durosas

Is this the end of eCommerce and the revival of brick & mortar? With Alibaba’s $2.88 billion purchase of a stake in a top Walmart competitor in the Chinese market one would not be faulted for answering that question affirmatively but this is probably moreso that latest stage of the Imperial Army slowly mowing down the last of the Rebels. Sure companies like Amazon and eBay are never going to forsake their digital platforms but they have wrecked enough carnage in the brick & mortar world to now have a wide enough birth to start becoming omni-channel players. What does this mean for the surviving brick & mortar companies? Be afraid. Be very afraid. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/alibaba-spending-2-9-billion-111959145.html

Jet.com (aka: Walmart) develops another arrow in its quiver this time targeting Trader Joe's (aka: Aldi) in the form of private label brand Uniquely J. https://www.recode.net/2017/9/29/16384242/jet-store-brand-uniquely-j-groceries-cpg-walmart-shopping-household

After quite literally handing a head start to Amazon and enabling it to become it’s default connection for Customer’s Toys ‘R Us finds itself the latest victim added to the ever-growing heap at the retail morgue (see: Borders, HH Gregg, Circuit City, RadioShack, Payless Shoes, Sports Authority etc). That and the massive debt load (more than $5 billion) that it took on as a result of (over) leveraged buy-out by PE firms KKR, Bain Capital, and Vornado Realty Trust certainly didn’t help. Toys ‘R US Chairman Dave Brandon said that today the company can operate free from financial constraints with the debt restructured under Chapter 11 and stores are supposed to stay open for the Christmas season where Toys ‘R Us earned 40% of its U.S. sales last year. He went on to say that this should also buy them time to invest in the business by improving the Customer experience (both in store and online). Part of that apparently will include closing underperforming stores whilst remaining locations

Yes, yes indeed. @cj_wentz @Eagles https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2017/9/13/16300588/nelson-agholor-carson-wentz-eagles-fucking-savage-air-yards-bitch-philadelphia-touchdown-micd-up

How many of us are looking at this dedicated space that Kohl’s is allowing Amazon in their stores to be a Trojan Horse? Orrrr is it at Kohl’s chief merchandising and customer officer said an against the grain tactic to provide a best-in-class ominichannel experience? Spoiler alert see how well Amazon “helped” other retailers like Borders and Toys ‘R Us to be innovative. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-06/kohl-s-teams-up-with-amazon-in-bid-to-drive-traffic-to-stores https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/06/kohls-partners-with-amazon-to-sell-echo-devices-and-smart-home-items.html

https://www.recode.net/2017/9/11/16284754/amazon-nordstrom-fashion-scott-galloway-prime-squared-recode-decode-podcast-kara-swisher

In a seemingly paradoxical move Walmart signs a partnership with a third-party group, San Diego-based Acenda, to help it optimize its portfolio offerings across e-commerce marketplaces with the end goal of getting the right product in front of the right consumer at the right moment (i.e.: intent to purchase) on the Path to Purchase. The move is paradoxical because Acenda already partners with Walmart main rivals Amazon, Google and eBay. (https://p2pi.org/article/walmart-teams-acenda-improve-third-party-listings?eid=362039299&bid=1862676). In doing some brief research (https://mixergy.com/interviews/gavin-mandelbaum-acenda/) I learned a little bit of the history behind the founder of Acenda but also what it is, exactly, that Acenda does. It’s actually a marketplace integrator. So it enables individuals to establish a presence on different e-Commerce marketplaces. The curious part is that Acenda can actually see all of the revenues that are passing through each of the marketplaces. A

US Soccer is just now realizing why it fired Bruce Arena the first time around. https://www.starsandstripesfc.com/2018-world-cup-qualifying/2017/9/6/16258694/usa-usmnt-honduras-what-we-learned-world-cup-qualifying-concacaf

Facebook opened its first volley in the Content Wars (see: Apple vs Amazon vs Netflix vs AT&T/TimeWarner vs Comcast vs Disney vs FOX vs Verizon/Oath). Okay, it wasn’t THAT big of a shot in its bid to broadcast the Indian Premier League (Indian cricket matches) which it lost out to Rupert Murdoch’s Star. What’s interesting to note is that Facebook was looking at live content. Live content, the rule-of-thumb goes, is highly unskippable. Meaning that Consumers will watch the ads for fear of missing something that occurs. Additionally, the content is something that is preferred to be watched in that moment (no one likes to really see a replay of a game or have to avoid ESPN so as not to see the score of a game that they recorded). It also can be cheaper than building content for sitcoms or movies. Could their bid have been a primer for moving in on NFL broadcast rights that come up next year when Verizon’s mobile rights expire?

Macy's and Best Buy have leapt into the same-day delivery service but is it too little too late? First take into account the business rationale. They’re doing it to be competitive with Amazon. But their models are distinct and don’t lend themselves to following that trend. Even in their hey-day brick & mortar stores were showrooms. Start from the front apron in. The windows with their seasonal displays from wardrobes to toys to the latest household gadgets to when a Customer begins to walk the actual store with mannequins highlighting the current fashion trends and how the Customer could look in those new threads. The end destination of all those wares was the store and to make it all look marvelous. Whereas the end purpose of Amazon was built on a delivery system wherein the final destination was the Customer’s home. For Macy’s and Best Buy to really be competitive it’s less about pitching around the edges and moreso about taking a close look at their sacred cows (i.e.:

Is the Google + Wal-Mart alliance just window dressing in the eCommerce War? Yes, Wal-Mart gets access to a technology its biggest rival, Amazon, already has in the Echo (see voice ordering) and in return Google gets access to all the purchase history consumers make using the service. But will it be enough to leap-frog Wal-Mart ahead of Amazon? Also, does Google get to serve up ads, content and offers to consumers based on that purchase history even if the offers are for similar products outside of Wal-Mart? With Amazon effectively becoming a commerce search engine unto itself can an alliance beat out an integrated approach? Probably not. Amazon is the main river that all of its tributary businesses flow into so it has a common current (or purpose) whereas Google and Wal-Mart do not. Also, at what point does Google realize that to compete with Amazon not only in e-commerce but also in the cloud AND search it actually needs to be the direct contact point for transactions and breakoff f

Right about now Tim Cook is probably wishing Steve Jobs hadn’t sold Pixar to Disney. Think of the arsenal of content and iconic characters not to mention the head start it would now have versus its tech peers (i.e.: Amazon and Netflix). Instead Apple is playing catch-up in an ever escalating content arms race. The first salvo Apple fired was back in June with the hiring of two former Sony execs to start up video programming positions that didn’t exist before at Apple. And now, after Netflix upped the ante by signing hit maker Shonda Rhimes, Apple has reportedly set aside $1 billion to invest in the creation of original content. BOOM? No, not really. Because that was the same amount that Amazon invested 4 years ago when it started up its original content machine and a pittance compared to what both Netflix and Amazon are projected to invest on programming this year ($6 billion and $4.5 billion respectively). BUT, Apple has a built-in advantage that neither Netflix nor Amazon can

After Netflix was skewered by Disney’s announcement that it will remove its content from Netflix Barron’s announced that Netflix stock was vulnerable because it essentially was the Moneyball of content (i.e.: it took former homerun hits and recycled them to manufacture everyday hits by becoming a default syndicator). But now, following the Moneyball analogy, Netflix has responded by dropping Neymar sized money (for those that don’t follow football Paris St. Germain paid a record $500 million transfer fee to rip Neymar away from FCBarcelona) stealing a top talent from Disney in Shonda Rhimes to be their new Designated Hitter. Sounds good, right? Netflix gets a proven winner to help them build amazing content and shrug off the defection of Disney. Not so fast. Like fashion content creation can be fickle (just as Mickey Drexler) and what is trending and hot today can be passé tomorrow (or in internet speed the next few seconds before you finish reading this post). And after shelling out a

In the face of global growth a competitor founded just down the road in the 800 lb. gorilla in QSR known as McDonald’s, not even with the onslaught of the better-for-you burger brands like Shake Shack and in spite of a comparable small geographic footprint In-N-Out Burger has built a cult-like following by maintaining a laser focus on its brand identity of keeping things simple, maniacally executed against that promise and providing a dash of secret menus. https://www.qsrmagazine.com/competition/secret-n-out-s-cult-following?utm_campaign=20170814&utm_medium=email&utm_source=jolt

To say that Snapchat's growth prospects have looked somewhat darkened would probably be an understatement. The one-time unicorn of tech just wrapped up its second-ever earnings on Thursday missing analysts’ expectations and reporting slower than expected daily active user growth = no good. Add on top of this that Facebook's Instagram is constantly copying Snapchat's innovation and the picture gets dimmer. BUT, is there still light at the end for this fading star? Perhaps. With a few recent acquisitions Snapchat may be pivoting/repositioning itself in much the same way Foursquare did to move from being a check-in app to a location data-collection manager with a social element. Which means not only will advertisers know where their key consumer is but also how they may be interacting with their brand and if not how to seamlessly introduce their brand in the path-to-purchase. The first of these acquisitions that points Snapchat in this general direction was Zenly, a French

In the ever-evolving content vs. pipes vs. tech battle Disney has fired a shot heard ‘round the world by announcing that it will pull all of its content from Netflix. On one side I think, it’s about time! Disney obviously has finally seen the light that Netflix is stealing a page from Amazon’s early playbook by establishing a direct link to the end user by inserting itself between the seller and the buyer. The seller in the Amazon scenario were companies like Toys "R" Us, Borders Books and Target (to name a few) turned over management of their eCommerce platforms to Amazon. But not only did they turn it over management but the actual Consumer experience was Amazon! So Amazon, by default, was who consumers felt they were actually shopping from and we all know how that ended for Borders and many other brick & mortar stores. So rather than letting Netflix Amazon them Disney decides to launch a rival streaming service (kinda late to the game if you ask me. CBS launched one ba

¡Gran atrapada de losphillies actual 2B para los IronPigs Scott Kingery!! https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/879559484280111104/video/1

In the Digital War Target has been lacking in headlines relative to its peers (i.e.: Amazon and Walmart). But recently Target's CEO, Brian Cornell, had an interview (see it here: https://youtu.be/dPBZ-Xrdb7Y) to discuss his strategic approach. Part of that approach includes pulling back on moon-shot initiatives and focusing on the core. This includes things like; opening smaller footprint stores in urban centers, store remodeling and fulfillment. Cornell commented that Target had brought in entrepreneurs that they provided seed money to but he felt that they were “drifting out to another universe” and that he wanted to see shorter lead-times in the payoff to the investment. He also wanted to refocus the investments on the core business with the consumer in mind first. Is this new approach to innovation more like pitching around the edges? Should Target have had (and should have) a long-term strategic approach that would have enabled the entrepreneurs they brought in to be

Both Coke and Pepsi made comments recently reflecting how their businesses are being negatively impacted as more consumer no longer visit malls driving down purchase incidences (think less people buying in food courts and vending machines). It also seems that CPG, which has long relied on the 3-tier process of getting their goods into the hands of consumers, have just watched the behemoth of Amazon mow down brick & mortar chain one after the other with little regard that is until that same behemoth bought Whole Foods. If anything it should be a wakeup call for CPG marketers to begin racing (not walking) to devise new ways for their products to get in front of and be purchased by their target consumers (see Millennials). But to do so as the below article calls out requires a change in their go-to-market strategies. CPGers that rely on warehouse models may be less affected because one would think they can shift the use of those warehouses to go from stores to homes (can Uber p

In the ever evolving battleground known as the Omnichannel Wars Amazon has dropped what could be the equivalent of an atom bomb in it's agreement to purchase Whole Foods. One article from Chain Store Age (http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/amazon-buying-whole-foods-market?tp=i-H43-Q5S-3mq-5klKX-1u-14Qs-1c-5kr1Q-PxptV&utm_campaign=BreakNew&utm_source=Experian&utm_medium=email&cid=14560&mid=85026709) summed it up nicely stating; Jeff Bezos is a master of PR," said Kelly Sayre, analyst, retail/CPG, IHL Group. "He is brilliant at timing announcements for coopting the news cycle. The drone story and Amazon Go stories of the last two years just happened to coincide with Black Friday weekend. It is not lost on us as analysts that this announcement just happens to coincide with the day(s) that Lidl opened its first stores in the U.S., and Walmart bought Bonobos (http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/walmart-acquire-bonobos?tp=i-H43-Q5S-3ms-5kyiv-1u-14Qs-1c-5

Amazon's brick & mortar stores is designed as a vehicle to extend itself to be in places where its Shoppers are with the end goal of being able collect more user day to influence future purchase behaviour. http://www.adweek.com/digital/amazons-physical-stores-may-be-causing-hype-but-the-digital-payoff-could-be-the-real-story/?utm_campaign=nl_1&utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=AWK_TodayTech

http://fortune.com/2017/05/10/target-raises-minimum-free-shipping/

This will be a Harvard Business Case study in probably the not-so-distant future, given the accelerated speed of business in the i-era. The link to this Wall Street Journal article (https://www.wsj.com/articles/targets-new-online-strategy-less-is-more-1494846001) talks about how Target has had the opportunity to and even explored acquiring other companies to help it accelerate its growth while also keeping up with Walmart as well as just trying to keep the taillights of Amazon in its sights. And yet, unlike Walmart which has gone on a veritable buying binge snapping up eCommerce companies from Moosejaw to ModCloth and made a huge splash in buying Marc Lore's (formerly of Quidsi/diapers.com) Jet.com Target has eschewed buying capabilities and instead focused on its bread & butter, it's stores (http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/target-debuts-0-shopping?tp=i-H55-Q5S-3M4-5Mz5m-1u-14Qs-1c-qsz-5MtPN-tb7Hx&utm_campaign=Daily&utm_source=Experian&utm_medium=email&

Will Barnes & Noble's new CEO help avoid it from being added to the list of retailers that have been mowed down by Amazon's seemingly unstoppable supremacy? If you follow the sports analogy that consistency in the leadership structure from ownership (i.e: public versus private, being bought or buying) to the coaching staff (management) to your players (employees) lends itself to success and given that B&N now finds itself on it's 5th CEO in four years it doesn't look good. https://www.wsj.com/articles/barnes-noble-names-demos-parneros-as-chief-executive-1493265601

I definitely think there is something to this theory of a company blowing up after it has invested share-owner dollars into creating a new HQ to celebrate the companies growth or a CEOs outsized ego (hey, it happens). There may be the rare exception to this rule as the article below calls like start-ups (see Facebook or Google) that have outgrown their current digs then obviously it will, like a kid hitting their growth spurt outgrowing their clothes, need at least something bigger to fit in and look good. But, I think what the author here is getting at is the underlying, real rationale for building or acquiring these new digs, Often times it seems companies build or acquire new buildings as trophies rather then taking those dollars and investing in research to enable; 1. increased share-owner profit (not sure how a brand new shiny building demonstrates that an executive team is using share-owner dollars wisely. Meaning how does the usage of those dollars increase share-owner value dir

It's an story reminiscent of the epic browser wars (remember those? Explorer vs. Netscape) with the upstart constantly looking for that silver bullet that will enable it to leap-frog the competition while the incumbent simply mimics any new innovation thrown at it by integrating it into its already healthy portfolio (see Instagram Global Stores: http://adage.com/article/digital/instagram-global-stories-campaign-juxtaposes-epic-silly-heat-snapchat/308485/?utm_source=digital_email&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=adage&ttl=1491843803&utm_visit=682760). Today the players names are replaced with Snap and Facebook. The key difference in this edition is that neither has a hardware play that would enable them to seamlessly bundle their offerings allowing them to be the default provider of choice for all users..at least not yet. To that end Snapchat Inc. renamed itself Snap Inc, in an attempt to communicate that it is more then just an app. The rebranding/pivot (aka rev

Looks like Walmart is leveraging the new talent in their leadership fold, Marc Lore formerly of Jet.com and diapers.com, to launch a skunk works in Silicon Valley dubbed Store #8 after the store Company founder Sam Walton used to try out new retail strategies. Feels like less of a moonshot factory then say how Bell Labs, Xerox's PARC, Amazon's Lab126 or Google's X were set-up. But then one can ask how many of those great inventions did AT&T or Xerox actually leverage (the stuff Apple ended up launching don't count!) versus languishing on shelves. And exactly how many of X's moonshots have been commercialized? Maybe, if Store #8 is less rabbit and more turtle in the race to capture Consumers wallets. And in that scenario, Walmart can point to a whole list of competitors it has slowly but surely ground into dust. http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/walmart-launches-store-no---its-not-really-store?tp=i-H55-Q5S-341-4rp50-1u-14Qs-1c-iuA-4rjD4-27Eehq&utm_campai

With Amazon opening its 4th book store one has to wonder why is it going against the wave it helped create and that brick & mortar retailers are frantically trying to catch-up of closing their stores and shifting their business on-line. Could it be now that Amazon has wrought almost absolute destruction on brick & mortars it is looking to fill specific voids. Or, if history is any indicator, then perhaps the stores are more of a Trojan Horse. Like its initial foray as an on-line bookstore Amazon has since expanded its product portfolio to include a vast array of items from cloud computing, publishing, mobile devices, content creation and oh yes..selling a wide variety of products on its web-site (not just books) could Amazon actually be looking at these stores as a springboard to launch other businesses (think fee-based wi-fi access, built-in cell towers to create a mobile carrier network, small-biz local cloud storage solutions..etc). Or it could be just one tremendous hea

Can Amazon be out Amazoned? The short answer? Probably not. I say probably because business history is littered with industry leaders that hit their zenith and then for one reason or another plummeted back down to Earth and disappeared from existence (e.g: A&P at one point was the largest food/grocery retailer in the United States). But is Amazon's culture like that of those fallen behemoths? Marc Lore learned that may not be the case when his former business, Quidsi (aka diapers.com) expanded product categories in an attempt to go head-to-head with Amazon annnnd..got bought by Amazon. In his second act with Jet.com Lore opted for the enemy of his enemy in Walmart. The problem? Walmart faces an existential crisis not unlike that of industry leaders in business history like the Penn Central Railroad. Too many stores in places people aren't shopping at (or too many roads where people aren't riding) while customer flock to new methods of shopping (or taking the car instead

Amazon's genius lies in being able to not only find new ways to collect data to create data givers out of their Customer base but also how they use that data to drive purchase intent as well as increase frequency. http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/online-retailers-learn-amazon/307982/?utm_source=digital_email&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=adage&ttl=1487877304&utm_visit=682760

The NBA has used the development league as a testing ground in the past. Now it looks to up the ante in sponsorship marketing by signing a long-term deal with Gatorade to be the title sponsor for the league. This has been a common practice both overseas (see Barclays Premier League, although they recently ended that partnership) as well as in the US market (NASCAR). The issue it could raise is around brand ownership. As the Premier League discovered they felt their brand was getting lost through its association with Barclays wherein Consumers either can’t distinguish between the two (i.e.: they think Barclays actually owns the league) or simply refer to it as the sponsored brand hence eliminating the need for a name for the league. No signs that the NBA will actually move in that direction but with jersey sponsorship on the horizon it’s something many marketers will take a great interest in. http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/nba-s-g-league-deal-means-sports-marketing/307985/?

Google searches itself to bring diversity from out in. It’s interesting to hear that their approach is not top-down driven but moreso a ground-swell that leadership has supported whether it be through recruiting methods (see BOLD) or in acknowledging that they have a talented person, recognizing fit and finding a better place for them to grow and be successful rather than just forcing them out. It will be interesting to look at Google’s trends over a 3, 5 and 10-year horizon to see how these efforts have paid off. And I say this not only in balancing out their diversity numbers but that the company has even greater success then it has to this date because of the diversity it has sought out, fostered and retained. http://fortune.com/google-diversity/

A veteran of Hispanic marketing, Sergio Alcocer, launches a new agency that he dubs, "an agency founded in and for the Trump era..” where he looks to “..bring Latin-inspired creative to the mainstream.” A move that sounds like someone interested in influencing and/or building true total market campaigns that are rooted in deep consumer insights that are relevant for today’s multicultural society. With so many conglomerate agencies it will be interesting to see how Alcocer navigates them while building critical mass to help move not only the industry but advertisers on how they think and act relative to multicultural marketing. http://adage.com/article/agency-news/latinworks-cco-sergio-alcocer-opens-agency-rest-world/307702/?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social

Not one to doubt the business instincts of someone like a Carlos Slim. Still a curious move to launch a network targeting the Mexican American audience. While all census projections show the US Hispanic population continuing to grow almost all also reflect a change in the sub-demographic showing that the percent of US Hispanics that speak Spanish is in decline due to a variety of reasons (e.g: acculturation, slowing number of immigration). That being said the network could potentially follow the route of having more cultural nuances or lead points that would be relevant for US Hispanic audiences while blending the languages between English and Spanish to make it more relevant especially for Millennials. https://www.portada-online.com/2017/01/20/billionaire-carlos-slim-to-launch-tv-channel-exclusively-targeting-mexican-americans/

The increased ownership of Univision by Televisa starts to manifest itself as the two, slowly, start to merge operations/roles to drive synergies. https://www.portada-online.com/2017/01/17/univision-and-televisa-expand-relationship-to-invest-in-programming-and-distribution/

Some good news for my new home town of L'ville that it may, potentially, possibly, could be, rumoured will get an NBA team most likely, if anything by the 2018-19 season. Other finalist include: Seattle, Mexico City, Las Vegas and Vancouver. My personal thoughts? Seattle and Vancouver both already had teams and for whatever the reasons couldn't keep 'em. If the con on Louisville is that it's a college town then what is Las Vegas? Sure the Raiders are rumoured to be moving there but I wouldn't consider it a sports town outside if one considers either betting or betting on sports a sport. As for Mexico City? That is an intriguing one. It would be the first US originated sport to set-up outside of the US/Canada and would certainly fit into the NBA's goal for expansion and growth internationally. Also, if you factor in the population size (i.e: loosely translating the size of an area's population to even sustain a professional sports franchise) then Mexi

More non-tech companies are learning that you can't just create an app, have a Snapchat account and call yourself a tech-centric CPG company. Dunkin' Donuts and Pernod Ricard SA appear to be following their consumer insights straight to CES to learn how they can not only leverage technology to provide connected service across the path-to-purchase but also understand what tech companies can do to help them do just that. http://www.wsj.com/articles/digital-dunkin-non-tech-firms-crash-ces-looking-to-connect-1483650402

Nintendo sets date for the latest version of its new video game system but high pricing & a limited shift to follow its core gamers to mobile show this elephant can't dance quite yet. http://www.wsj.com/articles/nintendos-switch-game-console-to-debut-on-march-3-1484280797

Great to see Philadelphia be able to demonstrate how it can nurture & build a successful tech start-up in Monetate. http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2017/01/10/monetate-moving-hq-new-york-impact-philly-conshie.html?ana=e_phil_bn&u=sAmE2YeVGI6C34B70ph%2FuJp4Bee&t=1484256457&j=77058171

As a dad I'm always learning. Attached are some great tips to help empower your kids! http://www.popsugar.com/moms/Compliments-Kids-42978410?utm_source=com_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=com_newsletter_v4_01122017&em_recid=187432367&utm_content=placement_1_title

Apple may be starting out small in the content wars but if history is any indicator they are playing the long-game in being a disruptor in the content development industry. It will be interesting to see how they continue to evolve their business model especially with the potential merger between TimeWarner and AT&T which will marry content creation with distribution given that Apple already has a built in network for distributing their content via the iPhone. http://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-sets-its-sights-on-hollywood-with-plans-for-original-content-1484217007

Looks like McDonald's is taking a page from the Yum! playbook as it explores shedding chunks of it's Asian business. http://www.wsj.com/articles/mcdonalds-looks-to-sell-part-of-stake-in-japan-business-1484219630