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September 2008
Moving quickly to improve performance can help retailers to recover faster.
July 2008
Filippo Passerini is bringing the back office into the boardroom.
April 2008
Although they draw together widely dispersed information, prediction markets face organizational and legal challenges.
July 2007
The giant retailer’s chief merchandising officer explains why and how it is trying to reach a wider range of consumers than it has in the past.
May 2007
Carlsberg's senior vice president, Western Europe, explains what the company is doing to cope with proliferating channels, media, and customer segments and describes the benefits of its functional-excellence programs.
November 2006
A range of orthodoxies is making it harder to develop breakthrough products in the consumer goods industry. It urgently needs a reformation.
June 2006
Jean-Luc Chéreau discusses the French company's experiences as its hypermarkets spread out from China’s biggest cities to the vast hinterland.
Steve Gilman says that because Chinese consumers are changing so quickly, retailers must change quickly to keep up with them.
November 2005
Changing customer needs are prompting a range of strategic responses.
August 2005
Successful companies should examine all available channels and then tailor an approach according to their capabilities.
August 2004
Establishing a direct-purchasing operation there isn’t cheap, but the potential savings for retailers are too large to ignore.
December 2003
The answer is yes, but it won’t be easy.
August 2003
Value retailers use low prices to attract and retain customers; the next challenge is to match the convenience and comfort of traditional grocers.
June 2003
Two senior executives of Europe’s largest fuel marketer explain how it experienced a huge reorganization.
May 2003
One key to improving the performance of retail chains is finding a better way to disseminate more appropriate best practices.
To capture a slice of this huge, lucrative market, foreign retailers must understand that China is different.
August 2002
To make money from the expansion of the Chinese market, most oil companies will have to sell much more than gasoline.
Three strategies can help retailers expand abroad. The trick is to choose the one that best suits your particular ambitions and your starting point.
China’s entrance into the WTO offers opportunities for foreign wholesalers—and dangers for domestic ones.
February 2002
In presenting one face to the world, a company risks presenting the wrong face to entire nations.
Information technology isn’t the whole story behind productivity.
November 2000
"Ecosystems" that cater to interrelated customer requirements may be the next big thing in retailing. They could answer both the consumer’s desire for speed and efficiency and the retailer’s need for growth—perhaps at the expense of other industries.
August 2000
Establishing and communicating a brand may be harder for multibrand retailers than for their single-brand counterparts, but brand building is essential for both.
Pure-play Internet retailers haven’t made a profit and probably never will. The winners on-line will be experienced retailers that can execute a multichannel strategy.
February 2000
Internet pure plays may have won the first round of Internet retailing, but there is every reason to believe that store-based retailers will give them a run for their money.
August 1999
A “virtuous cycle” of self-reinforcing benefits will permit certain companies to redefine—and control—the industry. Even so, retailers still have enough time to build cross-border positions and local-market defenses.
February 1998
America’s service sector has created millions of new jobs. That’s the problem. Companies will need to segment labor markets or change the way they produce a service. Turning dead-end jobs into careers.
Because you are trying to balance customer satisfaction, employee morale, and shareholder returns. It’s very easy to start a vicious cycle of deteriorating performance. Taking out the right costs.
November 1997
Serving these giant accounts may be profitable. But will the gains outweigh losses in other channels? Be prepared to make big changes in manufacturing, logistics, sales, and customer service.
August 1997
Separating complaints from economic reality. When there is a conflict, there are effective options. Don’t overreact, but don’t get paralyzed either.
May 1997
The average life of a retail concept is becoming shorter. Renewal requires blending analysis with conscious creativity. Continuous renewal is at the heart of successful retailing.
August 1996
An interview with Gus Pagonis, Executive Vice President for Logistics, Sears.
May 1996
Low-cost retailers discovered the power of logistics: now even high fashion leaders are paying attention. Different incentives and no cooperation. Do not minimize costs at the distribution center.
February 1996
Huge markets await, but profit formulas often get distorted. What won’t work: a standalone approach, inflexible purchasing, and 100% ownership. Three new expansion strategies.
November 1995
European retailers have been working to develop own brand product lines in recent years, but experience suggests that they seldom have the necessary information systems to monitor product profitability in an accurate and timely manner.
August 1993
No-nonsense advice on how to avoid the death spiral of permanently lost profit, declining value, and heightened price sensitivity.
Simplicity, focus, and integration in the merchandising process dramatically boost retail performance.
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