Author: coleman
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For some Retailers, Black Friday should be renamed Brown Friday
When I was in elementary school I had to do a project on my family’s history. I asked my father if any of our ancestors had been war heroes. He went on to tell the following story: In the 1700’s a great grandfather many generations back had been an Admiral in the Royal Navy. One…
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Is Dynamic Pricing the Retail Equivalent of On-Line Gaming?
In the spirit of full disclosure I am not, nor have I ever been, the CEO of a major retailer. That said, if I was, and my Chief Merchandising Officer told me that his/her strategy to improve profits was “to buy into inventory, and sell it for whatever we can get” I would at the…
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What Bank Robbers can teach us about Grey Markets and On-Line Pricing
The bank robber’s motivation is to make a lot of money fast, without putting forth a lot of effort. The same is true of the grey markets made up of on-line Minimum Advertised Pricing (MAP) violators. In both situations, the perpetrators know what they are doing is wrong, and therefore disguise themselves to avoid…
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Are Brands at Risk of Identity Theft?
15 million victims lose $50 billion a year, In the U.S. alone. Identity theft has exploded because of technology, but people aren’t the only ones at risk. As counterfeiters get more sophisticated, brands become just as vulnerable. I would imagine that most people who buy a fake Rolex watch or fake Gucci bag are well…
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PRICE MATCHING: Have Retailers Created a Monster?
Price matching is a known margin killer. Yet, the fear of losing in-store sales to on-line competitors has retailers aggressively implementing discretionary price-matching policies. In the past, all sellers had very similar cost structures. Store hours and location convenience played a significant role in consumer behavior. In order to utilize price-matching, a consumer had to:…
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Traditional Retailers Get A Boost From A Most Unexpected Source…UPS/Fedex
UPS and Fedex have both announced rate increases for the coming year, but this year’s increases come with a little twist. Both carriers have announced that they will start using a “dimensional weight” freight rating system (a system that considers package density as well as weight). This new pricing structure is a game changer. The…
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Channel Conflict…The Ugly Truth About Growing On-line Sales
“Increasing our on-line penetration is the key to our future sales growth.” This line has been uttered so many times, in so many ways, by so many corporate leaders in CPG, in the last five years that it now falls into its own special class of cliché. On the surface this phrase makes perfect sense.…
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Win or Lose, Retailing in an Omni-Channel world is a Team Sport
I have been a player, captain, coach, referee, and spectator of team sports for the better part of three decades. I have always been amazed at the parallels between business and sports. When reflecting on the day’s events, be it a game or a business challenge, I often find myself concluding “it all comes down…
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Internet Price Risk…Buyer Beware
As the summer winds down, the all-important fall buying season for retailers is heating up. While the role of the retail buyer has never been easy, the advances in technology, savvy online retailers, as well as increased use of mobile devices, the job is now infinitely more challenging. Historically, retail buyers have managed a series…
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Spot the Artist’s Mistake…A.K.A. Digital Marketing Defense
It’s been said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and the explosion in digital media would tend to support that conclusion. In fact, a large part of marketing is “imagery management” and the concept of “association”. Certain things go together to help create concept. Very clean black and white cows, in a green…