The retail sector is experience an unprecedented period of change and disruption. Is a new approach to merchandise strategy necessary?

Physical retail sales remain important, despite the surge of online sales. What can retailers do to ensure their frontline sales stay strong?

Visual merchandising is more than just about the eye of the beholder. What are some emerging trends in visual merchandising that retailers could consider adopting to stay competitive and offer a unique shopping experience?

Dollar Tree has become the latest retailer to lock up merchandise in hopes of reducing shrink.

This weekend promises to be a big one for retailers as Americans celebrate not one, but two, holidays with Father’s Day on Sunday and the Juneteenth National Independence Day holiday on Monday.

Nordstrom has decided to shutter its small base of stores in Canada, making it the latest U.S.-based retailer to face a chilly reception after expanding up north, joining previous U.S.-based retailers like Lowe’s and Target.

While grocers have earned credit for upgrading the quality and branding of their private labels, a new study finds store brands receive little marketing support. The study comes as reports indicate shoppers are trading down to store brands amid inflationary pressures.

Target’s fourth quarter was not as strong as Brian Cornell and company would have liked, but the retailer did post its twenty-third straight quarterly same-store sales gains. He pointed to Target’s continuing investments in private brands, store-within-a-store partnerships and customer loyalty as differentiating factors for the chain.

James Daunt made Waterstones the largest bookstore chain in the UK and has brought about a turnaround at Barnes & Noble. How did he do it? Apparently, by getting rid of many of the “sensible retailing principles” that helped tank the business in the first place. Do you agree that sensible retailing principles lead to boring bookstores?

Food shopping options for downtowners can be downright dismal. Patricia Waldron is a center city dweller and feels fortunate to have a great Ralph’s in her neighborhood, but before the store opened, downtown San Diego was pretty much a food desert.  Are grocers generally doing enough to serve urban consumers?

In a win for hype over design experience, Louis Vuitton last week placed 13-time Grammy-award winner Pharrell Williams in charge of its menswear line. Is the appointment of Pharrell Williams as men’s creative director more of a positive or negative for Louis Vuitton?

Neiman Marcus’s CEO recently made a statement about the type of customer that the luxury department store operator wants to attract. Some sales staff believe he is putting out the wrong vibe, which might end up hurting the retailer. What do you see as the value of customers outside of the top two percent for luxury retailers like Neiman Marcus?

A lack of planogram compliance and ineffective localization continues to complicate the merchandising process. Further exacerbating these challenges is the proliferation of channels, digitally adept shoppers and rapidly changing preferences, according to a recent study. What are the newer and classic barriers to merchandise execution?

American Dream, the mega entertainment and retail complex in East Rutherford, NJ, announced plans to open The Address, billed as “the world’s first modest fashion department store.” Do you see modest fashion expanding into the mainstream or remaining a niche opportunity?

An Amazon Fresh is not coming to a neighborhood near you just yet. The company will delay opening new Fresh stores until it figures out how to differentiate the locations from established competitors in the market. How do you evaluate Amazon’s strengths and weaknesses in the grocery vertical?

A new study from Bain & Co. concludes that, while luxury spending‘s growth is expected to slow in 2023 following two gangbuster recovery years, the sector has become “more resilient to recession.” Do you agree that the luxury goods sector has become less susceptible to the impact of downturns?

In a keynote presentation at the 2023 NRF Big Show, Geoffroy van Raemdonck, Neiman Marcus Group’s CEO, was asked about the benefits and risks of the retailer’s high concentration levels. Is the concentration of its customer base and vendor base a concern for Neiman’s?

Bloomingdale’s is going small in Seattle, saying it will open a new Bloomie’s, its small off-mall store concept, this year in University Village in the Ravenna neighborhood, north of the city’s downtown. Do you see the Bloomie’s concept as a smart way for Bloomingdale’s to scale its operations to new markets around the U.S.?

Amy Hauk is stepping down as CEO of Victoria’s Secret on March 31 after having just been named to lead the lingerie giant in July. Do you expect that Amy Hauk’s planned departure will have an effect on the Victoria’s Secret or PINK businesses?

In a new pilot, Rite Aid Corp. is opening mini-locations in rural areas in order to serve “pharmacy deserts” and underserved communities. Do you see growth opportunities for Rite Aid or other drug chains serving  consumers in underserved communities?

Designer Brands Inc., the parent of DSW, recently set a goal to double sales of its owned brands in response to direct-to-consumer efforts by national brands. Its acquisition earlier this week of the Topo athletic brand furthers that effort. Do you see more benefits than drawbacks to DSW’s move to increase emphasis on in-house brands?

Barnes & Noble looks to have stabilized and now plans to expand its store footprint next year, even amid an unpredictable economic landscape. The book seller will debut 30 new stores in 2023, opening more than it closes annually after numerous years of net contraction. Is this the right time for Barnes & Noble to pursue an expansion of its physical retail footprint?

Too many retailers had the bad habit of over-buying long before the pandemic created the supply chain chaos we are still living through. “Just in time” systems failed to prevent the overbuying problem. How will retailers digest this season’s sales, margin and inventory outcomes to arrive at better demand forecasts for Fall/Holiday 2023?

Retail’s long-struggling “mushy middle,” consisting of mid-price retailers without a strong value proposition and brand identity, has taken a bigger holiday hit than more strongly differentiated retailers, according to one retail expert. Do you see selling discounted packaway merchandise significantly damaging chains in the “mushy middle” of retailing?

Hat retailer Lids has launched a new store concept called Lids Hat Drop, which will focus on giving customers access to exclusive new products on a weekly basis. Do you see similar concepts to Lids Hat Drop being operated successfully in other areas of retail?

Big Lots is looking to leave the city life behind as it sees plenty of opportunities to grow in places with wide open spaces.  Will a greater emphasis on operating stores in small towns and rural areas and away from more competitive urban markets prove successful for Big Lots?

Forever 21 last week said that it was celebrating its one-year “meta-versary” by launching a fashion collection inspired by its experience operating in the metaverse. Do you see gaming platforms like Roblox as the logical entry points for retailers looking to test the metaverse waters?

2022 is shaping up as a breakout year for Publix’s Greenwise Market format. The Greenwise organic food and essentials specialty concept in Florida experienced higher year-over-year foot traffic growth in September than Publix’s mainstream stores, according to a Placer.ai study. What factors are key to making small format grocery stores work?

Macy’s has been pursuing opportunities to grow its business through store-within-a-store partnerships, and in its latest alliance is teaming up with Claire’s to open shops inside 21 Macy’s stores, including eight flagship locations. Are Claire’s and Macy’s a good match?

In her first quarterly analyst call as Foot Locker’s CEO, Mary Dillon said she sees many parallels between sneakers and the beauty category when it comes to supporting growth, but also sees a bigger opportunity for Foot Locker to drive consumer demand. Do you see more benefits than drawbacks from Foot Locker adopting more of a “consumer-led” than “product-led” approach?

Described as a “nightmare before Christmas” by The Wall Street Journal, Macy’s and Kohl’s saw an unexpected sales slowdown in October and early November, leaving questions about whether holiday gifting is being delayed or cut back in a hyper-inflationary period. How worrisome should the late holiday purchasing trend be for department stores?

H&M has opened a smaller boutique concept in the hip Williamsburg section of Brooklyn featuring a rotating mix of “most fashionable styles” and continually evolving activations with an emphasis on “paying homage to the iconic neighborhood.” What should define success for the H&M Williamsburg concept?

Simon Property Group is partnering with retail real estate platform Leap to give digital native brands with no or limited physical footprints a brick-and-mortar location in its shopping malls. What does it take for digital native brands to be successful in brick-and-mortar environments?

Gap is for sale on Amazon.com. Gap made “thousands” of its items available last week at Amazon.com/Gap with the promise of “fast, free Prime delivery.” Does the Gap or Amazon gain more from their new selling partnership?

And now for something completely different. Target today said that it plans to open new larger-format stores with new reimagined open layouts designed to better meet the needs of the chain’s guests (AKA customers).  Is Target on the right track with its new, larger store format and new design?

New research shows that Americans are shifting more of their Christmas shopping to stores this year rather than placing orders online.  Do you expect to see a significant shift back to shopping in stores over the balance of the Christmas shopping season?

Home Depot is partnering with a short-term rental platform so that when people are on vacation at one particular location, they’ll see what a trip or two to the retailer can do for them when they get home. Will customers staying at the Vrbo rental property make the connection to Home Depot and shop the retailer accordingly?

Shein is moving closer to launching its first permanent brick and mortar store in Tokyo. The store, which measures about 2,163 square feet over two stories, will open November 13 in the city’s Harajuku fashion district. How likely is Shein to open showroom stores in the U.S. similar to the one it is opening in Tokyo?

Walmart plans to open Netflix Hub shops selling merchandise from the streaming platform’s films and television series in more than 2,400 U.S. stores as it seeks to build on an online-only deal introduced last October. What will Netflix Hub in-store shops do for Walmart?

Target limited-edition drops are a big part of the chain’s cheap chic appeal. Now, the retailer plans to partner with Marks & Spencer to introduce a curated assortment of the British retailer’s gourmet candy, cookie and tea gifts for the holiday season. Will Target be able to translate its fashion collaboration magic to its food and beverage business?

Freight demand is dropping, as reported by some of the biggest long haul freight companies in the U.S. The trucking firms say they have seen demand for their services wane somewhat at a time when they normally are at their busiest. What do declines in cargo imports and freight demand say about the sales outlook for retail over the next six months to a year?

The hot costume picks for Halloween have shifted away from generic staples (sexy cats, spooky witches) toward pop culture references, making choosing the right mix a more hair-rising effort for merchants. What do you think have been the most important factors driving the choice of Halloween costumes in 2022?

Target is expanding its partnership with Apple so that more people looking for Apple products at the general merchandise retailer can have an experience closer to what they would get at the Apple store. Do you see the Apple at Target concept going chainwide at some point?

Target CEO Brian Cornell is nothing but positive on the chain’s prospects for the 2022 holiday season. What do you think is behind Target’s continuing shopper traffic gains and do you expect the trend to continue through the rest of 2022?

With last year’s in-store Christmas shopping stifled, and supply chain disruptions preventing orders from hitting the shelves on time, retailers ended up sitting on a lot of seasonal inventory. They packed it away for a year and, now as a new Christmas season approaches, they are selling it again. Will shoppers buy 2021’s leftover Christmas inventory or react negatively to last year’s merchandise?

Circle K has reached agreement to lease space within its convenience stores in Florida for the purpose of dispensing medical marijuana to patients in the state. Is Circle K’s move a game changer for the legal cannabis business?

HomeGoods last week introduced House of HomeGoods, offering customers a chance to book a weekend stay at a two-bedroom Hudson Valley, NY, home for $29.99 a night. What do you think of HomeGoods’ House of HomeGoods campaign?

The pop-up model has brought some retailers a lot of success in recent years, so much so that some retail experts see pop-ups as a standard component in the future of retail. Do you think pop-ups are poised to become more popular over time?

Fast Retailing, mother company of Uniqlo, is bringing the fast fashion retailer’s faster, cheaper sibling brand to the U.S. with a new store in Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood. Will negative sentiment surrounding fast fashion impact how the GU brand is received in the U.S.?

Rite Aid has a shrink problem in New York City and it’s forcing the drugstore retailer to consider taking aggressive measures to keep goods from being walked out the door by thieves. Does it make sense for Rite Aid and others operating in high crime areas to put all product behind showcases?