Month: April 2012

#HBSRLGC – Day 2: Emerging Markets Panel

4/15/12 – After the keynote address from Max Azria, I went on to some of the panel sessions. The panel sessions are a little more intimate than the keynotes because you get to hear different perspectives on the same issues that concern retailers today. You’ll see competitors, collaborators, and disruptors in the same room. This year there were four panels and I attended two:

Emerging Markets – The panelists were:

  • Anya Ayoung Chee – Designer, Project Runway Winner
  • Kai Schoppen – CEO, Brandsclub Group
  • Malte Horeyseck – Co-Founder and Managing Director, Dafiti
  • Tikka Karpurthala – Chief Representative in Asia for Moet-Hennessy/Group Advisor Louis Vuitton, India

New Business Directions – The panelists were:

  • Anthony W. Campbell – EVP of Administration, Vice Chairman’s Office, Perry Ellis International
  • Julie Bull – Director of Investor Relations, Dillards
  • Mark Bonchek – SVP Communities and Networks, Sears Holdings
Here are the tweets to catch you up on what went on in the Emerging Markets panel.

Continue reading →

#HBSRLGC – Day 2: Max Azria

Two Crazy Guys - Max Azria (Founder, Designer, Chairman and CEO, BCBGMAXAZRIAGROUP) and Edmund Amoye (LuxRe Club, Mason School of Business)

On day two (Sunday 4/15/12) at the Harvard Business School Retail and Luxury Goods Conference (HBSRLGC), we kicked off the day with breakfast, which was not attended by yours truly.

I was having too much fun walking around Boston... literally.

However, my day was off to a a memorable start with the second keynote address by Max Azria – Founder, Designer, Chairman and CEO, BCBGMAXAZRIAGROUP. This is a man I have always admired for his perspective on fashion – and have respected for his vision with the Herve Leger brand. Meeting the man was something I wasn’t expecting and the HBSRLGC helped me do that. I tweeted so much at this conference that I’m just going to use my tweets document my experience. Enjoy. Continue reading →

HBSRLGC – Boston, MA: Day 1

So I was in Boston for the annual Harvard Business School Retail and Luxury Goods Conference (HBSRLGC). Yes, I know that’s a long acronym. I’ll document my days in Boston (4/14/12 to 4/15/12) with pictures and tweets (yes – tweets).

A Sculpture at Back Bay Station - by George Greennamyer, 1976

After coming out of the station I took this picture of the entrance to the Back Bay Station:

Right across the street from Back Bay Station is an iconic property – Copley Place. This was a good experience for me because just the day before I had the pleasure of conversing with Howard Elkus and Ken Himmel, famous architect and renowned developer respectively.

Copley Place consists of multiple connected buildings. Here is a picture of a pedestrian bridge over Stuart St.

NW Elevation of Copley Place

NW Entrance of Copley Place

Took the Orange Line from Back Bay to Downtown Crossing, transferred to the Red Line and went on to JFK/UMass where I stayed at the DT - Boston Bayside

Left the hotel and went to Harvard Square Station via the Red Line

Later in the evening around 6pm, I went on to the Sheraton Commander Hotel for a networking session and keynote address by Steven Kolb, CEO, The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). He set the conference off on a good tone discussing the role and history of the CFDA as well as its efforts to push intellectual property rights for designers in the US.



Visiting Boston for the 2012 Retail and Luxury Conference at Harvard Business School

Back Bay Station, Boston, MA - First stop off the train

Back Bay Station, Boston, MA – First stop off the train

So here I am in wonderful Boston for the Retail and Luxury Conference at HBS. It’s been a year since I’ve been back. I’ve had a wonderful time so far, traveling via the subway/rail system. I think I like it better than NYC’s subway system. Watch out for more posts (with pictures).

Interesting Infographics – Global E-Retail

These infographics (below) from Internet Retailer are necessary for today’s entry because of my last post on Neiman Marcus.

Top 10 Posts on “Lessons in Luxury”

Below are the top 10 posts based on readership.

Title
1. Aman Resorts: A Tough Sell for DLF
2. Questionable Co-branding
3. Fair and Square at JCPenney
4. Part 2 – This Thing Called Luxury
5. Luxe Value: Interbrand’s Best Global Brands
6. Adding Value – Train Rides and iPads
7. Swatch: Creating a Shakeout in the Swiss Watch Industry
8. What do LVMH and L’Oréal Have in Common with Google, KPMG, and Deutsche Bank?
9. A Room With a View of Your Porsche, Ferrari, Benz, …
10. Differentiating Upscale Hospitality Series: Ritz-Carlton

Neiman Marcus to Sell Items Online in China – WSJ.com

Here are a couple of thoughts that come to mind regarding Neiman Marcus’ strategy to “slowly” enter the Chinese market. Continue reading →

Finally…. Luxury Car Brands are Taking Tips from the Kings of Customer Service

Key Takeaway from The Luxury Doctrine (a new resource in development):

If you want to be successful, especially in luxury, you have to think of, and act like the customer, at all steps in the value chain… you have to manage the customer’s experience

– Edmund Amoye, Lessons in Luxury

For those who have been following my posts on the different luxury segments, you’ll notice that the key catalyst for success in today’s environment is innovation in managing the customer experience. If you are new to this customer-centric theme, I have a list of related posts at the bottom, to get you up to speed.

In every business there are seasons and cycles – ups and downs. At their rollout to end-users, luxury goods and services are sometimes heralded as innovative novelties and “must haves”. However, as brands permeate, manufacturers innovate, and marketing teams penetrate (I had to use that rhyme… too easy to pass up), commoditization sets in. Luckily, the Ford Motor Co. is doing something about that with its Lincoln automotive brand.

– Top View of the 2013 Lincoln MKZ Continue reading →

JCPenney’s New Retail Strategy Expected to Hurt Performance

Article Link – Penney’s Pricing Strategy takes a Toll on Sales

Ron Johnson’s bet on JCP’s new retail strategy will not come without its costs. Analysts on Wall Street are expecting JCP’s revenues to drop by “seven percent this fiscal year”. This is worse than the previously forecasted two percent drop because analysts believe “shoppers accustomed to seeing big discounts [will] go to rivals like Macy’s Inc.”. Same-store sales are expected to drop nine percent – lower than the four percent drop that was originally anticipated.

Penney’s new strategy is simple – three tiers:

  • “Everyday” prices that are 40% lower than what they were charging a year ago;
  • Month-long sales on select items; and
  • Clearance events during the first and third Friday of each month (to coincide with employee payroll distributions)

Though the street expects dire consequences for JCP’s stock in the short term, it also believes that Ron Johnson’s plan will pan out in the longer term by eliminating “unprofitable promotions and [improving] its profit margins overall”.

If successful, this will be a major change in retailing because suddenly the promotional activity will decrease and other retailers will also have to find ways to attract customers… but this is going to take time.

– Walter Loeb, New York-based retail consultant

JCP is expected to offer more details on its performance when it reports its quarterly earnings results in May.

My View: This is a long-term bet, not a strategy that will yield postive returns in the next six to 12 months. Ron Johnson is not trying to change his strategy – he is trying to change the rules of the retail game. His bet is riding on a revamp of the entire retail experience.

Disclaimer: I do not own, or plan to buy any JCP stock in the next 48 hours.

Born Rich – A Documentary

Earlier today, I used my free trial of Netflix to watch “Born Rich”. The movie is directed by Jamie Johnson (heir to the J&J empire) and documents the nuances that come with living a privileged life. Below is Nexflix’s synopsis of the movie:

The heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical empire, Jamie Johnson, points his documentary lens in the direction of some privileged children who stand to inherit millions in the not-so-distant future. Johnson manages to pry revelations from heirs with some famous last names — Trump, Bloomberg and Vanderbilt, to name a few. They speak frankly about money, family pressure and their often extravagant lifestyles.

After reading the above summary, I decided to watch the movie. I was hoping for some perspective on how the “currently-rich-and-soon-to-be-richer” might define luxury. It seemed to me that the answer was simple – freedom. Many of the individuals in the documentary saw wealth as a somewhat vulgar prison, lacking much in moral fabric, or social accountability. They so deeply wanted to fit in with common people, but found it hard to begin to try.

Let me know of any movies that you think expose unique perspectives on luxury. Check out “Born Rich”. It won’t cost you anything if you use the Netflix trial. Just don’t blame me if you forget to cancel before the trial is over.