Branding

Last year, Best Buy's stock price was at its lowest point in nine years. Sales were plummeting while former CEO Brian Dunn was covered in a shroud of shame due to his unethical relationship with a female employee. However, the summer of 2013 brought about some good news for the struggling electronics chain. Best Buy posted its first profit in a year, with earnings skyrocketing to

After years of being the place "where the pets go" and subsequently "where the healthy pets go," Petco is updating its tagline and embarking on a company transformation intended to make it a destination that's about more than just products and services. The new tagline, "The Power of Together," is meant to highlight the human-animal bond. Or more simply put: "There's a desire to see pets as part of the family," said Elizabeth Charles, Petco's chief marketing officer. "They're no longer in the backyard, they're up in the bedroom."

Consumer expectations have changed significantly in recent years; the advent of mobile, online and social channels have seen to that. Rakuten has grown from a niche e-commerce player to a global online marketplace in just 16 years. In that time we've learned a few things about how to ensure online success for retailers in an ever-competitive climate. Consider the following five steps:

Climate change. Resource scarcity. Pollution. Human rights. These are some of the most pressing issues facing business today. They're also some of the most difficult for consumers to relate to, let alone orient their lives around. According to a recent report from The World Economic Forum and Accenture, sustainability is in desperate need of a makeover. Despite millions of dollars spent marketing the concept over the past decade, only 28 people of people know what terms such as "sustainable," "responsible," "eco friendly" and "green" really mean, and just 44 percent say they trust green claims coming from big brands. 

Hollister Co., a division of Abercrombie & Fitch Co., is partnering with Keds, a division of Wolverine Worldwide, to release an exclusive line that features signature Hollister patterns on Keds-brand sneakers. The exclusive Hollister + Keds sneakers will be available only at HollisterCo.com, but will be on display inside Hollister stores so shoppers can get a closer look.

Conversion and acquisition are key metrics to any lucrative business, but mastering the art of retention is the ultimate indicator of success. Why does retention matter you ask? Eighty percent of future revenue comes from just 20 percent of existing customers! While it certainly can be a challenge, it's possible to transform customers into brand advocates in three steps with the help of customer loyalty programs.

In the second and final part of this interview with Beth Guastella, the recently named president and COO of giggle, a specialty retaile

I had the opportunity to chat recently with Beth Guastella, the recently named president and chief operating officer of giggle, an omnichannel specialty retailer of upscale baby products and resources. In part one of this two-part blog post, we discuss what attracted Guastella to giggle; what specialty retail is; and how giggle’s catalog business works. 

It's been 28 years since HSN debuted, cultivating a reputation for past-their-prime celebrities hawking cubic zirconium baubles to housewives. But today it's a starkly different business, with partners including the likes of Coca-Cola and Disney — and HSN wants consumers to know that. To that end, this month the network launches a rebranding, complete with new a tagline, an upbeat campaign from Deutsch and a makeover of everything from packaging and fonts to sets and scripts, with the goal of reaching people who may not have shopped the network before.

As you boarded your flight that day, perhaps you didn't realize you were in the market for a garden statue that looks like Bigfoot. But, as the plane doors close, you curse the FAA regulation that bans electronic devices from being used during takeoff and landing. How do you entertain yourself for these interminable 30 minutes? The in-flight magazine? The emergency safety instructions card? How about the SkyMall catalog? Yes, the SkyMall catalog will do.