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Articles
Small-Batch Goes Mainstream
Perhaps credit goes to the hipsters, but consumers are showing an increased interest in products that are local, sustainable, curated, hand-crafted and the like. And a number of websites are…
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Exercising Growth
Imagine customers visiting a shopping center 100 times or more per year. If that sounds crazy, consider this: 44% of health club members use their gym 100 times annually, according…
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Optimizing Online
Consumers are spending more than ever on e-commerce items; online spending grew 14% in 2013, according to the analytics firm comScore. But most shoppers look at apparel buying as an…
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Aligning With the Stars
From endorsement deals and lines bearing a celeb’s name, to stars answering the question of “who” they’re wearing on the red carpet, the apparel and footwear industry is not only…
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Hope Springs
This year’s long, hard winter has been blamed for everything from slow housing starts to sluggish retail sales. Now that the warmer spring temps have supplanted sub-zero readings, numerous businesses…
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The Retail Network
Walmart first established the gold standard of supply chain planning when it used its size and power to reduce costs and offer competitive pricing. Fast fashion, too, embodied speed and…
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Eastern Expansion
China’s retail sales are expected to rise 13% in 2014, according to its vice commerce minister. And a former Japanese commerce official says China is the world’s fastest-growing major retail…
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Widening Margins
Holiday 2013 proved consumers were all about the bargain, shopping heavily over Thanksgiving’s “Black Weekend,” and then holding out until the end for super discounts. Even with a steadily improving…
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Online Goes Offline
E-tailers may have saved the 2013 holiday season, with online holiday sales increasing 10.3% year over year, according to IBM’s Digital Analytics Benchmark report. Despite the strong growth, e-commerce remains…
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Reviving Consumer Demand for Home Textiles
The turnaround in the U.S. housing market has resulted in stronger home textile sales, but quality issues threaten to hamper future sales potential. Eight of the top 10 U.S. home…