My most recent Harvard Business Review piece discusses retail industry trends, specifically big brands and other progressive retailers like Whole Foods, Starbucks and Lululemon Athletica who are increasingly shedding their national standards and conventions to achieve a more local brand image. Given the successes reported by these pioneering retailers, it’s likely we’ll see even more companies moving in this […]
Last week, I had the pleasure of hearing Walter Robb, Co-CEO, Whole Foods speak about purpose, values, and culture, and brand relevance and evolution, at the UCLA Extension Restaurant Conference. Here are some of the thoughts he shared: Whole Foods for Thought by Denise Lee Yohn from Denise Lee Yohn, Inc. related: Brand Experience Brief (video): Whole […]
(Check out my latest Brand Experience Brief — a video audit and analysis of a new or interesting restaurant or retail concept.) The Whole Foods store in Encinitas, California, brings the best of a farmers’ market and the best of a national grocer together, demonstrating how a national brand can engage its local communities authentically. […]
The question of brand loyalty sits right in the middle of the tug of war between retailers and manufacturers. Are customers loyal to a retailer because of the brands it carries or because of the retail store itself? Said another way – will a customer patronize any retailer that carries the brands she’s looking for, […]
DLYohn 12 Truths to Guide Retailing in 2012 Check out the key points about success in retail from speakers at last week’s NRF’s Retail BIG Show in 2012. View more presentations from Denise Lee Yohn, Inc. […]
What do Lindsay Lohan, the universal remote, and the Bush administration have in common? They are all examples of things that could have been great but have ended up not living up to their potential. […]
I’ve noticed something lately — name brand food packaged goods are changing their brand visual identities to what seems to me to be a more generic brand look. […]
Last week, Whole Foods announced its dismal 4th quarter results — net income for the quarter fell 96% to $1.5M and comparable store sales (the key metric for retail business health) […]
I recently came across 2 different items that I left me similarly unimpressed. The first was a sticker on my Hertz rental car folder, announcing the company was now offering to re-fuel my rental at market prices […]