Merchandising

Target, Marimekko Collaboration Selling … But Not Like Lilly Pulitzer
April 18, 2016 at 11:32 am

It's been a year since Target's collaboration with Lilly Pulitzer broke the internet and immediately sold out in stores. Yesterday, the retailer's line with Finnish design house Marimekko hit stores, and early signs show the collection of graphic beach accessories and dinnerware won't cause as much pandemonium.

How to Handle Duplicate Listings on Amazon
March 28, 2016 at 12:15 pm

Have you ever searched for a product on Amazon.com and seen a result like this? As a marketer trying to increase sales on Amazon, this is incredibly frustrating. When one product is split into multiple listings, it harms sales, confuses customers, dilutes reviews, and decreases visibility in organic search rankings. This article tells you how…

Ray-Ban, Coach Stage Comebacks on Better Products, Smarter Pricing
March 28, 2016 at 11:49 am

Everyone loves a comeback story, but they're notoriously rare in the apparel, luxury and fashion worlds. Of course, just because it’s difficult doesn’t mean it can’t be done — just look at Coach and Ray-Ban, two of the most exciting comeback stories in luxury retail. As an investor, it’s worth understanding the why and how…

Inside Tractor Supply Co.'s $6B Amazon-Proof Business
March 25, 2016 at 9:34 am

Alongside stacks of 50-pound bags of Producer’s Pride Hog Grower pig food and sunshine yellow CountyLine Heavy-Duty Super Spear hay handlers, Steve Barbarick, Tractor Supply Co.’s chief merchant, is rummaging through a bin of weighty grade-5 hexagonal head bolts, the kind commonly used to fasten structural steel. Sure, you could buy similar bolts at Lowe’s…

The Basics of Visual Merchandising
March 18, 2016 at 10:42 am

If you’re in the e-commerce business, you’re more than familiar with some of the headaches that come along with running an online store. From web design and maintenance to social media outreach and the constant struggle to keep up with rapidly changing technology, being an online retailer can sometimes feel like running on a nonstop…

Neiman Marcus Throws Unsold Merchandise Back at Vendors
March 17, 2016 at 11:00 am

Luxury retailer Neiman Marcus — stung by its first holiday sales decline since the Great Recession — is spreading the pain. Drowning in designer duds and accessories that it didn’t sell during the crucial shopping season, the department store chain, which also owns Bergdorf Goodman, has asked its vendors to take back merchandise or risk not…

The Retail Analytics Tango
March 7, 2016 at 10:48 am

By now the retail tango is becoming more familiar and haunting: burgeoning technology; greater transparency; changing competitive arenas; increased competition; multiconnected consumers; among other things. Most important, it seems, is the consumer — i.e., giving the consumer what they want, when they want it, how they want it, and where they want it. To do…