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1 week ago | 
retailprophet.com | Doug Stephens
(image credit: Reuters: Nicholas Pfosi)By Doug StephensThis week Harvard University pushed back against the Trump administration’s threats to tie billions in federal funding to unprecedented demands of political and ideological compliance.
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1 week ago | 
retailprophet.com | Doug Stephens
By Doug StephensThis week Harvard University pushed back against the Trump administration’s threats to tie billions in federal funding to its demands of political and ideological compliance. In its letter to Harvard, the Government cited, among other things, the school’s policies of diversity, equity and inclusion in faculty hiring and student admissions protocols, as well as the university’s allowance of pro-Palestinian protests on its campuses.
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1 week ago | 
retailprophet.com | Doug Stephens
By Doug StephensEven before Canada or the United States existed, one intrepid retail company was trading in the wilderness of North America. Founded in 1670, The Hudson’s Bay Company is the oldest joint-stock company in the English-speaking world and largely responsible for pioneering both the North American fur trade and what would become, hundreds of years later, the British colony of Canada.
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2 weeks ago | 
businessoffashion.com | Doug Stephens
Even before Canada or the United States existed, one intrepid retail company was trading in the wilderness of North America. Founded in 1670, The Hudson’s Bay Company is the oldest joint-stock company in the English-speaking world and largely responsible for pioneering both the North American fur trade and what would become, hundreds of years later, the British colony of Canada.
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2 months ago | 
retailprophet.com | Doug Stephens
By Doug StephensIn December of 2024 amid the usual array of commodity items on Walmart.com, there was one conspicuous product listing that immediately caught the Internet’s attention.
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Nov 13, 2024 | 
retailprophet.com | Doug Stephens
By Doug StephensI can still recall reading Joseph Pine and James Gilmore’s seminal 1999 book The Experience Economy.
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Oct 1, 2024 | 
jewellermagazine.com | Simon Dell |Garry Grant |Doug Stephens |Sue Cockburn
In the age of digital communication, online reviews have become a powerful tool for consumers to share their experiences and influence the decision-making of other customers, which can, in turn, lead to the success or demise of businesses. While leaving a bad review can be a way to voice dissatisfaction, it’s crucial to understand that there are consequences for reviewers and the businesses they are critiquing.
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Oct 1, 2024 | 
jewellermagazine.com | Doug Stephens |Sue Cockburn |Simon Dell |David Brown
Over the past 20 years, technology has transformed retail. Mobile phones have become conduits for communication, entertainment, and commerce. Once a novelty, technologies such as augmented reality have become commonplace in digital merchandising and selling tools. E-commerce, which in 2003 amounted to a rounding error on most retailers’ profit and loss statements, has become table stakes for any business wishing to survive. This shift is more significant than consumer-facing innovations.
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Oct 1, 2024 | 
jewellermagazine.com | Sue Cockburn |Garry Grant |Doug Stephens |David Brown
Some time ago, I was captivated by an article on Nimble about building customer loyalty. The article by Ross Keating was titled ‘How To Build Customer Loyalty And Increase Revenue.’ This statistic caught my eye: 67 per cent of people cease trading with a business because of perceived indifference. The author’s take on this statistic was that “they [customers] did not know if the business loved them or not!”While the statistic is from 2004, it still rings true.
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Oct 1, 2024 | 
jewellermagazine.com | David Brown |Simon Dell |Garry Grant |Doug Stephens
If you’re like most people, you’ll likely have one or two unique skills that serve you well. Discovering your unique point of difference often lies at the intersection of these distinct skill sets. By being competent—though not necessarily extraordinary—in two separate areas, you can create a unique value proposition that positions you in the top echelon of your industry. This concept is best illustrated by the success story of cartoonist Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert.
