Episode Details
Back to Episodes
The Stores Strike Back Again. Again.
Description
“Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”
- Mark Twain
Turns out physical retail isn't dead. In fact, brick & mortar retail seems to be undergoing a renaissance of sorts.
In this episode we go sans guest, and delve into how a few savvy retailers (e.g Target) started seeing their stores as assets rather than liabilities prior the pandemic and began investing heavily in them (The Stores Strike Back). We also discuss how COVID helped accelerate an appreciation of the hybrid roles stores need to play in an increasingly blended world of digital and physical, leading to a counter-intuitive increase in store openings (The Stores Strike Back Again). Lastly, we take on how both legacy retailers and digitally native brands alike are accelerating store opening plans to be more customer relevant and to address the profit challenges from much of e-commerce.
But first we open up with retail stories that caught our attention this week, including what to make of yet another month of strong year-over-year retail growth. We also unpack Walmart's phenomenal profit turnaround and tepid e-commerce performance and then go up north to talk about Canadian Tire's blockbuster results. We also poke a bit of fun at Macy's salty news involving Wetzel's Pretzels and marvel at Door Dash's ability to incinerate cash.
Jason Goldberg's Forbes article:
Brick & Mortar Grew Faster Than E-Commerce in 2021.
Steve's original Forbes article from January 2019:
Photo by TOMMY VAN KESSEL on Unsplash
About Us
Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his website. The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior contributor and on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel here.
Michael LeBlanc is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast, The Voice of Retail, plus Global E-Commerce Tech Tal