Lessons from the World’s Next Retail Frontier - - The Gulf has produced some of the world’s most successful retailers, yet they appear to have won through entirely different strategies. Landmark built proprietary brands. Alshaya mastered franchising. Lulu focused on underserved customers. If opposite strategies can all succeed, what separates enduring winners from temporary winners? The answer offers valuable lessons for retailers seeking lasting advantage in the world’s next

Everyone talks about it, but very few understand it. - - The Customer-Centric Mirage Walk into any retail strategy meeting today and you’ll hear the same phrase repeated like a mantra: “We are a customer-centric company.” Executives declare it proudly on investor calls. Marketers print it on slides. Store managers nod in agreement. But scratch beneath the surface and you’ll find a startling truth: most companies have no idea what customer centricity actually means. For the la

How leading retailers are redesigning customer experiences, supply chains, and stores around intelligence. -- Introduction A I is the most transformative technology shift that we’ve seen in our lifetime. Many jobs that we’ve thrown human beings at over the last 20 or 30 years, you won’t need as many human beings doing those same jobs.”- Andy Jassy, CEO, Amazon The signals are no longer subtle. Jack Dorsey's Block announced plans to cut roughly 4,000 employees — nearly half it

Why Pure-Play Online retailers are Embracing Physical Stores -- In a sprawling Wayfair flagship store in Chicago, a young couple...