What a sad state of affairs for retail. Considered once as a leading retailer has now become a vulture circling dying retailers. Good for the customer? Hardly. If it did not sell and keep another retail alive what is going to make if more successful at Kmart? Price, but the consumer will be purchasing faulty, inferior, out of fashion items and to those who hard press to buy family essentials, I get it. But now think about the impact this has on the Vendors that supply Kmart with product. Their orders are not cut to zero which will put that level of retail into a need to sell off manufactured goods. So Mr., Vendor, we know Walmart was built on Vendor relations and that is why they were and remain great. Vendors need to give TJX, Marshalls, Family Dollar and those retailers their deliveries first, their best items and focus on a partner retailer not a retailer that is desperate to stay alive.
Posts Tagged ‘jerry birnbach’
Kmart selling product obtained from Bankrupt retailers.
Friday, February 19th, 2016Radio Shack appears to be shorting out due to bad wiring
Wednesday, January 13th, 2016Radio Shack was a powerhouse at one time for electronics. Over time they allowed their staff training, assortment, inventory on hand to fall into an abyss. This concept needs to grow up and what is apparent, and financially driven is the stores remain same old, same old.
The success of Radio Shack will fall on the public’s perception that this store can provide anything and everything, a category killer, otherwise you can cherry pick Rado Shack on line.
The biggest advantage they can offer the customer is the ability to easily shop the store with informative signing, out posting product to improve the multiple sale and joining this century with mobile device drive sales techniques.
The investment is too great to become innovative, the staff are not knowledgeable about the product, the breath of assortment is too vast to control and area and then conquer others so why surge without the weapons in place?
In all due respect the captain of this ship although coming with great credentials lacks the background of retail savvy. A former vendor cannot direct a retailer when the revitalization for Radio Shack depends on product sold in a manner that it becomes the reason to shop the store, i.e.: Apple.
Rhinebeck Department Turns to Jerry Birnbach & Assoc for Design effort
Monday, December 7th, 2015
Historic Rhinebeck Dept Store
Rhinebeck Department Store has selected Jerry Birnbach & Associates the retail design firm to renovate this landmark building.
“It is a great opportunity to work on a project with such integrity and a client with an impressive understanding for retail,” per Jerry Birnbach.
Rhinebeck Department store located in the quaint town in the foothills of the Catskills continues the retail tradition that was started with the former Hudson Valley Store 1946.
We are committed to keeping our values as traditional as our
merchandise selection of Authentic Country Classics.
The design challenge is to preserve the spirit of a traditional shopping experience while designing a relevant solution for a high
demographic customer in todays world.
Nick Cannon named Chief Creative Officer at Radio Shack – Have they lost their minds?
Friday, December 4th, 2015I am in disbelief that Radio Shack who has to realize they had a grade of “F” for Sales help knowledge, Sales help selling ability, Inventory control so there was product in the store, Poor product quality does realize they need to work on basic before they try to become creative.
Having close association with the Isaac Mizrachi brand at Target and Better Homes and Gardens for Walmart, each had amazing volume because the retail machine was well greased, smooth procedures, and a solid foundation for the Celebrity factor.
Radio Shack if they are to make another run at survival needs to get their act together or it is destain to fail. Back to basics friends.
FOR EXAMPLE: This is an electric item, my staff are knowledgeable about its use, applications, auxiliary accessories, it has a real guarantee besides a useless warrant policy without twenty exclusion voiding the warranty or replacement, it is priced well, it will run perfectly for several years, there are always the correct days of inventory on hand. Once the above is mastered, then we can talk about Nick Cannon.
I am happy that Macy’s will follow my advice and keep off price within the main store.
Monday, November 16th, 2015I am glad that Macy’s took my advice in my blog and linkedin post. Stay true to your core customer and moving off price to a remote locations is not a good idea for a multitude of reasons.
The thought to lead your core customer out the door and down the street to an off price location was against all retail principles.
Now to provide an area in the store where price driven shoppers who want branded items ( Marshal’s customer and TJX ) will appreciate this option. And most probably while in the store will pick up a few full price items as well.
The logistics to get vendors to buy into selling Macy’s closeout items over the Marshall’s volume potential due to the bulk of their locations would have been interesting.
Now Macy’s does not need to worry about filling an off price store off location with product similar to Target or Walmart due to price point restrictions. Another battle Macy’s would not win nor set up to wage.
I like this new reversal and believe it will be a winner.
design:retail magazine simply the best
Monday, November 2nd, 2015It was critical to subscribe to these journals in order to remain current. Today times have changed and design:retail remained ahead of curve by keeping up with relevant ways to communicate with the retail industry. As a contributing editor in this magazines former life I appreciated and still do the amount of work required to get the story right and offer productive insight. Congratulations on your recent accomplishment and wish you continued success.
For Bloomingdale’s, Container Store Or Gap – Service Still Makes The Difference
Tuesday, July 7th, 2015Although my expertise is in designing stores, I could not agree more with Mr. Loeb regarding service. There are so many factors that come into play today as a result of technology, which has created parity. Competitive price checks, availability, brand have become a constant among several retailers serving the many sectors of demographics.
The shopping experience, which is spearheaded by service, could be the biggest single factor that allows one retailer to survive while others continue to close their doors.
I am very sensitive to service and find that the big box retailers have a much more difficult time providing quality associates that customers can rally around. My guess is salary plays a part of this low standard of service. This service area of opportunity allows the mom pop retailer a way that the can out perform the big box retailer.
We all know good service when we see it and unfortunately the retailer is starving to cultivate this caliber of staff member so they are forced to promote the good associates to a higher position. This promotion often leads to creating a hole where the store meets the customer, with the end result of losing customers due to poor service.
As soon as the retailer put more time and priority into labor training and selection, the bottom line will improve itself through happy customers. Needless to say it is all about the product, but when product no longer plays the key role in securing customer loyalty, service is the next factor to drive the business.
Department Stores are heading in the wrong direction.
Sunday, July 5th, 2015This Outlet strategy goes against the main reasons for the department stores success and preserving loyal base customers. In addition, you have the issues at the outlet level, lower paid service associates, vanilla store design and presentation, more chance for negative shopping experience due to budget factors and you have lowered the core department store business as a result of guilty through association. Does it make sense to give your establish customer a reason to not shop your Department store and go to another location to shop. Retailers strive for multiple sales, and this approach will not work to that initiative.
What is the right strategy? Allocate an area with the core department store which takes the product residue, the off season items and create a permanent section within the store that would simulate the off price store concept. Why? Because is brings a new customer in, and perhaps over time that price driven customer becomes a trade up customer, which improves the quality of shopper within the department store. Off price retailing is basically depending on price to drive the business. Customers accept items that are not in their size, out dated fashion, a basic shopping experience and that works for that customer. But the department store is walking faster at an outlet level just to stay in place. Department stores are do not represent the numbers that a TJX and Marshals, Ross Stores provide product vendors, who are stuck with product. Having been involved intimately with licensing of brands, believe me when I say, the surplus, first dibs on good product goes to the biggest retailer. Prestige, which department stores represent, does not factor in obtaining the best of the worst. So department stores force to buy into their new outlet stores because space allocation requires they fill up the store to give a sense of being in business, must depend on the department store assortment sale items to be directed to the outlet. The cost of the transfer, probably gets written off on the department store and not into the cost of goods for the outlet store, thus presenting a false vision of success.
You cannot be all things to all customers, you have to live by the sword and die by the sword because this alternative outlet solution will be working against the odds due to the competition who invented the concept.
Lastly, we all have made the observation when shopping an outlet store similar to the high profile Gap retailer, that the product found in the Gap store, never saw the light of day in that company store. People now believed that most of the off price product was really a ploy that its origin was a company store, but the reality is it was outlet store bound from the purchase order inception. Customers caught on fast which watered down the credibility of the outlet concept from great product at great prices, to good prices only.
Trump and Confederate Flag go down in a blaze of glory
Friday, July 3rd, 2015
Two brands or iconic symbols shot and now missing in action this week.
First the confederate flag became a topic that most retailers and media dropped like a lead ballon. Why?
The topic has been debated back and forth by many this week.
Perhaps we need to revisit the American Flag and remember “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the U.S.A. And to the Republic, for which is stands, ( and goes on to define what it stands for )
Now here comes another flag,a symbol of another nation who at the time had a specific “for which it stands “ and for over 160 years our nation has worked to put that behind us. Any reminder of that mentality apparently promotes feelings in the ignorant individuals that cannot get over the fact that they lost the war and the “one nation under god” got the help from a higher power which assisted in the victory. So retailers, I salute you for a quick and decisive move to eliminate one more reminder of what should not have been and to support what we are constantly striving to achieve in our society “for liberty and justice for all”.
As for the Trump brand, well that is another story. Can’t argue honesty is the best policy. Can’t take away anyones right to say what they believe to be true. What concerns me and remains a gray area, is that several high end apparel designers recently came out with anti gay and anti transgender comments which were meant to be hurtful. Yet D&C, and others are still on the shelves of certain retailers in spite of crossing the line of decency. So why was Trump removed. Having been actively involved with Licensing and Brands, it could have been the easiest way to get out of a non lucrative contract due to poor performance. Just a guess, because the world in truth will not miss seeing Trump product in the stores. What will become interesting is if by some weird set of circumstances if a peanut farmer could win, Trump could win the White House. If Trump wins will retailers make bottom line decisions disguised to be made for hot topic and will this product find itself back on the shelf? My guess is yes.