By my estimation, the last time a retailer created a shopping Holiday was when Hallmark created the now ubiquitous Hallmark Holidays (think Grandparents Day, Sweetest Day, Boss’s Day, and Secretary’s Day. .)—why are these holidays a thing? None, however, have risen to the status of…
David Weiss joined McMillanDoolittle as a partner in May, bringing nearly 20 years of industry experience to client engagements. As a senior retail executive, David has worked for multi-billion dollar global companies, venture-funded start-ups and private-equity owned turnarounds. He is known for identifying opportunities, creating…
Ever wish you had a crystal ball to see into the future? In The Gist’s latest Q&A with industry influencer and futurist Neil Stern, we explore his retail predictions for some of the industry’s most powerful players and assess the current environment of retail innovations. We couldn’t do…
In Sears Holdings latest annual report which was just filed, they acknowledged what so many have been saying for years: the company’s future is very much in doubt. The public acknowledgement from Sears that “substantial doubt exists related to the company’s ability to continue as…
Citing growth in competition, Lucy Activewear has announced that it will close all stores by early 2018 with most of its 44 stores remaining open through fall 2017. Founded by former Nike executives, Lucy was a relatively early entrant in the emerging athleisure market that…
2016 has been quite the year for retail.  Retailer share prices have taken a beating over the past 12 months. The S&P Retail Select Industry Index is down 16.57% since June 2015, and the decline is affecting retailers nationwide and across all categories. If you’re…
While the dust hasn’t yet settled for 2015 retail sales, it seems clear that a significant consumer transformation is taking place. On-line sales, which still amount to less than 10% of total retail sales, show no signs of slowing. And, category by category, the impact…
By all estimates, this should be a pretty good Holiday season for US retailers, capping off a decent overall year. While the economic recovery is hardly robust or equal among retailers, US consumers are out spending money, which is a welcome relief for most retail…
