It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again: The Future of Retail Will Include Circuit City
E-commerce may be retail’s future, but brick and mortar is far from dead.
We all remember Circuit City, right? At one time, it was the giant in the consumer electronics retail space. With hundreds of stores, it was once the place to purchase your electronics gear. Started in 1949 as a tiny retail storefront in Richmond, Virginia, Circuit City grew under the leadership of Sam Wurtzel and his son, Alan. The company eventually became a household name and employed over 60,000 people.
And then, all of a sudden, it was gone. Circuit City filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and shuttered all of its 700+ stores, the last one in 2009. Its demise has been well documented and has been attributed to many things. Senior management’s attention being diverted from its base business by the startup of CarMax and the concentration on a failed DVD strategy called DIVX didn’t help. However, it is likely that Circuit City’s fall was largely accelerated by the success of Best Buy and Walmart. Of course, then came the recession of 2008. Lights out! An attempt at a total e-commerce approach was later attempted but was unsuccessful and ended in 2012… Read the full article.
The Top 10 Most Innovative Companies Setting Retail Trends
Creative ideas and e-commerce retailers are providing new opportunities for consumers.
Most would agree that invention and innovation are at the heart of a successful business. In a hyper-competitive industry such as retail, ingenuity has become a business necessity; driving our leadership and shaping the company mission and direction. This is where an organization and the company team can set itself apart; setting the tone for current victories and future retail trends.
But how do we create a company culture that unleashes and capitalizes on innovation? What is it that makes an organization a leader at setting retail trends and pushing the envelope for tomorrow’s successes?… Read the full article.
The Brick-And-Mortar Retail Industry Continues to Struggle
E-commerce continues to force change.
Many brick-and-mortar retailers saw drops in sales in the first quarter of 2016. Some were significant. Macy’s, JCPenney and Kohl’s stock continue to take hits based on weak performance results. Nordstrom and Gap stock fell as much as 15 percent after posting similar weak quarterly results. It is speculated that decreased mall traffic is negatively affecting some of the big retailers and smaller ones, too.
E-commerce retailing is faring much better, however, with April numbers up more than 10 percent versus 2015. For all of 2015, e-commerce sales were up 15 percent compared to just 3 percent for brick-and-mortar stores…. Read the full article.
EyeOnLP: Sysrepublic Captures Data and Creates Value for the Retail Industry
Learn from Chris D’Amore, global sales director, as he talks about Sysrepublic’s retail technologies.
For over a decade, Sysrepublic’s mission has focused on partnering with industry leaders to innovate new ways of building long-term value from big data. What started with one retailer in the UK is now a global user group spanning four continents – and they’re still growing strong.
Sysrepublic was founded by a team of IT data analytic and retail experts in 2002, and is currently considered a global retail analytics leader. Their senior management team understands the retail industry end-to-end. The team has over 80 years of retail experience at all levels, working with many of the world’s largest brands. Each management team member participates in all aspects of the global operation including input into software development, client services, sales, support, and delivery… Read the full article and watch the video.
Wages, Employee Performance and Retail Industry Trends: Looking at Walmart’s New Approach
The conversation continues as Walmart looks for answers to important retail questions.
Following an important topic that has been widely discussed throughout 2016, recent retail industry trends have explored the relationship between wage increases and the impact on employee performance. For example, we can look at the recent protests associated with the “Fight for Fifteen” and employee efforts to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour as a testament to those efforts and what it would mean for our workforce. And as many employees and other interest groups across the country have expressed their opinions about wage increases and their impact on all involved, a recent article that appeared in the New York Times explores the subject and the potential impact that wage increases can have on employee performance by taking a closer look at the world’s largest retailer.
A couple of years ago, Walmart, which once built its entire branding around a big yellow smiley face, was creating more than its share of frowns. Shoppers were fed up. They complained of dirty bathrooms, empty shelves, endless checkout lines and impossible-to-find employees. Only 16 percent of stores were meeting the company’s customer service goals. The dissatisfaction showed up where it counts. Sales at stores open at least a year fell for five straight quarters; the company’s revenue fell for the first time in Walmart’s 45-year run as a public company in 2015…Read the full article.