By Tricia McKinnon Glossier emerged out of the popular blog Into the Gloss which Emily Weiss launched in 2010. Prior to starting her blog Emily Weiss worked at Vogue, Teen Vogue and W magazine. The blog gained traction due to her popular interviews with beauty mavens such as Kim Kardashian who provided insight into their beauty secrets.  Over time Weiss became known as a beauty expert who had tested and reviewed hundreds of beauty products. The blog also enabled her to gain a deep understanding of what types of beauty products customers want. Weiss then tr ..read more

  By Tricia McKinnon Chasing new clients may feel more exciting than retaining customers. But it costs more to acquire a new customer than retain one you already have. Think about all of the effort you put into acquiring your current customer base. All of the social media posts, emails, late nights and dollars spent. That translates into revenue and something very important, trust. Consumers buy things from people and retailers they trust. That’s why you still shop at the mom and pop grocer across the street from your home. While that store has higher prices than Walmart’s you like the f ..read more

  By Tricia McKinnon Best Buy is the seventh largest eCommerce retailer in the United States ahead of retailers like Costco and Wayfair. Last year about a third of Best Buy’s sales came from eCommerce a big jump from 2019 when Best Buy’s online sales had a 19% share. If you are curious about what Best Buy is doing to have a strong eCommerce business then consider these elements of its strategy. 1. Stores continue to play a critical role. Stores are a critical part of any retailer’s eCommerce strategy since customers often start shopping in a store and then order online or they elec ..read more

  By Tricia McKinnon If you find yourself shopping at your local dollar store more and more you are not alone. In 2020 Dollar General recorded its 31st year of consecutive same store sales growth. After a slight decline in 2021 Dollar General’s same store sales are up again, increasing by 4.3% in 2022 with total revenue increasing by 10.6% to reach $37.8 billion. If you are curious about what is driving Dollar General’s impressive growth then consider these five elements of its strategy. 1. The right locations. Dollar General focuses on locating its stores in small rural communities whic ..read more

  By Tricia McKinnon The sporting goods industry is one of the fastest growing sectors of the retail industry. It is valued at $67.2 billion and with a 14.2% share, Dick’s has the highest share in the industry, ahead of rivals like Foot Locker. If you are curious about how Dick’s plans to make the most of a great market opportunity then consider these four elements of its strategy. 1. Store expansion. Dick’s is planning to spend between $600 million and $800 million to expand its store footprint and this will primarily be driven by opening new House of Sport stores. These stores, wh ..read more

Target’s All in Motion private label clothing brand   By Tricia McKinnon One of the oldest tricks in a retailer’s playbook is to have a portfolio of great private label brands. Back in the early 2000s Target was known for its cheap chic clothing but by the time the recession hit in 2008 and 2009 Target had lost its way. Once the economy started to recover after the great recession Target’s customers felt it had lost its cheap chic edge. Once popular private label brands such as Merona and Mossimo began to look dated. Target’s private label brands also often lacked a s ..read more

  By Tricia McKinnon If you have been paying attention you will have noticed a trend, a move towards really cheap clothing. You can try to blame it on Shein but maybe Shein got the idea from Primark which has been in business since 1969 and Shein has only been around since 2008. Primark is one of the fastest growing retailers in Europe with plans to have more of a presence in the United States. If you are curious about what is driving Primark’s growth then consider these four elements of its strategy. 1. Rock bottom prices. If you are looking for a new outfit but don’t have a lot of ..read more

  By Tricia McKinnon In 2015 Under Armour passed Adidas to become the second largest sportswear company in the United States. But since then the brand has lost its way. Under Armour feels like a company that fell too in love with its initial success and then when it realized the market shifted it was too late to catch up.   Realizing the company needs to turn the ship around Under Armour is undertaking a number of initiatives in the hopes of competing better with the likes of Nike and Adidas which have market caps of $179 billion and $32 billion billion respectively. Under Armour on ..read more

  By Tricia McKinnon Starbucks is a company that has long known that the future of retail is tied to technology. Back in 2009 it launched its mobile app. Then it began offering in app payments in 2011. By 2014 Starbucks had rolled out mobile pre-order and pay before it was common to do so. Customers using this feature can skip the line (most of the time) in store by placing their favourite order from the most convenient location whether that is at home or on the way to work. Barron’s has even said that: “Starbucks identified the smartphone revolution ye ..read more

  By Tricia McKinnon Looking for something healthy and tasty to eat? It often feels like those two words don’t go together. But more and more consumers are turning to Chipotle to satisfy their cravings. Last year Chipotle’s revenue increased by 14.4% to reach $8.6 billion. That’s a growth rate which would leave most retailers envious especially in light of record high levels of inflation. If you are curious about how Chipotle continues to grow while others struggle consider these eight elements of its strategy. 1. Chipotlanes. If you have purchased food from Chipotle recently you ma ..read more