From the currently running Walmart “game day” television commercials:
If there’s a better price out there, [we’ll] even match it.
Translated: We aren’t the cheapest.
Walmart’s allure has always been cost savings. Anyone who pays attention wandering through the narrow aisles, however, recognizes “strategic pricing,” where some high demand items may be lower in price, but an enormous percentage of items are not. They’re either MSRP…or higher. It’s all about coaxing ‘em in on cheap toilet paper, then making up the difference in the rest of the shopping list. [click here to continue…]
Yes, times are tough. And yes, a lot of businesses are up against a wall financially. And yes, there are a lot of vendors getting “declines” when they run credit cards for ready-to-ship orders. But wait a minute…. How did retailers get themselves into this dysfunctional “pay up front” system, eradicating N30 terms, erasing any possibility of pulling revenue out of the product before the bills are due?
From an interview with AmEx CEO, Kenneth Chenault, in the current issue of Fortune Magazine:
We’re doing a “back to the future” on the charge card. That’s our pay-in-full product at the end of 30 days. Consumers want discipline, and if we can bring that discipline of paying in full at the end of the month along with the service levels that we provide, plus the rewards and other programs we have, we think that’s a tremendous opportunity for us to grow.
Yes, it would be a tremendous opportunity for AmEx to grow, but what about small business? What about all those “Shine a Light” brick and mortars that have been so highly touted in the recent AmEx/Universal advertising campaign? What about you and your business? [click here to continue…]
You know how you can be really excited for someone who’s trying a new concept…then feel your stomach sink when their endeavor knocks someone or something else down in the process? Sadly, a fellow retail consultant who shall remain nameless presented a marathon live stream session yesterday for anyone interested in watching. While I commend he and his wife for their stamina and good intentions, his belittling comments about the value of Buy Local programs not only knocked the wind out of me, but begged the question:
Let’s face it. The customer is only right 98% of the time. The other 2% of the time, they’re…well…nuts. Like the one who put a whole new spin on “exchange request” when I still operated a stationery store.
To everyone’s relief, the venerable Mrs. John L. Strong has been purchased out of bankruptcy. Long seen as the creme de la creme of social stationers, the Manhattan institution has provided bespoke papers to everyone from royals to rascals over the decades. When filing chapter 11 in August, a collective gasp could be heard from coast to coast in the paper industry; after all, if Mrs. Strong could stumble, well…no one was safe. [click here to continue…]
Lunch with Kasey Cronquist (Exec Director, California Cut Flowers Commission) and Lane DeVries (Pres/CEO, The Sun Valley Group)
The past couple of days, I’ve been in sunny Phoenix, at the Society of American Florists annual conference where I delivered the keynote address. This year’s gathering was particularly special in that it marks the organization’s 125th year-—pretty impressive.
I was equally impressed by the people who filled the room yesterday morning, then took time out of their busy schedules to visit with me in the halls and share stories of what’s most important to them these days. Lunch was particularly fascinating, spent with a group that included a northern California retailer, distributors, and two gentlemen involved in the California Cut Flowers Commission, from whom I learned just how closely intertwined we all are. [click here to continue…]
Betsy Swango and Susan Foxworth are arguably two of the most respected stationery and gift retailers in the country, both by consumers and suppliers. Their store, Write Selection, consistently ranks among the top accounts with numerous vendors; you’d be hard pressed to find retailers who are more responsible, honest, and high integrity than these two.
Yet even they have had to deal with the same bone crushing slow months everyone else has. No one is immune. [click here to continue…]
Yes, times are tough. And yes, a lot of businesses are up against a wall financially. And yes, there are a lot of vendors getting “declines” when they run credit cards for ready-to-ship orders. But wait a minute…. How did retailers get themselves into this dysfunctional “pay up front” system, eradicating N30 terms, erasing any possibility of pulling revenue out of the product before the bills are due?
From an interview with AmEx CEO, Kenneth Chenault, in the current issue of Fortune Magazine:
Let’s face it. The customer is only right 98% of the time. The other 2% of the time, they’re…well…nuts. Like the one who put a whole new spin on “exchange request” when I still operated a stationery store.
To everyone’s relief, the venerable Mrs. John L. Strong has been purchased out of bankruptcy. Long seen as the creme de la creme of social stationers, the Manhattan institution has provided bespoke papers to everyone from royals to rascals over the decades. When filing chapter 11 in August, a collective gasp could be heard from coast to coast in the paper industry; after all, if Mrs. Strong could stumble, well…no one was safe. 
