Within a span of about 18 months, +/-, Macy's will close around 20% of their store base (click here).
Few people are willing to acknowledge what digital does to a cost structure.
- In newspapers, digital renders paper useless, and the ad dollars tied to paper disappear in the process.
- In retail, digital renders commodity square footage useless, and the square footage disappears in the process.
- In catalog, digital renders commodity square inches useless, and the pages disappear in the process.
What renders digital useless?
Yeah, that's an interesting question.
When you answer that question effectively and profitably, you've solved the disruption problem.
Ask yourself what Zara, Forever 21, and H&M do that renders digital useless (or makes digital a slave to the in-store experience)? The answers are lying there, in plain sight. Then go apply the answers to your business.
How about a hint??
ReplyDeleteNo hints - it is your job to figure out what the successful retailers are doing, pay attention to them, go visit a Zara store or Forever 21 or H&M and then go visit an Ann Taylor or Macy's or JCP and compare and contrast ... look closely at the merchandising strategy, look at the reasons why each store gets you to visit frequently (or not). Which stores entertain you better, and what are they doing different from what Macy's does? Study this stuff carefully, and it will become easy to see - merchandise + entertainment (not channels) plays a huge role. Channels are useless without merchandise + entertainment.
ReplyDelete