It seems that with every passing year, time management becomes harder and harder to get your arms around. With new ways to communicate seemingly appearing daily, the onslaught of message and calendar management seems daunting. How did it get this way so fast, and will it ever slow down? Nope. So, you better try and…
Three Reflections on Convenience Retail as We Near the Post-Pandemic Future
I wonder what we’re going to say when we look back at this time in five or 10 years? I recently had dinner with a few people close to me, and I discovered that they’ve maintained a detailed list of each place they visited outside of the home since the beginning of COVID-19. It lists…
Nostalgia Sells. Give It a Try
I had a good laugh the other day from a photo posted on Twitter. I follow a retail analyst who, like me, seems to have an ironic appreciation of poorly executed stores. The focus this time was a CVS in Scottsdale with its endless rows of garish “buy one, get one free” stickers dangling below…
Proactive Steps in Turbulent Times
Let’s see a show of hands if you’ve become a fan of American Pickers, the Cartoon Channel or even the NFL because the news has become so darn depressing. In a few short weeks, the Biden Administration has reversed policies that led us to energy independence and fostered middle class economic wellbeing. Unfortunately, this is…
Winning the Digital Message
In normal times, a digital transformation can take months, even years. But the COVID-19 pandemic has forced convenience stores to change their messaging quickly to meet customers’ needs in these anything-but-normal, transformative times. While disruptor companies like Amazon, DoorDash, FreshDirect, Blue Apron, etc., are born ready to serve the needs of today’s mobile-obedient customers, traditional…
What Will Become of LA’s Gas Stations When the Cars Are Electric?
Maybe it’s a premature question. Then again, maybe it’s not. Last August, California’s Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order requiring that all new passenger cars and trucks sold in the state are zero-emission by 2035. The impact of the shift toward electrification is also likely to play out first in California as the state…
Leadership for an Uncertain Future
Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, we have never needed leadership more than we do now. The question ownership must ask itself is, ‘Do our current leaders have the capacity to lead my organization into an unknown future?’ Leaders today must be forward-thinking, strategically flexible and adaptable, with a willingness to challenge the status quo and…
How Physical Retail Is Evolving for an Omnichannel World
Remember credit card imprinters? A few months ago, I rented an AMC theater and took my family to see Christmas Vacation. I always get a good laugh at the establishing shot for the department store scene about 15 minutes into the film. One swipe after another, viewers are treated to clips of credit card imprinters…
Where Does Foodservice Go From Here?
Remember when bean-to-cup coffee was the hot new trend? Five years ago, while visiting a Ricker’s convenience store in Indiana (later acquired by Giant Eagle’s GetGo), my attention was drawn to a row of bean-to-cup machines gleaming from underneath a sign about fresh-brewed coffee. It wasn’t every day that you encountered that kind of equipment…
Targeting a Vertical Market
Over my career I have worked with a number of organizations where making inroads into certain verticals (industries) was critical for our success. Whether you target the banking, healthcare, automotive, technology, etc. verticals for your business, a comprehensive approach should be taken in order to garner the best results. With my background, one of the…