The Power of Retail

Is success and peace always preceded by chaos? Is it always to be that unless you suffer and struggle, you will not achieve anything, or if you do it will be short-lived? It’s something that seems to hold true, from what one sees around us, but I wonder if they all are just coincidences or not. For anyone who has read James Redfield’s Celestine Prophecy, knows that there is no such thing as a coincidence. They are all choices and the path we have taken is the one that shines brighter and beckons us, and so we take it. I read Celestine Prophecy several years ago, but I think I should re-read it to get a better idea.

ChannelAdvisor has launched an application called ShoppingAdvisor that lets retailers merchandise products on comparison shopping sites. With this new system, retailers will be able to customize products shown on specific sites, and will reduce the time taken to bring up results. ShoppingAdvisor can also be used to adjust bid levels and remove products. Retailers who have already taken to using the system are eBags.com and U.S. Cavalry, which sells military and outdoor equipment.

“The results we have experienced thus far have exceeded our expectations,” says Jon Mellen, senior marketing manager at eBags. “With the new tool, however, we’re able to make these advanced adjustments overnight and with confidence. This fits well with our testing philosophy and will provide limitless opportunities to further optimize our shopping engine relationships in the future.”

Topshop, UK’s most hippest brand, will be opening up stores in the US next spring. The company recently launched the Kate Moss collection which received rave reviews and sold out very quickly. The company is buoyed by its success and will set up stores on its own now, including a 70,000 sq ft flagship store in New York City. Topshop has carved a niche for itself with its trendy clothes at good prices and of good quality. According to Lauretta Roberts, editor at Drapers, a British fashion publication, the company’s combination of fashion and value has “changed the way we dress”.

Topshop made $200 million in pretax profit lat year, from revenues of $1.14 billion. Their strategy is no laughing matter, it’s all sound business sense. The company has been focusing on differentiating itself from all other retailers not on price but on fashion and style. By getting clothes into stores faster than anyone else, the company created a name for having the latest of designs at the good prices, but not necessarily at the cheapest prices.

The Levi’s brand has long been a trendsetter, although it seemed to have lost focus of it’s main target market for a while. The company is now revamping its market strategy and is focusing on teenage girls as their new target customer. The company will be opening its own stores rather than just being available in department stores, so that it can control its brand better while also countering changes in the wholesale market. Department stores are pushing their in-house brands increasingly, due to significantly higher margins on them, so any retailer must have a mix of department stores as well as exclusive stores. Levi’s new target customers are teenage girls who are likely to be making clothing decisions for a long time and by converting them to the Levi’s brand the company hopes that these selections will influence her purchases in the future as well.

Levi’s brand must balance being fashion-forward with serving its core wholesale accounts, many of whom are middle-market retailers beyond fashion’s cutting edge. That balance has proved tricky in the past, but with new senior management, including CEO John Anderson and presidents of its European and wholesale divisions, the company appears to be on track.

Bloggers write about a lot of things, a lot of products and a lot of companies, so what happens if a blogger writes about your company or product negatively? Should you respond or completely ignore them? According to Robert Cox, president of Media Bloggers Association, a New York based consultancy for consumer packaged goods companies, no company should ignore or intimidate a blogger, unless of course they are writing defamatory statements.

There have been several cases where bloggers have brought intense media attention due to their findings, such as in the Dell case where a blogger wrote about poor quality service and also in the Kryptonite bike lock case where a blogger uploaded a video showing how easy it was to pick the lock with a Bic pen.

While companies are being held accountable for what they promise to provide, the same goes for bloggers and publishers. Bloggers also need to be aware of the potential risk in writing negatively about a company, they must have their facts checked and double checked before bad-mouthing a product, as they can be held accountable for their words and its effects as well.

I came across an extremely interesting site that I’m sure I will be going to quite often. It’s called Swivel and its all about data, on economics, politics, weather, sports and much more. At Swivel, readers can locate all sorts of data and check out graphs and opinions on it. It is possible to compare all sorts of unrelated things at Swivel, say gas prices to iPod sales and see if something interesting comes up. It is a social interaction site as well, as users can contribute to it as well. I’m quite intrigued with this site and hope to take an active part in the community.

Everyone loves sunglasses and there really is nothing better than finding a great pair for a great price. How about a dozen great sunglasses at a great price? Tempting right? With sunglasses starting at $10 per dozen, a lot of people are buying them at these amazing prices and selling them to make a profit. With prices like these, you don’t even need to raise the price too much to make a profit, and everyone loves buying a new pair of Sunglasses for the summer. CTS Warehouse has all kinds of replica and Wholesale Sunglasses from all the leading designer brands, so if you want the look but not the price, then they will be perfect for you. I personally am not hung up on the brand name of products. Just as long as they are comfortable and safe to wear, and look good of course, I am fine with them. I end up replacing them more often as well, since the initial investment was nominal.

I spent a couple of hours yesterday searching for hotels in Singapore, Kuala Lumpor and Bangkok and found some really nice hotels, in good locations and at great prices. I used a site called HolidayCity which has fast become the first site I go to for finding hotels. I usually check with other sites as well, but lately have found their hotels and prices to be the best. Not sure when we’re going to go to any of these places, but it’s good to have a general idea of hotel prices and availability.

Some interesting quotes from Quoteland.com on happiness to get through Wednesday!

“Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times.”
-Anon.

“Most people would rather be certain they’re miserable, than risk being happy.”
-Robert Anthony

“The grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.”
-Allan K. Chalmers

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”
-Helen Keller

And my favorite one:
“Happiness is not a destination. It is a method of life.”
-Burton Hills

Imagine you have to set up an event to pitch to the creative director of an advertising company, and that you have the bare minimum of time but need to create a very professional presentation. How do you create a professional atmosphere to impress the company with? One of the best ways to do is to rent equipment such as projectors so that your work is highlighted in a qualitative manner. Projector123 has a wide range of high quality projector rentals that can be shipped to any location in the US via FedEx. Delivery is overnight, so it is possible to rent projectors from Projector123 even at the last minute. With just this simple step, the overall atmosphere can be made professional and get the job done for you. Getting good equipment can be as easy as that and once you’re done, you can send it all back and not worry about storage or maintenance.