Monthly Archives: February 2009

Sustainable Cell Phones

Samsung is releasing a solar-powered cell phone.  Sustainability meets the mobile phone industry.  The eco-phone market could get very interesting!
Lately, retailers and manufacturers are taking major consumer trends and applying them broadly in attempts to “own” “new” spaces.  Next move — make sure your consumers land in the same spot.  How do you do that? Communicate WITH consumers [...]

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Raise Your Retail Game

Nike is launching a retail installation in their east London store called 1948.  A retail installation is a combination of art and functionality in a retail environment.  The Wilson Brothers of the UK did an interesting job of using modular bleacher-inspired fixtures to display the running shoes.  The modular displays can be rearranged in any number [...]

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Innovative Ideas and Creative Execution

Fast Company recently released its list of The World’s Most Innovative Companies.  These companies were identified as illustrative of “the power and potential of innovative ideas and creative execution.”  The list of 50 companies included 7 retailers. 
 
 
The Fast Company 50: Retail
#4 Apple
#9 Amazon
#20 Zappos
#27 Nike
#33 Walmart
#41 Lego
#44 Etsy

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The Real Cold War: Microsoft vs. Apple

Apple retail stores have laid a remarkable benchmark for technology retail. From the eye catching store design to the shopper-centric staging inside, Apple laid down the gauntlet. Now Microsoft has taken the bait and will launch its own retail stores in coming months.  Showing they mean business, Microsoft enlisted 25-year Walmart veteran David Porter as corporate vice president [...]

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Retail Sales Rebound; Economists Puzzled

Today the Commerce Department reported that retail sales in January rose 1%.  This is the first increase in seven months and the biggest since November 2007.  This sounds like great news after weekly reports of retailers cutting thousands of jobs amid dismal sales.  Before the report was released at 8:30 am in Washington, economists predicted [...]

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