Blog

In the Wall Street Journal on June 25, 2022 Christopher Mims's article titled 'The Surprising Reason Your Amazon Searches Are Returning More Confusing Results Than Ever".  This is his introduction to the article: "If you want to be reminded just how tiny you are, you...

The logic for prolonged inflation was explained by Charles Goodhart, former UK Central Banker: "He argued that the low inflation since the 1990s wasn’t so much the result of astute central-bank policies, but rather the addition of hundreds of millions of inexpensive...

What has been the impact of all the increased tariff taxes on the flow of imported products to the U.S.? The answer is that imports have continued in increase with the result shown in the chart above showing the growing trade deficit for the the U.S.  What is the...

While retailers rush to increase their gross on-line sales, cost escalate. According to Chain Store Age, The National Retail Federation reports that 20.8% of all on-line sales in 2021 were returned. Further, every $100 in returns has an average cost of $10.30 to the...

Percentage-off sales never build loyalty but can destroy price image. It is never wise to tell customers that there is a good time to buy and a bad time to buy. It is not good to refer to your normal everyday prices as the high price example. Comparison pricing should...

It is good strategy for a home center, like Lowes, to pursue the Pro customer. However, it is important to realize that while the volume may grow from 25% to even 45% of sales, The Pro customers will be less than 5% of the traffic count. Now the question is: Why would...

  Percentage-off sales never build loyalty but can destroy price image. It is never wise to tell customers that there is a good time to buy and a bad time to buy. It is not good to refer to your normal everyday prices as the high price example. Comparison pricing...

Two very famous retailers who have built their business on a low-price image have announced across the board price increases. These were cost based decisions, not related to consumer centric demand. Can you say panic? I remember the retail world in the 70’s when...

  As I have traveled the world working with home centers on five continents. I have found that there is a general tendency to over assort the product range. That is to continue to add more and more different products into the store or onto the website with the...

The winning culture is magic. It can overcome many obstacles and other shortcomings. It can create a force that is unstoppable. It is the most important ingredient in developing a successful business. What are the elements that define a culture? It is not just a...