wordpress-seo
domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init
action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home3/retailp1/public_html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6114mfn-opts
domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init
action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home3/retailp1/public_html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6114<\/p>\n
By Doug Stephens<\/p>\n
On October 25 of this year \u2014 on an otherwise quiet day in retail news \u2014 Nike chief executive Mark Parker fired a reverberating shot across the bow of the entire retail industry. He announced that out of Nike\u2019s global universe of more than 30,000 retail partners the brand would, going forward, focus its time, attention and capital on forty \u2014 FORTY \u2014 retailers that Nike calls \u201cstrategic wholesale partners.\u201d Partners, he explained, which are willing and able to build out unique and dedicated Nike spaces within their store environments.<\/p>\n
With this one brief announcement, Parker had not only given tens of thousands of merchants around the world a Tony Soprano-style kiss on the cheek, but he\u2019d also made the same sweaty-palmed decision that thousands of other brand CEOs secretly wrestle with on a daily basis: whether to abandon the intoxicating volume of the mass market in a sober effort to save their brands from almost certain ruin.<\/p>\n
Barely a quarter goes by that I don\u2019t speak with at least one brand executive awakening to the reality that the reach, ubiquity and market penetration that hyper-retailers, department stores and discounters once offered is now the very thing that is siphoning equity from their precious trademarks. The power-merchants that made these brands household names were now the very things rendering them commoditised hostages in a high-speed chase to the bottom. Once the salvation of many a fledgling brand, mass merchants have increasingly become like kryptonite. In a world constantly seeking what\u2019s next, new or special, mass retail has become toxic in its overexposure. For consumers, to whom shopping experiences matter as much, or more, than products, mass merchants are bringing nothing to the table.<\/p>\n
Nike is merely one in a growing list of labels rethinking their distribution strategies. Earlier this year Coach announced it would leave the floors of over 250 department stores. Michael Kors also made a similar decision. And high-end outerwear brand Canada Goose, a brand that has traditionally been sold through wholesalers, now has a long-term goal of generating at least half its profits from its direct-to-consumer business. One by one, brands are fleeing the mass market and their absence will weigh heavily on all mass merchants.<\/p>\n
However, more important in Nike\u2019s announcement was the bold declaration that only one tenth of one percent of their retailer network \u2014 those retailers who could deliver on the brand promise and experience \u2014 were even worthy of the brand\u2019s time and attention. The remainder of Nike\u2019s resources, according to Parker, would be dedicated to growing the brand\u2019s direct-to-consumer business through its owned stores and websites, which currently represent about 30 percent of Nike\u2019s total sales.<\/p>\n
In a world constantly seeking what\u2019s next, new or special, mass retail has become toxic in its overexposure.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n