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Last week, I had the pleasure of talking to Christopher Ibsen, Chief Marketing Officer of the Piggly Wiggly grocery chain. I was on the receiving end of his charming rebuttal of my comment about Pig Swig (Piggly Wiggly’s private label beer) being one of the growing ranks cheap beers fighting to be the lowest price [...] High end retail is changing. As part of a presentation to the International Retail Design Conference “A New Age of Luxury Retailing,” we talked to luxury shoppers on New York’s Madison Avenue and to former LMVH executive Philippe Soussand about brand expectations and design. The key trends: Luxury design and luxury products are becoming more common [...] Three years ago, Christmas shoppers were rocked by recalls of some of kids’ most beloved toys from most trusted brands. We talked to consumers back then, but wondered, What is the long-term impact of those recalls on consumer opinion, brands, and “made in China?” Merriam Associates went out Christmas Eve to put that question to [...] Brand licensing is what built a $50 million a year business to a $500 million a year business for Kraft and Starbucks. But problems with the business deal between the two companies threaten to cost billions and destroy a notable brand success. Talk about clouds in the coffee. In 1998, Starbucks and Kraft struck a deal [...] We went out into the rainy, dark, early morning hours of Black Friday, November 26, 2010 to take the pulse of holiday shoppers. Despite the continuing recession, we found a spirit of enthusiasm, a hunger for brands, and a nose for bargains. Here’s what bargain hunting consumers had to say while out holiday shopping very, [...] Macy’s thought it could cut costs and achieve buying efficiencies if it created one single national department store chain. That thinking led to a major brand blunder in Chicago. Marshall Fields has such a devoted brand following that even two years later, protests remain wide-spread and vigorous. |
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