Silvia Mazzucchelli

#HotTake: Retail stores aren’t a shortcut to success. Retail offers bigger POs, visibility, and cash flow Yet, it doesn’t ensure brand sustainability Case in point: JLo Beauty Despite celeb status and prime placement at Sephora, She faced challenges resulting in a US exit Retail alone doesn’t secure loyalty or repeat sales Placement isn’t guaranteed forever For lasting success, think beyond the retail PO Some markers of a sustainable brand include: Authenticity, community, differentiated formulas, and true fans Building a lasting brand legacy requires more than a retail presence – 👋🏾 Hi, I’m Monique, a former retail buyer turned beauty industry advisor who helps emerging brands ready to scale at big retail. If you are ready to scale and invest, book a discovery call, and let’s see if we can work together.

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According to GlobalData, the U.S. secondhand apparel market grew 11%, or seven times faster than the broader retail apparel market, to $43 billion last year. The report estimates that resale sales online and at traditional thrift stores could reach $73 billion by 2028. #resale #retail #apparel #retailsales

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👟🌟 Exciting insights! Dive into the latest findings from the 2024 Spring U.S. Footwear Consumer Survey by AlixPartners & Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA), showing a strong shift towards athletic shoes this season. As consumers prioritize branded stores and seek out promotional deals, the landscape of footwear spending is evolving dramatically. Discover how these trends are reshaping the industry and what it means for your brand. Full details in this insightful article by my colleagues Ryan Poole and Bryan Eshelman! #FootwearTrends #ConsumerBehavior #RetailInsights #AlixPartners #WhenItReallyMatters https://lnkd.in/evaHipdA

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"Generalizing is a wasted effort and it's what gets retailers in trouble with excess inventory to irrelevant product assortments." Adore this commentary from the inimitable Liza Amlani. Highly recommend it as a read. Generalization is a symptom from our over-stretch to efficiency. We are biologically attracted to efficiency as it reduces effort which burns (what were once precious) calories. We therefore seek out every way we can improve efficiency in how we make stuff, how we think, and how we do things. It has a true cost though, which is articulated beautifully by Liza. Customers aren't formed in factories, and their behaviors and preferences change all the time. Even what they say are their preferences don't always align to their actions. It's an old school way of thinking and in a world of this much data down to individual level, we can do better.

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Footwear leading the way in female senior appointments, with females also leading the way in discretionary purchases across apparel and footwear, according to recent research #DE&I

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Good article on Puma outlined by Ken Pucker on how they were able to decouple increased growth from lowering emissions. Impressive data that since 2017, Puma has doubled revenues to $9.3 billion, while cutting carbon emissions by 30%. On a per unit basis, that is a 66% reduction. At my last company, I created a model to show that the consolidation of markets, with a calendar adjustment could reduce emissions by 18% allowing a reduction in carbon emissions and creating a savings from air to sea freight alone. This is one of the highest impact adjustments companies can make to really lower emissions.

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Come for the treasure hunt, stay for the shareholder returns. Last year, The TJX Companies, Inc., owner of MARSHALLS LLC, TJ Maxx & HomeGoods, and TK MAXX (Europe), generated over $50 Billion in revenue, more than Macy's and Nordstrom combined. This success was not generated from online sales but based on #BehavioralEconomics and applied human psychology, e.g., "bargains and the treasure hunt." The latest quarter was further proof of this resilience. Both TJX Cos. and Ross Stores, Inc. reported this week that comparable-store sales rose 3% in their quarters ended May 4 compared with a year earlier as inflation-pinched consumers sought out deals. This marks the seventh consecutive quarter of comparable sales growth for TJX and the sixth for Ross. Ross, whose consumers skew low-to-middle income, has been lowering prices to drive sales. TJX, with a higher-income clientele, has been able to raise prices selectively without much pushback. Bad times aren’t required for good times at these retailers—they were growing in 2021 when consumers were feeling flush. TJX, Ross and Burlington Stores, Inc. collective share of the #apparel and #footwear specialist market ballooned from 25% in 2019 to 31% last year. Off-price is likely stealing market share from home retailers, too. TJX’s HomeGoods business saw comparable-store sales rise 4% last quarter, while Ross Stores said the home category outpaced overall company growth. That contrasts with anemic home-related sales at retailers like Target and Beyond, the company that took on Bed Bath & Beyond’s website. Can off-price retailers keep growing? Weakness at other apparel brands suggests that they can. Recognizable brands such as Nike, lululemon, and Coach owner Tapestry have hit speed bumps on sales growth. Where there is unsold inventory, there are buying opportunities for off-price retailers. There could be a big wave of inventory from recent bankruptcies at EXPRESS and teen-focused rue21, as they close hundreds of stores. The wave of store closures also should help boost foot traffic at off-price retailers. Off-price historically has been the biggest beneficiary of apparel store closures. In addition to bankrupt retailers, Macy’s has announced plans to close 150 stores. UBS analysts estimate that more than 16,000 apparel stores could close over the next five years. This hasn’t gone unnoticed. TJX and Ross shares have appreciated 92% and 40%, respectively, over the past five years. They are now among the most expensive U.S.-listed apparel-industry stocks. They trade at forward-12-month earnings multiples that rival Nike’s and recently outpaced Lululemon’s. Off-price retail stocks aren’t cheap, but premium products never are. Well covered by Jinjoo Lee for the The Wall Street Journal

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“If you look at consumer purchasing decisions, people choose the lowest price for the best perceived quality and style,” said Elena Bridgers, who launched her slow fashion line Hera California. “That’s rational. It’s a really small segment of people who live their values when it comes to sustainable fashion.” Is there room in the market for brands that put sustainability first? Is there a market space for truly sustainable fashion or is it just a dream of a few? Who can change this industry to be more sustainable for all the consumers? Will only the rules imposed by legislators be able to do it? What will be the role of the DPP in the evolution of a more sustainable fashion industry? #Sustainablefashion #sustainability #traceability #circularity Arcangelo D'Onofrio Natasha Franck Laure Betsch Martina Schiuma Romain Carrere Francesco Pieri Guido Mengoni Alois Bertona Gianpaolo Azzini Veronica Monni Amit Gautam Matthieu Hug Shameek Ghosh Jason McIntosh Piero Puttini Carlo Giardinetti, MBA giorgio macor

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Highlights from last week's NYC #RetailSafari -- focus was the intersection of #technology, #customers, and #operations, primarily in specialty apparel and fashion. Key themes: 1. Technology goes backstage – Brand new formats / concepts at H&M, Banana Republic, Zara, AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS INC., lululemon, and J.Crew and none come across as tech-forward w/ regard to customers. On the other hand, associates were all mobile enabled and doing most of their work leveraging phones / tablets. 2. Old tech; new tricks – Widespread use of #RFID and #QR codes (both generally on the price ticket), with a mix of internal and external use cases -- self-checkout, RFID-assisted full-service checkout, inventory counts, inventory finding, #BOPIS, etc. 3. Apps are an entry point – #Retailers without a clienteling / selling culture are using apps to drive customer capture. #Lulu uses app-based membership to enable exchanges on sale items; UNIQLO offers special discounts to app members. 4. Unified is still a unicorn – Despite a decade of focus on #omnichannel and unified commerce, many gaps exist. Very few #retail apps recognize when you’re in store, send a notification, and/or assist in the shopping experience. Many didn’t even have their newest stores listed as an option for #BOPIS (despite in-store signage).  5. Video is the new visual – ultra-large format (8-10ft x 12-16ft) video screens were a common feature of many new stores, and really helped to bring the brand lifestyle to life.  6. It’s hard to (re)teach people how to shop – Across all stores except Bonobos, Glossier, Inc., and Reformation, the shopping process is the same as it’s been for the past 50+ years. The ones that don't are focused on a niche customer with a unique product offering. IMO, the product is the driver and consumers "accept" the experience. 7. The "future" is not here yet, but you can start to see the shape of it – Demoing the Apple #VisionPro, we could think of multiple use cases (mostly internal / operational), and while it’s too early (and too expensive) to fully commit, it’s certainly worth considering a pilot as part of an #innovation lab. It's also worth noting there was no apparent use of #AI by customers or associates. Curious to hear comments, feedback from other markets. #ibmretail

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Headlines like “Self-Checkout is a Failed Experiment” and “Why Retailers are Losing Faith in Self-Checkout” have been plentiful these past few months, along with story after story of big-name retailers like Target, Walmart, Dollar General and Costco “ditching” the tech. It’s been a veritable tsunami of bad press for self-checkout, and honestly, it’s not all that surprising — after all, consumers have long complained about the finicky machines, which often don’t work and, even when they do, make many customers feel like they’re doing the retailer’s job for them. #retailtech #customerexperience

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Had another great conversation with Saurabh Vijayvergia on AI in retail; busting myths (design is alive and well thank you) and, as always, learning from the AI guru. Saurabh thanks for including me in another episode of your podcast! https://lnkd.in/gTRXib_b

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Today's The Robin Report "undresses" the denim trends & consumers behaviors toward them... (so no more pinch rolled levi's? 😉 ) Takeaway: Retailers that have direct, conversational interactions with consumers and manufacturers will be better positioned to produce what consumers want. Read and Subscribe to get real opinions, insights & more delivered every day. ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eAkYa73Z

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An article in The Business of Fashion on "Fashion's Golden Opportunity With Older Shoppers"... Is total and complete BS. There is an opportunity across ALL shoppers. Dividing them up by descriptors that have been used for decades is just not going to cut it anymore. While teaching fashion marketing at Fashion Institute of Technology last Fall, there were modules on generations and how they spend, how they consume information, etc. I had to add caveats to each statement in the textbook because you can't make these types of assumptions anymore. This is an old school way of marketing. We can't put customers into these buckets anymore as there are so many other data points to consider. The affluent customer shops at Walmart, Target and Costco Wholesale. The tech boom will go through another cycle and you will have more younger customers with disposable income. Resale luxury is bought by Gen Z to the boomer. Generalizing is a wasted effort and it's what gets retailers in trouble with excess inventory to irrelevant product assortments. The customer has evolved across generations and we need to stop generalizing to avoid marketers look at the data in just 1 way. #retail #retailnews #fashion #fashionmarketing #bof

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Retail store associates have tremendous skills that can be invaluable in the corporate office. Connecting products to customers while having a front row seat into how the customer is evolving is a huge asset. Retailers should invest in their frontline by training them on the numbers. Sales associates have a great foundation and could make make great buyers. Visual merchants have the skills to execute the merchandising strategy but may need more exposure to selling and the ROI of a product assortment. Corporate must also spend time with customers selling and styling. It helps merchants make better assortment decisions by getting real-time feedback on buys. I started on the shop floor and it’s the best training I had! As a merchant, I spent hours selling and helping customers. It goes both ways. Sheena Butler-Young it’s always great to chat with you and thank you for including my comments. #retail #retailnews #merchandising #sales #stores

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The art and science of integrating AI into the company is akin to the structure of "atomi," which begins with "A" and ends with "I." AI constitutes both the starting point and the ultimate objective. https://lnkd.in/giQfKnAQ We do not see AI as the ultimate solution, but rather as a tool to assist in my work. AI is a valuable tool for generating more solutions and innovative ideas in my research and execution. However, the core of ideation still resides in the mindset and creativity of the team. #andrewtanatomisingapore #theatomiway

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Retail is an ever-evolving industry that has seen its fair share of changes over the years. From traditional brick-and-mortar stores to the rise of e-commerce, product startups have had to adapt and keep up with changing consumer behavior. In recent years, technological advancements and shifting consumer preferences have caused significant disruptions in the retail landscape. Check out our latest blog post where we will discuss the latest trends in retail and how product startups can adapt to these changes. https://lnkd.in/gwqbiBd2 #retail #retailtrends #digitalmarketing #sustainability #ecommerce #customerservice #dataanalytics #omnichannel

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𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞... A recent RetailWire discussion ponders whether Walmart can take on Trader Joe's with its latest private brand launch, bettergoods. My take was that the brand seemed more Target-esque (shades of Good & Gather) and that it was about time Walmart upped the ante with a "better" private brand in grocery. This weekend, I headed to the freezer to grab my new favorite plant-based ice cream only to find I was out of it. Keep in mind that 1. I'm plant-based but wasn't always. I know the standards analogs need to meet. 2. I've been hitting this ice cream several times per week. It's rich, not too sweet, with a perfect consistency, even after days in the home freezer. 😋 I started backtracking to remember where I bought it. Was it Whole Foods? Fresh Market? I remembered the bright green packaging...very "Target" - that must be it (my more frequent jaunts to Target for plant-based goods still surprise me). I wasn't completely sure so I headed to the recycle bin. Mystery solved. It was - Walmart's "bettergoods" plant-based ice cream. 😯 Well played, Walmart. Well played! ✅ 👏

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