September 24th, 2009 by Bill Pearson
The best selling book, The Tipping Point, examines the process of how small, localized trends evolve and grow to become big mainstream forces. The point at which this evolution becomes widely known and accepted is termed “the tipping point”. In our industry, there are numerous examples of this happening on a regular basis… it is, after all, the business we are in.
One concept that is presently “tipping” is the pop-up store. Attached is a brief article from the current issue of New York Magazine. As you will read, most pop-up stores have been designer stores intended to create a big splash of media attention or to test a new market.
On the internet there is a flurry of new sites doing what they call “pop-up sales”. For the most part, it looks like these sites are selling vendor closeouts or special make-ups that are deeply discounted and probably on consignment and offering them to online retail customers for a short time (hours to a week) only. Here is an example:
It’s now my opinion that we (our industry) isn’t going to, all of a sudden, return to the volume levels of 2007 and the 1st half of 2008. Just being even or slightly ahead of last year’s 4th quarter will be good enough for many. My own focus, as you probably have noted, has changed from beating last year’s sales to improving gross margin.
Are seasonal or pop-up stores something for the small retailer? Maybe. There are plenty of vacant stores and some landlords willing to make short term deals just to keep them filled… especially at Holiday time. There are also plenty of vendors willing to do consignment on unsold merchandise as the season comes to a close.
Everyone is looking for a new way to do business. Everything seems to be “on the table”.
Lets see… vacant store fronts, hungry landlords, excess inventory, holiday traffic and
retail entrepreneurs……………………………….
I’m just sayin’…
link to THE TIPPING POINT on Amazon …
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May 13th, 2009 by Bill Pearson
Not that long ago, thirty off was an acceptable discount, now it’s an acceptable month. Not that long ago, order cancellations were infrequent and guarded, now they’re commonplace and unapologetic.
How did we get to this point? Is this just a bad recession? Or is it more? Are we near the bottom? How will we know? What comes after the bottom?
Read the rest of this entry »
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December 24th, 2008 by Bill Pearson
Well that was fun. Not fun like skiing in fresh powder, but fun like a root canal or when I had sinus surgery. If I never see another four months like the past four, it will be just fine. Read the rest of this entry »
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December 11th, 2008 by Bill Pearson
When the dust settles on this holiday season, i expect that the big and chain store sales will be half-way decent, but when the profit reports come out a few weeks later, the results are likely be dismal… the obvious reason will be all the deep discounting. Read the rest of this entry »
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November 26th, 2008 by Bill Pearson
To: Government Leaders
From: All Retailers
Subject: A FEW WORDS ON OUR BEHALF, PLEASE
We know you guys are really busy with transition planning and all the icky recession stuff, but it’s important that we know that you know what’s happening out here. Read the rest of this entry »
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November 19th, 2008 by Bill Pearson
The most troubling (even scary) thing about the current economic situation is that many customers have simply stopped shopping. Not for food or gas or medicine, but on the other kind of shopping. Hell, I’ve even mostly stopped shopping. Me… the king of shopping… see it, want it, buy it…. no fuss, no muss… here’s my plastic. Read the rest of this entry »
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November 7th, 2008 by Bill Pearson
Ok, I’ve seen enough. And today, I’ve read enough. Even though my company’s October retail numbers are incomplete, the pattern is clear. Independents are in for a really rocky November and December. Read the rest of this entry »
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October 18th, 2008 by Bill Pearson
Man… I feel about 5 years older… and 2 inches shorter. This crummy economy stuff is for the birds. Yea, I know the DOW just had it’s biggest 1 week “up” ever, but I’m not pulling out the noise makers and pointy hats just yet. We are in for a continuing wild ride and we better get used to it. Read the rest of this entry »
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September 12th, 2008 by Bill Pearson
Now that I finally understand what it takes to be next in line behind the president, I want to say, that I too am qualified… in fact, I may be even more qualified than the current Republican nominee. Read the rest of this entry »
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July 29th, 2008 by Bill Pearson
A recent article in the Sunday IMAGE section of the Los Angeles Times, entitled Less is More Chic started out with the memorable line that “overspending is so last season”. Only here in LA, only in the land of wanna-be everythings could the recession and all it’s ugly ramifications be turned into a trend worthy of more than a full page article in the 2nd largest newspaper in the country. We shouldn’t be surprised. Read the rest of this entry »
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