NRF Reference Center: Business Strategy

Insight Center

Shari Brown — 2013-05-01T00:00:00-04:00

The NRF Foundation, the careers and education division of the National Retail Federation, today announced the launch of its new Retail Insight Center, a website designed to serve as a resource for researching industry, government, economic and consumer trends within the retail industry.

NRF Retail Reference Center-Retailer Out of Stock Profile Report

Samepoint — 2013-04-28T00:00:00-04:00

From Samepoint. The Samepoint Big Data Retail team conducted research and analysis of the Social Media landscape to identify which of the nation's top retailers are experiencing inventory issues, and within which geographical areas. The Samepoint Social Media Retail Application extracted and aggregated the customers' comments at a regional and store level. These comments were then categorized, analyzed and sorted by sentiment (Positive, Neutral, and Negative).

NRF Retail Reference Center - Thinking About Tomorrow

Jeffrey Edelman, McGladrey — 2013-03-01T00:00:00-05:00

From McGladrey. Retailers and vendors need to develop a new game plan to grow and prosper in tomorrow's environment. The first step is to engage in an intense self-analysis. This includes consumer research in order to determine the wants and needs of the target customer, increase the value proposition with new and differentiated merchandise, find a path to a more efficient sourcing and logistics structure, strengthen its brand (whether national or owned), and implement a multichannel distribution network. Success will be tied to customer satisfaction.

CPG Talk 2013

Microsoft Dynamics, Sunrise Technologies and Edgewater Fullscope Feat. Gartner — 2013-01-25T00:00:00-05:00

From Microsoft Dynamics, Sunrise Technologies and Edgewater Fullscope Feat. Gartner. The segment, "CPG Talk in 2013: Conversations CPG Companies Need to Have Now to Compete and Survive," features Gartner analyst Nigel Montgomery. Executives John Pence of Sunrise Technologies, Fred Studer of Microsoft, and Russell Smith of Edgewater Fullscope discuss new considerations for executives at CPG companies on the technology strategies needed to stay competitive in a global economy, including implementing business strategies, managing information, and keeping up with the changing worlds of technology and CPG.

NRF Retail Reference Center - Avoiding the Risks to Global Expansion

Platt Retail Institute — 2012-10-29T00:00:00-04:00

From Platt Retail Institute. There is great interest among North American companies with a solid base of success in their domestic market to export that success overseas. They are targeting the established, large consumer economies in Europe and the Pacific, as well as Brazil and other Latin American nations, which are finally viable economically. On top of this are the growing interests in the potential of exporting to the huge, middle class consumer markets emerging in India and China. Conversely, businesses in Europe, Asia/Pacific and Latin America have long looked to the U.S. market with visions of unlimited opportunity. It's a nation with a big, affluent, consumption-intensive population, and America is one of the least restrictive markets to enter. America remains among the most desirable export markets in the world. Success in one place does not predict success in another place. But international expansion presents the classic dichotomy of opportunities offset by challenges. If you are new to global expansion and are planning your strategies, this can be a good time to consider the risks that can trip up even well funded overseas ambitions. In addition to whatever other resources you are consulting, this article from PRI's Journal of Retail Analytics addresses six issues you need to consider.

NRF Retail Reference Center - Shopping the Globe: Understanding Opportunities

2012-10-24T00:00:00-04:00

From Gensler. In this video presentation, co-leaders of Gensler's top-ranked retail design practice, Barry Bourbon and Irwin Miller share case studies of retailers that have exported their brands to new markets, along with lessons learned from the global partnerships that paved the way.

NRF Retail Reference Center - Will Fall Match Expectations?

Jeffrey Edelman, McGladrey — 2012-08-01T00:00:00-04:00

From McGladrey. As usual, the back-to-school season will be critical to retailers' bottom line this month; however, many rightfully remain cautious. The economy continues to be a concern, but there are several strategies retailers can implement to differentiate themselves and increase market share.

NRF Retail Reference Center - Retail and Consumer Products: A less stable environment ahead

Jeffrey Edelman, McGladrey LLP — 2012-05-24T00:00:00-04:00

From McGladrey LLP. By all indications, 2012 will be another year of lethargic growth, store closings and increased focus on everyday low prices by several major retailers, all which will have a significant impact on the entire retail landscape. Multichannel is key to survival for many.

NRF Retail Reference Center - Winning Over the Empowered Consumer

Melissa Schaefer — 2012-04-10T00:00:00-04:00

From IBM. Today's consumers seek and accept shopping advice from peers, family, friends and even strangers. They bring attitudes and expectations, shaped by experiences across a broad spectrum of industries, to every interaction with retailers. And through this lens of connectivity and collaboration � which enables them to know almost everything about every product and brand � these "smarter," empowered consumers ultimately decide which retailers have earned their trust.

NRF Retail Reference Center - Multichannel retail: More than clicks and bricks

2012-01-31T00:00:00-05:00

From Grant Thornton. Multichannel retail - the merging of traditional brick-and-mortar retailing with online and mobile retail channels - involves far more than allowing customers to purchase items through a website. Multichannel retailing presents ample, seemingly boundless opportunities for brand engagement and interaction with customers across new platforms. Yet inevitably, these new technologies, platforms and sales channels come with new risks and challenges for companies to manage.