Tony D'Onofrio
Retail
"A business based on brand is, very simply, a business primed for success" - David F. D'Alessandro
Forbes recently published the latest list of the Top 100 World's Most Valuable Brands. By the numbers, following are key insights from the 2016 edition:
Top countries: USA (52 brands), Germany (11), Japan (8), France (6), Switzerland (4).
Top Industries: Technology (17), Financial Services (13), Automobile (12), Consumer Package Goods (10), Luxury (8), Retail (8).
Biggest Gainers: Facebook (44%), Netflix (31%), Google (26%), Amazon (25%), Citi (19%).
Biggest Losers: IBM (-17%), Coach (-13%), Caterpillar (-11%), Siemens (-8%)
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"Customers attach value to a product in proportion to its perceived ability to help solve their problems or meet their needs. All else is derivative...There is no such thing as a commodity. All goods and services are differentiable. Though the usual presumption is that this is more true of consumer goods than of industrial goods and services, the opposite is the actual case." - Theodore Levitt, Harvard Business School
The future of retail requires:
Immersive interactive customer experiences across all channels, both virtual and in the store. Store associates as passionate brand ambassadors that engage a mobile educated shopping consumer.Back to retail basics, this means that store employees need to spend the majority of their time on the actual sales floor interacting with consumers. All tasks that detract from the actual retail selling process need to be either totally eliminated or highly minimized.
Recently, I had the pleasure of introducing a new Tyco evolutionary technology solution branded "Source Tagging as a Service" (STaaS). On multiple levels, this new innovative service delivers a secure and profitable future of retail.
What is Source Tagging?
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Are Department Stores the Dinosaurs of the Digital Age?
In March, I had the pleasure of speaking at an Intercontinental Group of Department Stores (IGDS) industry conference in Amsterdam. My topics included a retail industry update, the future destiny of the department store, and the sector's RFID adoption trends.
A November 2015 article proclaimed "The long, painful death of the American department store."
Are department stores stuck in the middle trying to serve all consumer segments? Are the stores too big and missing the industry trend of stores getting smaller? Is retail sales growth possible for department stores? How can department stores evolve and thrive in the future of retail?- Details
Key Insights from the 2016 Global Powers of Retailing
Every January, Deloitte publishes an updated view of the Top 250 largest global retailers. Following is a synopsis of my favorite content from the 2016 19th edition.
Navigating the New Digital Divide
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In New York this past month, NRF invited you to a special area on the trade show floor to "see, touch and experience some of the most interesting and 
innovative products finding their way into the marketplace and some that are still on the drawing board. The (NRF) iLab features the products that inspire customers to buy and the brands to innovate."
Following is a partial list of some of the innovative products on display.
Hello Barbie Doll "Play" Innovation
Using Wi-Fi and speech recognition technology, Hello Barbie can interact uniquely with each child by telling stories, playing games, and even laughing at jokes. With more than 8,000 phrases, Hello Barbie enables enhanced play experiences never before possible with a fashion doll.
Rebecca Minkoff Notification Bracelet Fashion & Design Innovation
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The 105th USA National Retail Federation (NRF) and EXPO delivered more than 33,500 attendees, hundreds of educational sessions, miles of exhibits, and some technologies that boggled the mind. I would describe the event as a cornucopia of digital innovation.
The NINE retail disruption takeaways from NRF 2016 include:
The Robots Are Here
In a recent post, we introduced OSHbot deployed at Lowe's and Tally from a San Francisco startup. At NRF 2016, I had the pleasure of meeting Pepper, a friendly and smart retail focused robot assistant (photo).
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2016 Retail Innovation Predictions
In Part 1, we discussed the following 2016 retail technology headlines:
In Part 2, we will focus on branding the future of retail, venture into the internet of things, and do some micro shopping of the target consumer. Can you believe that in 2016, we will still go to stores to shop? Finally, in the spirit of the new Disney Star Wars movie blockbuster, we will discuss whether the "force" is still with the retail industry.
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2016 Retail Innovation Predictions
It's that time of year when once again we reflect on the retail industry's progress as it transitions forward to new horizons. Disruptive change continues with online sales being an even bigger influence on the just completed holiday season. New technologies continue to transform the vibrant retail industry.
The retail robots are coming and if you look close there goes another drone. Is it time to omnichannel or die? Why don't you just analyze this? Is the 'smart store' finally here?
In part 1, we envision five of the top ten retail technology headlines that will be popular in 2016.
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Top 12 Insights from the 2015 Global Theft Barometer
The just published Global Retail Theft Barometer (GRTB) is an annual study of the losses from merchandise shrinkage in the global retail industry. The research
for the 2015 edition was conducted by the Smart Cube and Ernie Deyle and it was commissioned by Checkpoint Systems. 203 retailers in four regions, covering 24 countries contributed data for the latest report.
1. Global Retail Shrink
Retail shrink in the countries surveyed was estimated at $123.4 billion or on average 1.23% of retail sales. "Shrinkage has been observed to increase in most of the reviewed countries and by 0.48 pps globally. In the 16 countries where like-for-like analysis was possible, shrinkage increased in 10 and decreased in 6."
2. Global Regional Retail Shrinkage
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The USA National Retail Federation (NRF) recently published the 11th annual Organized Retail Crime (ORC) survey. The latest data indicates that almost 97% of 
all the surveyed retailers have been a victim of ORC in the last 12 months.
2015 Summary of Key ORC Findings
97% is the highest percentage of retailers impacted during the last five years. This year 48.5% of retailers have experienced a significant increase in ORC activity. The average loss was $453,940 - or a median of $194,340 - per $1 billion in annual sales volume. Leading physical 'fence' locations are pawn shops, stores, swap meets, or flea markets. Nearly 60% of retailers have identified or recovered merchandise from these locations. Online auction sites and classified sites were the leading 'e-fencing' locations. Nearly 69% of retailers have identified or recovered merchandise from e-locations. Two thirds of retailers have encountered issues with merchandise credit or gift cards in the last year. Nearly 55% of retailers found merchandise credit or gift cards on websites.- Details
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Top 3 Weekly Essentials
Harvard Business Review
Retail Technology Innovation Hub
It is a Small World
Continuing our journey to learn something new, we travel to the War Rooms Museum in London England. The Churchill War Rooms is a secret underground headquarters which offers a fascinating glimpse into Britain's wartime operations, featuring the Map Room, Cabinet Room, and Churchill's office, all preserved as they were on the day the lights went out in 1945.
In the underground Cabinet Room Churchill and his key ministers and advisers would meet with the Chiefs of Staff to make important decisions about the course of World War II. Churchill was known to push his military chiefs far beyond their comfort zones, so it was likely to be a place of tension and confrontation.
The War Rooms were a top-secret location, with strict security measures and a focus on maintaining confidentiality, even down to the typewriters being noiseless. A tiny room disguised as a toilet was used for secret conversations between Churchill and the US President.
You can find some poignant graffiti, including a hand-drawn image of Adolf Hitler, in the Chief of Staff meeting room. To alleviate the health problems associated with working underground for prolonged periods of time, staff had to strip to their underwear, put on protective goggles and stand in front of portable sun lamps.
Churchill’s leadership lessons emphasize unwavering resolve, inspiring communication, and the importance of character and conviction, particularly during times of crisis. Visiting his War Rooms was inspirational.
As he also famously said, “a pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” My glass for visualizing success has always been half-full. What you visualize and action through continuous learning is what you will ultimately achieve. Believe in yourself and your dreams. Failure is never final. Reset, keep calm, and always carry on.
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