In a rapid and rather remarkable convergence of four key trends, a lot is changing for core retailers and for retail in general. The accelerating push of large brands into retail, their reduced dependence on core shops, the decline in the number of true core shops, and the financial/management model required in our new economic environment pose many challenges but also many opportunities for those still standing. I’ve written about More…
Posts Tagged ‘General Management’
Biting to the Core: The Future of Mom-and-Pops, the Majors, and Brand Labels in the Evolving Retail Landscape
Thursday, September 16th, 2010Stuck In A Rut; Another Recession Article
Tuesday, November 13th, 2001Look, I’m sorry about this. I’d really rather write about upbeat, happy stuff. It’s not my fault we’re in a recession, or are going to be in one, or whatever. I’m not making up these lousy economic statistics we’re seeing, you now. I don’t just sit here and pull them out of my ass, damn it. Sure, sure, everybody just goes, “Why should we read this crap when he’s never got anything good to say!?” More…
What To Do in a Recession? Hint: “Nothing” is the Wrong Answer
Sunday, October 21st, 2001I’m sure that everybody who was in the snowboard business during the 1990-91 recession liked that one better than we’re going to like this one. Assuming, of course, that you even noticed the one in 1990-91. Ah, those were the good old days- when suppliers and retailers could sell whatever decks they could manage to get their hands on at high prices and good margins and consumers were so grateful to get More…
“Hey! How Come You’re Still Around?” Conversations With Survivors
Friday, October 5th, 2001It’s old news, of course, that we’ve gotten to the point in this industry where probably north of eighty-five percent of the snowboards sold come from a handful of brands, mostly made by ski companies with the usual exception. And if that concentration is not how we’d like it to be, it’s how it almost always is. Don’t worry; I’m not going to give you the lecture on consolidation again- it’s too More…
Product Selection and Merchandising: The Blackjack Analogy
Friday, August 10th, 2001I guess this is a little incestuous, but the idea for this column came from reading Sharon Harrison’s “Ten Shops, One Question” in the June issue of this prestigious rag. The question was “What type of bearings are skaters in your shop buying?” What struck me was how each retailer had similar, but different answers. It made me think about how they selected and presented skate products in their shops. If you More…
A Good Snow Year Does Not Make Us Heroes of Management; A Minor Reality Check
Tuesday, August 7th, 20011980- Michael Porter, the Harvard strategy Guru published Competitive Strategy. In it, he discusses how industries change, and how companies have to change, as they transition from growth to maturity. I want to look briefly at what Porter says stereotypically happens during this transition and see how it applies to the winter resort business. Like all industries, this one has become insular- we talk to each other too much. Yet basically, we More…
Questions That Retailers Should Always Have Answers To
Saturday, June 2nd, 2001When I start writing these articles, I always have to remind myself who the audience is. The Skateboard Industry, of course and, based on the circulation of Skate Biz, skateboard retailers especially. That’s where things get a little tougher, because what I know is that skateboard retailers don’t just sell skateboards and they don’t just sell to core skateboarders. With the mainstreaming of skateboarding, they are selling to the lifestyle crowd More…
“I Don’t Think We’re In Kansas Anymore, Dorothy.” Skate Retailers in the Lifestyle Market
Thursday, August 3rd, 2000Let me start by telling you, in no particular order, some things you already know. 1) Margins on hard goods suck, but carrying them draws customers in and legitimizes you as a skate retailer. 2) Truth be known, hard goods from different brands are pretty much the same. You may have some brand loyalties, but you’ll buy what your customers wants. 3) You make most of your money in higher More…
Competitive Challenges; Four Things You’ve Got to Do Better
Wednesday, December 1st, 1999In the August 1999 issue of SKATE Biz (Volume 11 Number 1), I wrote about two hypothetical skateboard factory owners, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll’s production was strictly OEM. Mr. Hyde had a successful brand and built his product at his own factory. They both made a bunch of perfectly logical and rational business decisions, but things kept getting worse financially. I suggested that their business models More…
Four Competitive Challenges; Things You’ve Got to Do Better
Friday, November 26th, 1999In the August 1999 issue, I wrote about two hypothetical skateboard factory owners- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll’s production was strictly OEM. Mr. Hyde had a successful brand and built his product at his own factory. They both made a bunch of perfectly logical and rational business decisions, but things kept getting worse financially. I suggested that their business models just didn’t work under emerging competitive conditions, then ended the article with More…
