Who’s Got the Better Holiday Ad?

Posted on November 18, 2015 by bermanevansretail
During the holiday shopping season, there is a lot of advertising clutter — as more retailers advertise; and they do so in more depth. Just check out the inserts in your Sunday newspaper from now until the end of the year. You may need help to pick up the paper because it’s so heavy. (Just kidding.)
One of the big keys to successful advertising is standing out from the crowd.
Recently, RetailWire initiated its “Christmas Commercial Challenge,” featuring Kohl’s versus T.J. Maxx:
“Despite strong consumer sentiment and solid job numbers, a recent spate of disappointing earnings reports has some feeling a bit uneasy about the retail industry’s prospects for the holiday selling season. A strong ad campaign can be a difference-maker and this week RetailWire serves up two different spots from Kohl’s and T.J. Maxx for your reviewing pleasure.”
“The two spots — Kohl’s ‘Celebrate Togetherness’ and T.J. Maxx’s ‘Bring Back the Holidays’ — focus on what makes the season special on a human level, away from the commercial emphasis.”
What do YOU think of these ads?

 

 

 

Posted in Part 1: Overview/Planning, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer, Social Media and Retailing, Video Clips (non-career) | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Is This the Wave of the Future for Inventory Management?

Posted on November 17, 2015 by bermanevansretail
As we know, managing inventory properly can possibly make or break a retailer’s sales and profit goals. So, retailers should be as efficient and accurate as possible in their inventory management efforts.  Nonetheless, many retailers rely on physical inventory counts done by humans, which can result in errors.
With that in mind, consider the Tally automated system, from Simbe Robotics:
“Tally is the world’s first robotic autonomous shelf auditing and analytics solution. The solution consists of one or more mobile robots that can autonomously traverse large brick-and-mortar retail environments to capture, report, and analyze the state and availability of merchandise and help ensure compliance with the store’s planogram [planned layout of merchandise] – the ideal placement of products on shelves in order to maximize sales. Tally performs the repetitive and laborious tasks of auditing shelves for out-of-stock items, low stock items, misplaced items, and pricing errors. Tally operates safely during normal store hours alongside shoppers and employees.”
Take a look at the YouTube video to learn more about Tally.

 

 

Posted in Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 5: Managing a Retail Business, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing, Technology in Retailing, Video Clips (non-career) | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Global Tribute to France

Posted on November 16, 2015 by bermanevansretail
Once again, we have seen some horrific events take place somewhere in the world. This time it was Paris. Next time, it could be ____. Nonetheless, after some sad reflection when a tragedy occurs, we usually return to our normal lives.

Here is a nice YouTube montage of tributes around the globe from the Wall Street Journal. It takes an inspiring perspective to such a negative event. The images are from Getty Images.

 


 

Posted in Global Retailing, Social Media and Retailing, Video Clips (non-career) | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment