PROFILE
Dick Seesel
Principal, Retailing In Focus LLCRetailing In Focus, LLC. is an independent consulting firm founded in 2006 by Richard Seesel. Its goal is to provide marketing-based, pragmatic strategies for retail and supplier clients interested in driving more profitable sales.
Dick Seesel was most recently a Senior Vice President and Divisional Merchandise Manager at Kohl’s Department Stores. During his 24 years at Kohl’s, Dick managed the Women’s Accessory, Jewelry, Cosmetics and Intimate Apparel businesses. Prior to Kohl’s, Dick worked at Dayton’s Department Stores (Minneapolis, MN) and for his family’s retail business.
Dick’s education includes an undergraduate degree from Harvard College (AB 1976, magna cum laude) and a Master’s degree from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University (MM 1978, marketing major). During his years at Kohl’s, Dick enjoyed “continuing education” through several management training courses, with an emphasis on retail negotiation.
As a lifelong “student of retail,” Dick enjoys passing along his knowledge and experience. He was certified to conduct negotiation classes to incoming associates at Kohl’s. Recently he has spoken to business students at the Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania) and at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He has led a class in Retailing Management at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for the past several years.
Dick is proud to have helped Kohl’s grow from 18 stores to a national retail powerhouse, during an era of change and consolidation throughout the retail industry. He is also proud of his reputation for integrity, fairness, “win-win” negotiation style and getting results. Dick also serves as a consultant with McMillan Doolittle Consulting and as a partner with Roulston Research.
Dick, his wife and children have lived in the Milwaukee area since 1982. He is an active volunteer at the University School of Milwaukee (where he is a Trustee), and has also volunteered his time to College Possible, Congregation Sinai, the Harvard Club of Wisconsin and other local organizations. In his spare time, Dick is passionate about movies, baseball, travel and – yes – shopping.
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- Posted on: 04/10/2018
Can Nordstrom’s full-line men’s store make it in Manhattan?
It’s an easy yes, in part because of the brand equity already built up. If Nordstrom brings its content and service standards to play — along with a healthy dose of localization — the men’s store should be a big win. - Posted on: 04/09/2018
Retailers face criticism for failure to protect customer data
The Target breach was one of the first and biggest, but every week seems to bring a new headline about data security. And retailers’ problems have metastasized through alliances to social networks like Facebook with big issues of their own. But consumers’ migration to mobile commerce keeps gaining speed anyway, despite these breaches of trust. - Posted on: 04/03/2018
Are Aldi’s upscale makeovers necessary?
Many of the original Aldi locations (at least here in the Milwaukee area) were in lower income neighborhoods often suffering from "food desert" syndrome. The stores filled an important niche, but eventually Aldi started growing into middle-income and more upscale suburbs here. I'm sure the same phenomenon has happened around the country. If Aldi is serious about upgrading its merchandise content, the store experience has to keep pace. Again, a local parallel: Pick 'n Save stores (first part of Roundy's, now a Kroger division) began as bare-bones stores with food displayed in cut-open shipping cartons stacked on empty gondolas. The formula worked for awhile (Pick 'n Save became the market share leader here) but eventually customers expected a better experience. The same is true of outlet malls -- from "piperack" operations to very upscale today. So Aldi is making the smart move, especially where the trade-area demographics dictate, as long as they don't simply duplicate their Trader Joe's formula. - Posted on: 04/02/2018
Walgreens focuses on healthcare services in new store format
I agree with David Weinand's comment that a store redesign is overdue. Walgreens' natural positioning is in the health and wellness category (it is a pharmacy, after all) but the shopper is currently overwhelmed by candy, junk food, cigarettes and a wide assortment of "stuff." Walgreens has decided to be a modified c-store (with shrinking footage devoted to actual health products) and it makes a typical store almost impossible to navigate. Anything that Walgreens can do to emphasize its brand positioning (and to make the shopping experience easier) is a welcome change. - Posted on: 03/30/2018
Former Walmart U.S. CEO raises prospect of breaking up Amazon
A little retail history is in order: Back in the heyday of Sears, it owned Allstate and other financial services brands that doubtless ran bigger profit margins than its retail operations -- and they probably subsidized Sears' growing market share and expansion plans. The role of AWS is not that different -- and to pile on some irony, there are reports in today's Wall Street Journal that Walmart is interested in acquiring Humana. Is the world's largest retailer interested in buying a health insurer because of the low margins? Until Amazon came along (and became the bête noire of unsuccessful brick-and-mortar retailers), Walmart filled that role for many years. It's unfitting for Mr. Simon to propose some sort of governmental intervention, as if the goods and services Amazon provides represent some kind of monopoly. Let's face it: President Trump's griping has nothing to do with Amazon's business practices, and everything to do with Jeff Bezos's ownership of the Washington Post. - Posted on: 03/29/2018
Research ties regular shift schedules to higher retail sales
Even if scheduling algorithms are tied to data about shopping patterns, the lack of consistent shifts is one of the biggest causes of associate turnover in retail. It's hard for even entry-level employees working part-time hours to be clueless about when (and for how many hours) they will be working during a given week -- especially since many work at multiple jobs and their other employers expect some predictability. So there is no surprise that more consistent shifts lead to reduced turnover and greater associate loyalty -- which in turn will lead to higher productivity and (not least) reduced costs of training new employees. - Posted on: 03/26/2018
Should retailers emulate or differentiate from Amazon?
Few retailers outside of giants like Walmart are prepared to match Amazon when it comes to breadth of assortment and competitive pricing. In fact, trying to follow Amazon's lead in areas outside of a store's core strengths could be a trap. But there is one overriding competitive advantage of Amazon that every retailer can learn from: Its delivery of a convenience strategy that underlies much of its consumer trust. Not every store can master Amazon's logistical network or data science, but most stores can "execute" better than they are doing today. - Posted on: 03/20/2018
Will it always be about price for Gen Z?
Shoppers regardless of age are more price-conscious and value-oriented than ever. Some of this is residue from the Great Recession, and some of this results from the "empowered shopper" with plenty of price data as close as the nearest cell phone. I wouldn't describe Gen Z as uniquely price-oriented. I've taught a college-level retailing class for ten years, and it's always a challenge to discuss retailers that the students can't afford to buy from. (And today's college students fall right into the Gen Z age profile.) These are mostly students who are working through college while taking on significant debt, so it's no wonder that they visit TJMaxx instead of Nordstrom. But their spending power will change as they form households and grow their career earnings potential. - Posted on: 03/20/2018
Macy’s CEO discusses mobile checkouts and other planned changes
Most traditional department stores (or the ones that are still standing) have been slow to adapt to changing shopper behavior, especially Gen Y and Z consumers who already represent the future of the retail business. So Macy's is to be applauded for updating its approach to the furniture business, to the mobile interface and to the in-store checkout experience. But my biggest critique of Macy's over the past few years pertains to merchandise assortment. It already has a problem with too many private brands overlapping each other and without a clearcut identity. Adding more brands isn't the solution (other than the perceived margin benefits) until Macy's puts its existing brand matrix under a microscope. And while it's tempting to add more products in-store to emulate the e-commerce experience, it's tough to squeeze it all in at the same time that Backstage takes floor space from "upstairs" departments. - Posted on: 03/15/2018
No more playing around – Toys ‘R’ Us is out of the retail game
It's unlikely that Toys "R" Us is going to stay afloat, and this is a big deal for those who follow the recent history of retailing. They were among the first "category killer" stores with broad assortments of a single category in a big-box format. There have been others (Linens 'n Things, Sports Authority, etc.) but this one stands out. If you see reporting on "the Amazon effect," it's more complicated than that. It's tough to survive in a highly seasonal business like toys given the growth of e-commerce and the dominance of discounters in the same category. And there has been a generational change, where many of today's kids are interacting with technology (smartphone apps, streaming video games) instead of the toys of a short time ago. And one more lesson learned: A mountain of private-equity debt doesn't help. - Posted on: 03/14/2018
What does Ring mean for Amazon?
The article discussed the myriad benefits of the Ring acquisition nicely, so not much to add there. It's all about the ecosystem! Apple has built an entire business on an ecosystem linking its computers to its smartphones, and from there to its App Store and iTunes store. Amazon has learned this lesson well, and is a big step ahead of its competitors as it links its e-commerce businesses to the growth of IoT. - Posted on: 03/13/2018
Will department stores regret their off-price push?
Agree on the need for reinvention, but I'm not sure that imitation of a concept going through a growth cycle right now is sustainable. Department stores had enough trouble developing their answer to "fast fashion" retail (when it was hotter than it is now) because they don't have the mindset or supply chain to move as quickly as, say, Zara. - Posted on: 03/13/2018
Will department stores regret their off-price push?
There is a big difference between what Nordstrom and Kohl's are doing (building out freestanding Rack and Off/Aisle stores) and what Macy's is attempting by locating its Backstage concept inside its full-line stores. Either way, department stores are jumping on the off-price bandwagon because it's a hot segment with the "treasure hunt" experience that some shoppers are looking for. But at what point does the segment get overcrowded? Macy's may feel strongly enough about Backstage to roll it into more locations, but from my experience it does nothing to enhance the overall store "brand." (Bob is dead-on regarding the housekeeping.) And the merchandise content is not compelling, since Macy's "upstairs" brands feel safer dealing with TJX than having their goods show up in Backstage. From what I've observed, there is a lot of closeout product from brands that you might find at J.C. Penney or Kohl's but not on the main floor of Macy's. - Posted on: 03/12/2018
Will steel and aluminum tariffs hurt American retailers?
To Ryan's point, it depends on whether the tariffs are as sweeping as first announced or modified on a country-by-country basis. But any widespread trade war with the EU and other trading partners is dangerous for a couple of reasons: First, domestic manufacturers will pay more for raw materials on everything from soda cans to cars -- and will pass those price increases along to consumers. Second, foreign demand for exported products from Levi's to cranberries will fall. Neither one of these is good for retailers, or for the economy as a whole. - Posted on: 03/08/2018
Amazon offers special Prime rate for millions of Medicaid recipients
While Amazon sees an economic benefit for itself with this move, the Prime discount ought to be beneficial to new members. I don't know how much overlap exists between Medicaid recipients and SNAP participants, but (among other things) this might help address the "food desert" problem in many central cities. And for those on Medicaid with mobility issues, this is a positive development. Again, Amazon isn't doing this strictly out of the goodness of its heart, but it should be lauded for its decision.
