Carol Spieckerman’s Retail Insights
newmarketbuilders' State of U.S. Retail & Store Safari Scrapbook (from 2010 Licensing Expo)
Holy retail immersion, Batman! Mark our words: 6-6-10 will go down in history as the hottest off-the-strip retail tour ever recorded in Las Vegas. Thanks to LIMA and to all who attended! Your active participation, killer questions and non-stop enthusiasm made the day! Read our full recap of the action.
What's Keeping You Awake at Night? newmarketbuilders' Licensing Poll Results In!
We posed that question to top licensors, licensees, agencies and retailers last week as we made our rounds at the International Licensing Expo in Las Vegas. Studio execs, brand veterans and mega licensees weighed in and, after a bit of throat clearing, most told us they felt much better having shared! Here are the top three answers . . .
newmarketbuilders at NARMS: Retail Marketers in the Power Position
I can't imagine a better time for retailers, suppliers and retail marketing services firms to convene ... Retailers' in-store focus has snapped to attention, suppliers are wrestling with unprecedented disruption, and NARM's member companies, whether they work in event marketing, assisted selling, training, merchandising, or demos, sit right smack in the middle of the action between both.
EVP Linda Hefner Shares Vision: Serving Member Needs the Sam's Way
The following is a recap of Sam's EVP of merchandising, Linda Hefner's presentation as part of the Bentonville Bella Vista Chamber'sWalStreet speaker series in Bentonville - with additional NMB insights.
Ready for some good news? How does this sound—the club channel is growing, Sam’s Club is growing within that channel, and Linda Hefner, Sam’s EVP of Merchandising, says that Sam’s is “hungry for more.” Fantastic news for the ballroom-filling group of Sam's suppliers that convened yesterday morning to hear Ms. Hefner’s presentation, “Serving Members' Needs in a Uniquely Sam’s Club Way.”
Muses, Messes and the Search for Meaning
Last Friday on Retail Wire, I commented on department stores’ reliance on exclusive brands for differentiation in apparel. Of course, just having exclusive brands can’t be a point of differentiation, since every retailer from Dollar General to Macy’s does. So by default, the differentiation has to come from a retailer’s choice of brands and from the total brand portfolio that they offer to shoppers. J.C. Penney’s combination of Flirtitude, Fabulosity, Fergalicious, and so on, must be perceived as more compelling than Macy’s lineup of Kenneth Cole Reaction, the upcoming Material Girl line from Madonna, Kouture by Kimora (who also is responsible for J.C. Penney’s Fabulosity), and a host of others.
But is exclusive branding long tail retail at its finest . . . or has it turned into a dart throw?