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Call me old school, but I really enjoy the written word.  I prefer reading a long-form blog post or article than a pithy tweet or fleeting Facebook post.  That’s not to say that I want a writer to blather on — rather, I like reading the work of people who have mastered the written word […]

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In the two years that have passed since I released my e-book, Extraordinary Experiences: What Great Retail and Restaurant Brands Do, the retail customer experience has gotten even more important — and more competitive.  The “Amazon effect” has raised everyone’s expectations about how convenient shopping should be.  And nearly all companies now expect to compete […]

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When will marketers learn that eyeballs aren’t worth more than integrity?!  Brand managers and advertising agencies continue to run irresponsible ads and do outrageous acts in an effort to draw attention to themselves.  At best they might get some short-lived PR but more likely they end up just wasting their money — and damaging their […]

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Shopping has become a means of self expression.  As the retail industry continues to fragment and retail brands continue to proliferate, people now make statements to others — and to themselves — by where, when, and how they choose to shop.  I was surprised to discover, though, that the shopping-as-self-expression phenomenon originated back in the […]

Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past few years, you haven’t missed how dramatically the retail industry and shopping has changed.  But with so much change, it’s sometimes hard to tell the forest for the trees.  Thankfully the folks at RetailNext have identified five retail trends that you can’t afford to miss. […]

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Check out this Uncontainable book review! – the book: Uncontainable: How Passion, Commitment, and Conscious Capitalism Built a Business Where Everyone Thrives, the story of The Container Store told by its co-founder and Chairman Kip Tindell […]

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The recent news that Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is handing over the reins of the company gives me pause.  This the second time Schultz has left the brand’s top post.  The last time was back in 2000 and the brand suffered so much in his absence, he ended up having to return in a dramatic […]

Amazon has opened a brick-and-mortar retail store, the Amazon Books Store — offering a web-enhanced shopping experience to customers and a Prime membership acquisition tool for the company.  Check out this Brand Experience Brief to see inside the store and learn about the retail customer experience it offers. related Brand Experience Briefs: b8ta — a new store for […]

i-was-wrong

As a competitive Asian Type-A perfectionist, admitting I’m wrong can be painful.  But discovering I was wrong about some developments in the business world has actually led me to learn some valuable lessons.  I thought you might benefit from my new insights, so here are six calls I got wrong starting with McDonald’s All-Day Breakfast: […]