Last Thursday, shares of Wayfair lost 26 percent of their value and are now off about 75 percent from their high last year. Many other online shopping darlings have likewise taken massive hits to their valuations. In what ways are Wayfair’s problems similar to and different than other digitally native vertical brands?
There remains a wide-spread belief that Amazon makes little or no money in “retail,” and that its Amazon Web Services division subsidizes the company’s e-commerce growth. That certainly isn’t the case any longer. What areas of Amazon’s business do you think are most lucrative and how is retail tied to its overall strategy?
The U.S. Commerce Department released its monthly retail sales report Friday morning. Various outlets ran negative headlines suggesting sales in December had dropped precipitously. Much of the reporting focused on results coming in “below expectations.” Did December results meet, beat or lag your expectations?
Despite the relentlessly bleak news of sales declines, store closings and retail bankruptcies, Tractor Supply Company has reported strong second-quarter sales and plans to open 75 to 80 new brick-and-mortar locations. What lessons does TS’s quiet success over the years and its ability to adjust and thrive amid the pandemic offer to other retailers?
The COVID-19 crisis has led to tremendous innovation and experimentation on the part of just about every retailer. What lessons does the COVID-19 crisis offer about the barriers retail management teams often encounter to innovation and experimentation?
For retailers struggling with failing consumer value propositions, the coronavirus pandemic could not have struck at a worse time. Do you see the coronavirus fallout driving many department stores and other mid-tier retailers out of business?
J.C. Penney’s survival will not come from an improvement in margin rates, but an improvement in margin dollars — and that will require a big reversal of sales trends. Do you think the business needs a radical reinvention, or can it build on and tweak existing initiatives?
Digitally-native vertical brands attract vast amounts of venture capital and wreak havoc with sales and margins of industry incumbents. Yet, a significant number of these businesses are looking likely to be the Pets.com of the next decade. Do you see signs that many of retail’s digital-first start-ups are heading for a shakeout?
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