A strong retail holiday season dangles before us…

As a strong retail holiday season dangles before us – B&M retailers race to restock inventory. The Supply Chain hasn’t quite recovered from the onslaught of online purchases initially fueled by convenience and later by the global pandemic (for perspective, a relatively common once-in-100-year natural cycle of viral hardship that is, for the most part,… Read more »

COVID rears its ugly head – this time upsetting DIY retail spending

The Delta variant of COVID-19 has up-ended high expectations of a solid economic return… But this time, as opposed to last year, we’re seeing its negative effects in the seemingly pandemic-proof DIY space. Despite a five-quarter financial high, the numbers are now in and Lowe’s and The Home Depot are seeing data suggesting that the… Read more »

Will the ebb and flow of mask guidelines outpace consumer patience?

As mask guidelines change, consumer experiences will be affected, but can retail leadership help? Let’s dive in… CDC mask guidelines have now largely reverted to the more stringent standards we saw a year ago during the (previous) worst peaks of the pandemic. And as retailers across the United States play catch-up with these newly-updated guidelines,… Read more »

What is LVMH clueing into that we could learn from?

Louis Vuitton-owner LVMH says the future of retail is in-store Whether you take it as a foreboding insight or a position requiring a grain of salt, their research shows that Brick & Mortar is still king… for the foreseeable future, anyway. According to the chief financial officer at LVMH, Jean Jacques Guiony, the consumer still… Read more »

Are retail brands REALLY ready for the post-COVID rush?

Omnichannel B&M retailers are scrambling Don’t high-five just yet… as we appear to be rounding the corner on the global pandemic that has not only immediately affected retail B&M sales, disrupted major Supply Chains, and reshaped the retail landscape, there’s another shift (or two) on the horizon. First and foremost, we all have to familiarize… Read more »

What did Ulta learn from the Pandemic?

They got back to the basics… When the pandemic hit last year, few were fully prepared. How could you be? In our lean and mean industry where shelf space is precious and timing is key, there’s little room for catastrophic, once-in-a-century events to come pushing through the supply chain. But that’s exactly what happened. So… Read more »

New Ulta Demo Videos Showcase Powerful Ulta Reporting Tools

New Ulta Demo Videos The Accelerated Analytics team releases 9, new Ulta report demo videos, showcasing many of the features that the reports offer our customers. As Ulta remains the largest beauty retailer, with over 1,200 stores, we continue to see growing interest in the reports. The new series of videos available here, are aimed… Read more »

Safety Stock To Become An Area Of Risk For Brands

Free Safety Stock Infographic   2021 is gearing up to present brand dominance opportunities (for those that can break out and ahead of the pack). Doing so will increasingly rely on ever-granular reporting to assure optimal retail numbers – especially in the resource-drained supply chain of 2021. For those teams that haven’t brushed up lately… Read more »

Supply Chain Metrics Play Leading Role In 2021

12 Key Supply Chain Metrics Materials Now Available Via LIG   As retail passes through the unpredictable and turbulent waters of 2020, heading into the “less unpredictable,” yet equally turbulent markets in 2021, it’ll be imperative to gain and maintain control of retail stock and the numbers that drive it. To better assist the retail… Read more »

COVID-19 KILLED YEAR OVER YEAR COMPS (P1)

COVID-19 KILLED YEAR OVER YEAR COMPS Part 1: Every retail report presents data in a nearly identical way: TY LY % CHG +/- VOL. This traditional method of measuring business performance is useless in the face of COVID-19, and the hangover is going to continue through all of 2021. See the nearby chart which shows… Read more »