into the store — an omnipresence package.

“There are too many retail stores at the moment lacking innovation, lacking uniqueness. So many brands all look the same,” Cohen said. “I don’t rule out any retailer looking at every single store and closing 10, 20 or 60 over the next few years. It is overdue.”

“It’s not a new issue that the country is overstored. But it’s reached a tipping point with the growth of online sales,” said Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners. “There really needs to be a trimming at the margin to right size. There’s rampant overcapacity and a need for major restructuring.”

Johnson said shopping centers in the U.S. have 23 square feet of retail space per capita, and that there are 45 square feet of retail capacity per capita overall. “Those numbers have been essentially level for at least five years. Meanwhile, online sales this holiday

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By David Gill | November 2, 2016

HomeGoods is home retailing’s new Gold Medalist.

With many brick-and-mortar retailers posting up-and-down results lately—some with all down performance—the specialty operation of The TJX Cos. has maintained an upward trajectory for the past few years.

Its net sales rose 31 percent to $3.9 billion from fiscal year 2014 to fiscal year 2016, which ended on Jan. 30 of this year. It reported same-store sales increases of 7 percent in 2014 and 2015, and 8 percent for 2016. Its profit rose 42 percent in that three-year time span, to $549.3 million.

Contrast that with the results over the same three-year period from Bed Bath & Beyond, its closest retail rival. In the 2014-2016 fiscal span, Bed Bath’s net sales rose 5.2 percent to $12.1 billion. Net income over that period fell 18 percent to $841.5 million. Same-store sales increased by 2.4 percent in 2014 and 2015, and only 1 percent in 2016.

Recent visits by HFN to a HomeGoods store in New Jersey and another in Manhattan provided a strong sense of why the store has become such an appealing place to shop. Its maze-like layout doesn’t deter shoppers, leading them from one department to another until they’ve actually walked the entire store. “It leads you around like a racetrack although it isn’t a racetrack,” said Richard Roman, president and CEO of Revman International, a textiles supplier to HomeGoods.

On the way, the shopper finds merchandise that leads to thoughts such as “Oh, yes, I could use that.” The pricing on these items brings the thought of, “Hey, that’s not bad for a sofa, or a comforter set, or a kitchen gadget.”

Impulse shopping and the treasure-hunt atmosphere are what HomeGoods and other off-price retailers (including its brethren, T.J.Maxx and Marshalls) are all about. Stores in this channel “have the unique ability to change product offerings quickly, which creates a scarcity effect that makes consumers feel more compelled to purchase on the spot rather than risk someone else beating them to the checkout line,” said Moody’s Investor Service in an analysis of this retail sector.

In fact, HomeGoods may have mastered the impulse factor to a greater extent than other members of the TJX family. Ernie Herrman, the company’s president and CEO, described HomeGoods as “our most impulsive-mix store” during a conference call to financial analysts earlier this year. “It’s difficult if you’re a customer to walk in and not spend $200,” Herrman said, “because there’s so much exciting impulse merchandise there.”

HomeGoods is also “our fastest-turning business,” he added, which is another part of its appeal. “I think we’re getting a customer there that not only is it impulsive to begin with, she could go back a week and a half later and it’s different again,” he said.

Treasure Hunt Mastery

HomeGoods’ customers keep coming back not only because of the rapid rate in which merchandise disappears from its shelves. “Their success is the result of their ability to continually find deals on fashionable and functional household items that surprise and delight customers by creating a treasure-hunt atmosphere,” said Robert Cuthbertson, vice president of retail analyst firm Boston Retail Partners. “Customers have become trained to expect surprises and are predisposed to being more flexible during their shopping experience.”

There is another reason why shoppers keep coming back to HomeGoods stores. The treasure-hunt atmosphere generated by off-price stores doesn’t lend itself to online, said the Moody’s analysis. HomeGoods’ website is for browsing only. “Because HomeGoods does not sell online, consumers are driven to visit the stores, resulting in strong traffic flow,” said Cristina Fernandez, analyst with Telsey Advisory Group.

What shoppers see, whether browsing through the stores or on the website, are fashionable goods at value prices. “They have upped their game in style and design,” said Steve Goldberg, president of The Grayson Company. “They know how to maximize their product categories by attaching brands to them that have authority. They have created an audience of women who enjoy the hunt for great fashion.”

HomeGoods also knows how to stop shoppers in their tracks with some product offerings. The store visited by HFN in New Jersey featured a gigantic metal bath tub about 7 feet long with a depth of about 4 feet, presented in an antique style.

“One week when I was in a HomeGoods, I found a carousel horse,” Goldberg said. “In another visit, I saw a mirror that was 8 feet tall, the sort you might see during a High Point Market, and in another visit, I saw a 5-foot-tall Buddha. HomeGoods likes to create a ‘wow’ factor that acts as an umbrella over other merchandise.”

Product at the Right Price

HomeGoods has also established a leadership position in pricing. “Consumers trust the pricing at HomeGoods, which is generally 20 to 50 percent below that of department stores and specialty stores,” Fernandez said. “In addition, the products found there are harder to price-compare online, driving conversion.”

“At HomeGoods, the customer might find high-end products at deep discounts or moderate-level products with fair discounts,” Cuthbertson said. This pricing strategy reinforces the treasure-hunt aspect of shopping in HomeGoods. “With a wide range of product categories and a continuous flow of new products, customers never know what to expect or what they will find,” Cuthbertson said. “This is the beauty of the treasure-hunt shopping experience that keeps customers coming back to find more deals.”

With its business model, HomeGoods has created fans among its vendors as well. Manufacturers interviewed by HFN spoke of the “excellent relationship” they have with the retailer and with other TJX stores. “It’s really a partnership,” said Ian Zucker, CEO of Ten Strawberry Street. “They understand the vendor. You go in with your eyes wide open.”

Vendors are shoppers, too, and appreciate HomeGoods’ way of merchandising its assortment. “It’s a fun and adventurous environment,” Roman said. “They get new merchandise every day, and you never know what you’re going to get. It’s an environment that entertains shoppers and creates a sense of urgency, because if she doesn’t buy it then, it’s gone right away.”

Since 2012, HomeGoods has been on a fast expansion track, growing the chain from 374 stores at the end of fiscal year 2012 to 526 at the end of fiscal 2016. The plan for fiscal 2017 is to open 50 more stores.

“We see this chain expanding to at least 1,000 stores, almost double its existing base,” Herrman told financial analysts.

Aside from the chain’s physical growth, there is plenty of reason for optimism among TJX’s executives for HomeGoods’ continued success in the years to come.

“We are very happy with the traffic and comp increases we continue to see at HomeGoods,” Herrman said on another conference call to financial analysts after TJX released its first-quarter results this year. “The enthusiasm of our HomeGoods customers is hard to beat.”

To view the published article, click here.

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The doorbuster deals are set and the Black Friday ads are out, perennial indicators that the holiday shopping season is in full swing. The National Retail Federation predicts $655.8 billion in holiday sales this season, up 3.6% from 2015.

In addition to securing enough working capital and inventory, you’ll want to prepare for the rush in other ways. NerdWallet asked Steve Goldberg, president of retail consulting firm The Grayson Company, for tips on how to get started.

1. Advertise early

To attract early shoppers, your marketing needs to be in front of the right consumers at the right time. According to a survey by the NRF in the first week of November, 56% of respondents had already started buying gifts.

But hope is not lost if you’re getting a late start, Goldberg says. Small-business owners can react more nimbly than larger stores, he says. “They can make decisions without having to wait — that’s their secret sauce.”

There’s still time to use free, customizable advertising for your storefront, website and social media to promote Small-Business Saturday — an initiative started by American Express in 2010 to encourage shopping locally the day after Black Friday. Nationwide, the event brought in $16.2 billion for independent retailers and restaurants in 2015, making it the most successful Small-Business Saturday to date.

2. Coordinate employees

Scheduling your employees during the holidays can be an absolute nightmare. Amid travel requests and family obligations, you still have a store to staff and a business to run. Make the idea of working the holiday a little more attractive by offering incentives or increased compensation.

You can consider hiring seasonal help, Goldberg says, but it depends on what roles you need to staff. It’s relatively easy to fill positions with responsibilities like working a register, wrapping gifts or stocking shelves. But if you own a restaurant or you provide a service with highly specialized skill sets, like custom framing, you’ll need to decide whether you feel comfortable leaving your business’s reputation in the hands of people who aren’t familiar with the product or service.

“The optimal scenario is to have a trained seasonal staff willing to come back year after year,” Goldberg says.

3. Improve your website

This year, half of consumers plan to shop online for gifts, according to a Deloitte holiday survey. You’ll want to make sure your web business can handle increased traffic from online shoppers, and that your site is easy to navigate and up to date.

Consider taking advantage of a “buy online, pick up in store” feature, an option that nearly half of shoppers said they were interested in using this year, according to a survey by Accenture. “It’s definitely a feature and function the small-business owner can use as leverage to compete with bigger stores,” Goldberg says. “It’s a wonderful, seamless way to take care of customers.”

An added benefit: Shoppers end up in your physical store, boosting the chances of a spontaneous purchase. In fact, 71% of consumers in the Accenture survey said they’d likely make additional purchases when heading to a store to pick up an item bought online.

But a word to the wise: If you’re already behind on holiday planning and prep, now is not the time to alter your e-commerce platform, Goldberg says. Instead, wait for the busy holiday season to wrap up before dedicating time to set up the feature.

4. Review the store’s layout

Throughout the season, take inventory of your store’s layout. If you notice hard-to-reach items, congestion around displays or other pain points for customers, address them immediately.

Checkout lines are especially important; not only do you want to make sure there is ample room for shoppers, but you should also add displays to encourage last-minute purchases. In particular, showcase items people tend to forget to pick up in their shopping rush, like wrapping materials or gift cards, to help save them an extra trip.

5. Decorate strategically

When setting up displays, you want to be careful not to block a customer’s sight-line, Goldberg says. This goes for window decorations and product displays. Place products you want to showcase in the front of the store, but make sure they don’t block a customer’s ability to look beyond. And if a product is on display, make sure it’s available and easy to find.

Don’t forget: Connect with the community

The holidays, in particular, are an excellent time for business owners to connect with their customers on a deeper level, Goldberg says. Remember names, give smiles and offer extra help.

“That doesn’t cost a thing,” Goldberg says, “and it’s such a gigantic way for small businesses to separate themselves from their large competitors.”

To view the published article, click here.

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Merchandise sells itself in stores with appealing entryways, intuitive paths, upscale lighting and branded signage.

by: Joni Sweet

Every square foot of your store has the potential to make a sale. But that doesn’t mean you should cram in as many signs and products as possible. An attractive, intuitive design and plenty of open space is more important to your bottom line.

“Retail store designs are an extremely important part of today’s strategy for developing sales,” said Steve Goldberg, president of The Grayson Company, a consulting practice that works with brands and retailers.

While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to creating the perfect retail space, there are some store design principles that will influence sales across the board. Here are tweaks every shopkeeper should consider.

Focus on the front

Getting customers into your store depends on having a well-designed entryway, said Goldberg.

“The most common mistake in store design is to underestimate the importance of the frontage of store. If you’re in a mall or on a street, the customer has a moment to decide if she’s going to come into your store.”

Don’t cover your front windows or displays with large, dense signage, he said. Instead, focus on simple, well-branded graphics and plenty of interior visibility from outside the store.

“Shoppers will come in because they need something or recognize the brand or the merchandise looks exciting. The frontage always has to have open, clear view toward the interior of the store.”
You may want to change your window displays frequently to keep customers interested.

Upgrade your lighting

In a brick-and-mortar store, good lighting is critical to entice customers, who are now inundated with well-lit, beautifully photographed products online.

“The lighting of a retail store has to be state-of-the-art. Having legacy lighting in today’s world just doesn’t give the crisp look and feel consumers expect today,” said Goldberg.
Lights that cast an attractive glow on products increase the likelihood of sales, he noted.

Play with color palettes

Color matters, especially when it’s part of your branding. Goldberg said brands that are easily recognized may want to accent a wall or product displays with key colors found in their logo. “You’ll see in new Verizon stores an echo of their red color. If you go to MetroPCS, you’ll see echoes of their lavender color.”

That said, specialty stores, high-end boutiques and smaller retailers have more success in using a neutral color palette in their stores, said Goldberg. “Higher-tier stores want to let the products and colors of the products tell a story. Those places tend to be much more neutral in color palettes.”

The most important goals are staying true to your brand’s essence and creating a space that feels like a breath of fresh air to customers. Avoid jarring shoppers with over-the-top color choices.

Create an intuitive journey

Make the customer’s path through the store feel intuitive. Generally, grouping products by categories improves the experience for customers and increases the chances they’ll find what they’re looking for.

“Presentations by category have to be clear and obvious. Conceptually, you’re telling stories and it has to be very clear in the visual outcomes. It’s important to make sure the categories and locations of things are clear,” said Goldberg.

Uses signage to help with navigation if you can do it in an appealing way that does not interrupt the retail path.

“If a store is planning to merchandise by category, then that needs to be embedded into a signage format that’s clear and crisp and changeable,” said Goldberg.

An effective store design also places the checkout counter at the natural end of the customer’s journey. Often, that’s at the back of the store, but sometimes it makes sense to place the cash registers toward the side.

Be sure to include displays of impulse purchases close to checkout. “Customers like something at the end of the journey and it’s a great opportunity to sell them something.”

Highlight new products

Have a plan for showcasing new products, whether it’s a fixture or a specific zone, said Goldberg. “You have to consciously think and plan for where you’re going to present things that are exciting and new.”

Since the front of your store has a big impact on customers, it may make sense to create a display near the entryway for this merchandise. Or dedicate a shelf or rack in other zones of the store.

Upgrade your graphics

Even if you want to upgrade your store design, remodeling might not be in your budget. If that’s the case, putting your dollars into stunning graphics will maximize your return on investment, said Goldberg.

“The simplest, most cost-effective way to convey a message is through graphics. It’s rather inexpensive to do and it can manifest itself in graphics or photography or signage. It’s a low-capital way to change up the presentation of the front of your store or any other elements within the store.”

Work with a graphic designer or retail consultant to develop a coordinated set of signs that express your brand’s identity. You don’t need to overwhelm the customer with a gallery; a few well-designed graphics in key places can go a long way.

To view the published article, click here.

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Customer Service Strategies that Help Maximize Holiday Sales

By: Catherine Conlan

The holiday season is make-or-break time for many retailers, hospitality employers and service companies. Perhaps your company is feeling the stress of relying on seasonal employees to generate the holiday sales you’ll need to finish the year in the black.

The best way to remedy this situation is to focus on better customer service– especially during the all-important holiday season. Chances are your competitors are already working on improving theirs.

“There have been a lot of lessons learned about customer service failure,” says Steve Goldberg, President of The Grayson Company, a retail and investment consulting company in New York City. “They’re being much more careful.”

Here’s how to boost your holiday sales with great customer service.

Train Employees in a Scalable Way
Retailers are focusing on training their holiday hires more effectively, Goldberg says. “Some of the training is virtual, and some of it is in person, but there are absolutely stronger efforts to make sure employees reflect the environment they’re working in and understand it,” he says. Including brand and service expectations in these training sessions is vital to offering strong customer service, he says.

Look for scalable options when it comes to training, says Ani Collum, a partner and consultant at Retail Concepts, a Boston-based retail consulting firm. Training processes that can be easily replicated help ensure that holiday hires are on the same page as your usual employees.

Remember too that customer service relies on employees who can solve problems without running for the manager, so in addition to clarifying providing clear instructions and protocols, be sure that your training also empowers employees to make decisions on behalf of the organization.

“Empower frontline employees — seasonal or otherwise — to make decisions that do right by the customer to eliminate potential friction between customers and the retailer,” Collum says. Walk through common customer service scenarios as part of your employee training.

Streamline Your Checkout Process
“Efficient execution is the No. 1 way for top retailers to ensure top customer service during the holiday season,” says Jeffrey Peretin of Connors Group, a retail, distribution and manufacturing consultancy headquartered in New York City.

“One of the main areas of focus that we are seeing retailers put effort behind is the checkout experience. Consumers do not have the time or patience to wait in long lines, and have been shown by companies like Apple that there are ways to improve the experience.”

Adding two more cashiers throughout the holiday hiring scenario isn’t necessarily the way to do it, especially if you only have a small number of registers in the first place.

“Creating register teams of two people per station with divided duties and distinct roles will do it,” Peretin says. These service levels and processes may differ from those that work for your company the rest of the year, and so you may need to experiment as you approach your peak season.

Automate When Possible
Self-service can help take a load off your retail employees and give them the time to directly serve customers who are undecided about a product.

“As wages continue to rise and hiring gets harder, it will become even more compelling to automate the service aspect of businesses,” says Jan Rogers Kniffen, a retail consultant headquartered in New York City. You may need to invest in self-serve or self-checkout tech tools to make it happen, but doing so can help you redeploy your holiday hires more effectively.

If you’re not able to automate this year, keep it in mind for later. “The robots are coming,” Kniffen says. “Maybe not this holiday season, but soon.”

To view the published article, click here.

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The $29 annual membership test program offers 20 percent discounts on all orders

Posted on October 13, 2016 by Allison Zisko

NEW YORK—Bed Bath & Beyond’s new fee-based loyalty test program draws the specialty retailer into an increasingly crowded arena that has had mixed results with the strategy.

Bed Bath & Beyond’s new annual $29 membership program offers 20 percent discounts on all orders across all of its retail platforms, according to published reports. The program is believed to be in test mode, and it is unclear whether the new fee-based program would lead to the elimination of its popular 20 percent off coupons, which are individually applied to one item.

Withdrawing discounts once they are in the market is risky, noted retail analyst Steve Goldberg, president of The Grayson Company. “Altering buying patterns is always a challenge,” he told HFN. Discounts with expiration dates must also be carefully monitored and need systems to support them, Goldberg said. In the past, Bed Bath has been known to accept long-expired coupons.

Fee-based programs can work, Goldberg added, “but not many have.” Amazon Prime is the exception, and Prime customers, who pay a $99 annual membership fee, receive benefits beyond free and expedited shipping. The Grey Card from RH, which launched in the spring, costs $100 per year and grants 25 percent off any item, has so far led to higher median order values but has had little impact on purchase frequency, according to Second Measure, a company that analyzes consumer purchases for investors.

Bed Bath will have to weigh the benefits of repeat customers versus discounts, Goldberg said. “The jury is out,” he said, offering his take on the reported program. “No doubt they spent a lot of time giving this some thought.”

To view the published article, click here.

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Each year, the Wharton Graduate Retail Conference draws upon the best and brightest from the worlds of retail and brand to share their experiences and insights with Graduate students who truly represent the potential of our retail and consumer businesses.

This year, Steve Goldberg, President of TGC, had the privilege to moderate a panel focused on customer loyalty through innovation. The conference also featured extraordinary leaders and entrepreneurs from retail and brands who shed light on the fundamental issues surrounding our consumer world today.  Discussion topics included breakthrough technology, the concept of connecting with customers through “authentic experiences”, and the process of inventing and reinventing businesses; all of which reveal important leadership lessons of how to succeed in business in today’s hypercompetitive, multi-channel marketplace.

We left the conference optimistic that the future of our brand and retail leadership is very bright indeed.

So what were the key learnings from this extraordinary group?

Brands and Retailers must be authentic, provide a unique experience – a true “raison d’etre” – and connect with the customer in ways that transcend just price

• For Bart Sichel, CMO at Burlington this means providing/fostering “the hunt” for a unique value
• For Bloomingdale’s Customer Loyalty VP Sean Duffy, and L’Oreal’s Sarika Rastogi, VP of CRM and Loyalty , it means building sophisticated customer segments that provide personalized ways of communicating with the customer that will connect with them on an individual level
• Craig Fleishman, SVP of Corporate Development at Rebecca Minkoff, demonstrated how they have developed dynamic, disruptive ideas; including the breakthrough digital dressing room and the See-Buy-Wear, concept, which was unveiled at Fashion Week last month and is resonating throughout the fashion industry

Brands and Retailers must invent, reinvent, and reinvent again…but it takes drive and passion

• Pamela Baxter, President/CEO of Dior Couture (LVMH) demonstrated the magic and power of drawing from the past to inform and reinvent present and future design sensibilities; a strategy that has ensured that Dior is relevant to the most important influencers of every generation
• Andy Dunn, Founder of Bonobos, invented a way to connect with the consumer by offering an online solution to buying great fitting pants, he then reinvented with the concept with the development of the “Guide Shop” in which he emphasized the need to “listen to the customer in a profound way”
• Rachel Schechtman, Founder, has invented an entirely new retail format at STORY, which has attracted product developers, global sponsors and influencers from around to world to participate in their ever changing retail “stories”

Technology will be the key to the future of retailing and connecting brands to consumers

• At Shoes of Prey, Michael Knapp, Co-Founder, has created an entirely new approach to “mass customization” that enables customers to design their own shoes. Using a “3D virtual tool,” shoppers can choose a shoe shape, color and height for their custom made shoe
• Sarika Rastogi, Lancôme, and Sean Duffy, Bloomingdales, shared the power of CRM methodology and how they are enhancing connections with their customers through personalization tools
• Healy Cyper, Founder, shared how Oak Labs has seamlessly enhanced the shopping experience at Ralph Lauren and Rebecca Minkoff through the reinvention of the “fitting room” using digital personal engagement technology that allows the shopper to customize his/her experience and easily ask for help and complete purchases. Healy also discussed the interactive windows at Kate Spade that have captivated the retail community and redefined the concept of “window shopping”. Not only can shoppers use the technology to browse styles and complete purchases, but it also allows the retailer to showcase a wide selection of items otherwise unavailable for a small store space

Leadership is the key to our future…but it’s different now

• Brendan Hoffman, CEO of Vince, shared his philosophy of leadership; being prepared to make courageous decisions both professionally and personally; he emphasized that surrounding himself with the best and brightest talent has been critical to his success
• Andy Dunn discussed that while leadership often feels like a “burden”, it is a true privilege; and that leadership today requires empathy to truly connect with associates, and customers alike

In an era where the customer often comes armed with more product knowledge than sales associates, all panelists agree that, today, our associates and employees must be empowered differently.  Providing great, informed service, starts by ensuring that associates are hired with strong filters for “skill and will”. Leadership must make it clear that we expect to deliver great service and a fresh customer experience. But, we as leaders must provide the training, tools and information necessary to allow them to make informed decision, and truly serve the customer.

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