Welcome back. I’m assuming you’ve read the Four Large Takeaways. At least I hope you did, because interactions between retailers and shoppers as well as those between retailers and manufacturers are important ones. You are now ready to graduate to the “Grande.” This final observation is of the “Do Not Pass Go” variety. There are a few golden rules in marketing, and this is one:

Listen and do
With apologies to Vincent Van Gogh, it’s symbolic that we all have two ears and one mouth: it’s an indication as to the proportion… read more.

I had the pleasure of going on a retail leadership tour in New York earlier this week. I came home with a blown-up pair of Bass Weejuns and five takeaways that are important for any retailer looking to thrive. Well, sort of.  I should say that I came home with a single really big takeaway – one that you simply cannot live without – and four other important ones.  It’s like George Orwell wrote in Animal Farm: “Some animals are more equal than others.” Same goes for observations and the stores they came from.

As advanced as we are with search engines and expensive research initiatives, oftentimes the best lessons come from where… read more.

Allowing brands to tell their story inside your store environment without compromising the retail experience can be a challenge. Learn how top retailer, Golfsmith, retains its own retail brand integrity while allowing other dominant brands to experience success. Matt Corey, CMO of Golfsmith, shares the secret of great sales – starting with a core purpose that is greater than your brand.

Golfsmith uses its sales staff and store environment to inspire their customers to love life more. What other retailers inspire… read more.

Day three at NRF’s 2012 BIG Show kicked off with a new term that will soon be common jargon among the retail industry: Boundaryless Retail.

Mindy Grossman, Chief Executive Officer, HSN, Inc. introduced the concept of boundaryless retail. It implies that through innovation and collaboration, companies can leverage the power of technology to create an engaging experience for customers. It goes beyond omnichannel strategy and marketing; it’s about creating stories that cross channels and media.

One retail… read more.

Day two of the NRF’s 2012 BIG Show, was just that, BIG. Attendance rose in 24 hours from 22,000 to 24,000 retailers – all rushing to snag a seat in the North Hall for the opening address by Matthew Shay, President and CEO of the National Retail Federation. Shay’s opening remarks on the role 2012 will play in the history of retail formalized the reported undertones of Day One (immediacy, impact, identity,  investment and… read more.

The Brand Show joined 22,000 retailers from around the world in New York City today for the kick-off of the National Retail Federation’s 101st Annual Convention and EXPO, better known as The BIG Show.

This year’s theme is “Retail’s New Rules: Engage and Evolve.” Retail heavy weights and rising stars are sharing priceless secrets and strategies for delivering better value and meaning to the shopper.

Immediacy is the underlying theme of day one. For the past three years, the concept of shopper control and shopper demand dominated the… read more.

At a time when engagement is more important than ever in retail, shoppers can still count on Brookstone to deliver entertainment, relevancy and purposeful fun in store. Brookstone VP, CIO, Bill Wood shares the Brookstone secrets for product innovation and merchandising magic. Tune in and learn how Brookstone blends it all into a successful retail strategy.

What experiential retailer do you return to most often? Share your thoughts below or on our LinkedIn… read more.

Kelly Cook, VP of customer strategy engagement with DSW, shares how to leverage a multi-channel strategy to gather insights and transform them into emotional connections with shoppers. Learn how this value destination leader uses data from its customer’s digital lifestyle to create relationships that engage through excitement and drive loyalty – powering 88% of their purchases.

Here’s a glimpse of why DSW is a category leader:
This is a little gift from DSW to all your fans out there. Tell them to go to DSW’s Facebook page and post “I love The Brand Show and I… read more.