Bringing Stores Into The 21st Century

Over the past five years, the retail industry has been turbulent, to say the least. Many brands, both mature and novice alike, have been rocked by forces all around them — shifts in shopper behaviors, generational preferences, local nuance, economic pressures, commercial real estate values, and the infusion of private equity and resulting expensive corporate retail debt — which has put many retailers into a tailspin, if not out of business. Brands that have historically been in offensive mode on growth and expansion, have been forced to live in defensive mode where the struggles of meeting day-to-day goals have inhibited them from making real progress on future visioning. Branded manufacturers who have historically built their retail proposition through wholesale points of distribution are doubling down on direct-to-consumer (DTC) retail (e.g. Nike and Adidas). And brands who have predominately built their business around brick-and-mortar stores have found their sea legs with robust digital commerce capabilities. Even digital pure-play brands are expanding their strategy to include brick-and-mortar (e.g. Amazon, Warby Parker, Wayfair, Bonobos and One Kings Lane). Read more at Retail Dive.