by stevenpdennis | Jan 14, 2020 | Collapse of the Middle, Reimagining Retail, Retail
As it turns out, reports of Toys ‘R’ Us’ death may have been greatly exaggerated. The iconic toy retailer—which filed for bankruptcy in 2017 after piling up more than $5 billion in debt—closed its more than 800 U.S. doors and seemed destined for the retail graveyard....
by stevenpdennis | Jan 14, 2020 | Harmonized, Reimagining Retail, Retail
I’m calling it. “Omnichannel” is dead. And in my mind it’s long overdue. Nearly 16 years since its apparent coining, I think most of us can agree that if “omni-channel” ever had any real usefulness as a concept (debatable), it is now well past its expiration date. And...
by stevenpdennis | Jan 13, 2020 | A Really Bad Time to Be Boring, Reimagining Retail, Retail
It may make for intriguing headlines, but physical retail is clearly not dead. Far from it, in fact. But, to be sure, boring, undifferentiated, irrelevant and unremarkable stores are most definitely dead, dying or moving perilously close to the edge of the precipice....
by stevenpdennis | Jan 13, 2020 | Customer Experience, Reimagining Retail, Retail
As I pointed out in my last piece, it is all too easy to be misled by high-level statistics and narratives that paint an incomplete picture of the retail landscape. Similarly, many fail to appreciate the underlying dynamics that (increasingly) separate industry...