Rachel Page

As a GOOD AMERICAN customer, I can’t wait to experience the store. 👖As a former merchant, having a digital option to showcase styling, fit and product knowledge would have given me the confidence that my merchandising strategy was being executed in the store without having to physically be on location. 📺This is a great way to make sure teams are product obsessed with the constant graphics and that the visual merchandising / styling options are being showcased at the store. 🛍️To make sure this extension of digital is a success, Good American would need to keep the content fresh and consistent with real time inventory and reflective of the current product assortment. Sales associates would still need to be product obsessed but they would also need to show customers what is possible with the digital screens. The experience should augment and assist the sales associate and not be considered a replacement of staff. 🔹The excitement of finding a product on the screen, loving the look and being disappointed if the item or the size is not available could also drive customers away. GA would need to be on top of their inventory position and have a good handle of managing their inventory across all channels. 🗞️Check out more #BrainTrust comments on RetailWire: https://lnkd.in/eDJp--GF #retail #retailnews #goodamerican #cx #stores #merchandising #TRE #TopRetailExpert

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Target reported a rather soft first quarter, with declines in sales and revenue that reflect overall shopping habits. Although the retailer didn’t open the year with a bang, it is setting up for growth later in the year through new initiatives and, hopefully, in a more conducive selling environment. #retailsales #target

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Kmart used to be the Retail King! Sadly, the crown hasn’t been theirs for quite some time. K-mart's fall from grace can be linked to (but not limited to): ▶️A failure of to innovate in the face of competition from the likes of Wal-Mart (although this is not just restricted to K-mart only, department stores in general are laggards when it comes to innovation). ▶️Second, poor standards of product assortments and visual merchandising. ▶️Finally, a merger with Sears where the only value that K-mart brought to the table was its real estate footprint - there was no desire for those in charge to do well as a retail brand. Put these, and other factors, together and the end result is a once iconic brand goes and bites the dust. Is all hope lost for this retailer? Definitely. It's not worth the time, effort or expense to even try. The K-mart brand has been devalued because of years of leadership level ineptness and reviving it will have limited nostalgic benefit....if that. Thank you Nicole Kirichanskaya and Inside Retail US for including my POV on the story alongside my friend Neil Saunders of GlobalData Retail. #retailnews #retail #stores #innovation #merchandising #kmart #TRE

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Walmart has removed degree requirements from most of our jobs, with over 75% of our U.S. roles now not requiring a degree.    We are collaborating with The Burning Glass Institute and other leading companies in the Skills-First Workforce Initiative, such as Bank of America, Blackstone, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, PepsiCo and Verizon. Our skills-first approach aims to open up career opportunities, meet employer talent needs and strengthen the economy. The framework will be open source and available to all U.S. employers by September 2025.    Our initial focus is on the nine most prevalent job roles across various sectors, which collectively account for over 11 million American jobs. By creating a shared language, or taxonomy, for assessing and valuing skills, we can promote the widespread adoption of this hiring approach.    Read more here: 

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Wednesday this week Mattress Retailer Toolkit is hosting yet another Experts sessions call, this is a live call at 11:30 am East Coast Time and it’s FREE for all to attend. On this call Kristen Dressler from Team Builder Recruiting, who helped us with our last two rockstar hires will join us. RSVP to join us ⬇️⬇️⬇️ Replays will be housed in our member community AND she will have a members only resource page of valuable assets when creating ahiring ads, forming interview questions and brining in on the right hire the right way. She’ll be sharing - 5 Winning Hiring Strategies to Build Your Team Attracting, interviewing, and building a team is a challenge every business faces. By approaching this mission-critical task with a touch of strategy and a little planning, you increase your chances of success exponentially. In this presentation, we'll discuss what candidates are looking for in a career move. You'll learn how to identify the type of person needed for your open position, marketing strategies to attract qualified candidates, and interview tips to help you identify which candidate best matches your role. The presentation wraps up with insights on presenting the offer to your first-choice candidate so that you have the best possible chance of getting a "YES!" to your offer. You'll leave this session with practical tips and tricks to build an effective and streamlined hiring process.

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Love it! But those who work in stores only wished their partners at HQ wanted to be in stores without a mandate. It is impossible to be the best in supporting stores or building a customer experience without being in stores often…at night, on weekends and during holidays! And once in stores be uber curious and engage with customers and the team. Ask “what can I do better or to help?”, “what gets in your way?”, “what should HQ change?”… ask these and other questions…and be genuine and authentic or don’t go! Oh, and get in the back room and ask to process freight, complete an Omni order, learn the steps involved in process’ and do the work! The best leaders work in stores with their teams, not simply “visit”. Retail magic still happens where the team, customer and product collide!

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A really insightful read, a wonderful capture of why great leadership matters. https://lnkd.in/gmBu3Xum

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The Retail Monitor, a monthly survey from CNBC and the National Retail Federation (NRF), found that sales ticked up 0.26% from March to April. NRF CEO Matthew Shay attributed the modest increase to “a growing job market and real gains in wages,” but qualified that “consumers remain focused on value and price and are shifting their spending patterns where needed to make ends meet.” #retailsales #economicgrowth

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There is absolutely NOTHING and I mean this in every way NOTHING a retail leader cannot do. The way we can adapt and act, have such an awareness to others and their feelings. Retail math!!!! Fiscal calendars and all. A communication skill set that is not only direct when needed but eloquent and warm too. It throws any and everything at you at all the most wildest times. I used to laugh “murpheys law” and retail go hand in hand. You’re a payroll specialist an HR generalist, a retail ops leader and most importantly you’re a person, with flaws and if your a true leader you aknowledge that you make Mistakes and teach others to do the same! So blessed that I get to support NSO and Framebridge retail teams because understanding the field and knowing what retail leaders do is the first step to bridging the gap in corporate and the field! 🫶

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As a lifelong retail merchant, I'm going to potentially have a stroke if the retail media continues to report sequential month-over-month results as an indicator of anything. Year-over-year results are indicative of true performance, with the caveat of a shift in a key seasonal event like...I don't know, perhaps Easter...that will impact the natural trends in consumer purchase behavior. In good news, inflation appears to continue to be cooling...good news unless you are trying to convince your buyer that a price increase you took previously should not now be reversed. Good luck with that, by the way... #retailmerchandising #retailsales #inflation

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Celebrating a win for California’s retail safety. Proposition 36 passed! 🎉 Proposition 36 rolls back parts of the controversial Proposition 47. Proposition 47, passed in 2014, was ironically called the “Safer Streets” proposition, even though it was designed to reduce jail overcrowding. It was meant to reverse historic tough-on-crime policies and divert money spent on incarceration to rehabilitation. The crime reform was well-intended but had unintended side effects for organized retail crime prevention. The proposition raised the felony threshold for prosecuting shoplifters to $950. Anyone caught for shoplifting under $950 would be cited with a ticket and released. It wasn’t a strong disincentive for repeat offenders. Ultimately, Prop 47 fueled a surge in commercial burglary (smash & grab) and shoplifting. It’s no surprise that 70.4% of voters approved the new proposition.. Under the new Proposition 36, people found guilty of shoplifting will now be more likely to face felony charges that were previously classified. Shoplifting under $950 is now punishable by up to three years if the offender has “two or more past convictions for certain theft crimes. It also increases potential punishment and jail sentences based on the total amount of goods stolen from prior incidents. Finally, it lengthens felony sentences by up to three years if at least three people jointly commit a theft or property crime or there is property damage. Congrats to all my ORC and LP friends who oversee stores in California! 

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As retail leaders, we all know that recruiting continues to be a challenge, especially given the industry’s high turnover rate. Leaders must find the right fit to represent the brand (and show up every day!), and they also have to structure the jobs and the work environment to retain their best talent. Regardless of the kind of retail business it is, at MOHR Retail, we’ve found that there are three elements of a top candidate: ✔Natural talent ✔Learned skills ✔Acquired knowledge The importance of understanding what the right fit looks like and then asking the right questions and conducting effective interviews is critical. Don’t underestimate the importance of the interview! Our research shows that skillful interviewers lead to better hires and will decrease turnover within the first 90-120 days. To find ongoing success in hiring and retention, it takes an ongoing, multi-pronged approach to maintain a strong pipeline of quality candidates. A good boss, solid training, performance goals/incentives, and a great culture all come from inside the company after the person is chosen. But they’re also what keep the talent pipeline healthy and turnover at a minimum. As a retail leader, you need to have a comprehensive strategy in place that prioritizes recruitment and addresses retention factors that keep the top talent engaged with your business. What recruitment techniques have worked well for your company? #LearnMOHR #RetailTraining #Recruitment

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Sales dipped and profits were lower for Dillard’s, whose CEO expressed disappointment in the Little Rock-based retailer’s performance. Dillard’s reported Thursday (Aug. 15) revenue of $1.514 billion in the second quarter compared to $1.597 billion in last year’s second quarter. Analysts projected second-quarter revenue at $1.53 billion. #retailsales #earningsreport #departmentstores

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If It Ain't Fixed Don't Broke It Macy's announced another round of 150 store closures 3 years after closing 100 stores The closures and layoffs are part of a streamlining effort to better align with the ever changing consumer and marketplace Best Buy is closing 15 stores in 2024 after closing 25 stores in 2023. Additionally, Geek Squad layoffs abound as Best Buy expands the use of A.I. New Gap CEO, Richard Dickson, has stated that marketing has lost sight of the differentiation between its Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Athleta brands Three large struggling companies with similar turnaround strategies Cut costs, improve inventory mix, align symmetries, yada yada yada One thing these companies never talk about? How do we improve the lot for our employees? How do we get our employees to care? How do we get our remaining employees engaged in our success when all we've done is beat them down Okay, that was 3 things, but you get the point Companies don't know how to engage their employees, and they don't care Why should they? The Institution of Leadership has not moved the employee engagement needle since the 1990’s, which is surprising since the same tired old solutions have been recycled as new for decades Servant Leadership hasn't improved engagement Authentic Leadership hasn't improved engagement Emotional Intelligence hasn't improved engagement The Point? Just because others continue to fail to improve employee engagement doesn't mean it can't be done Better ideas, higher engagement It really is that simple The Illusion of Competence #leadership #innovation #tech #management #emotionalintelligence

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According to National Retail Federation's Jack Kleinhenz, Ph.D., despite key factors in retail and consumer such as trade, immigration, regulation, tax and spending policies, "there is good reason to expect healthy economic growth in 2025". Read on below for more from Chain Store Age's Marianne Wilson: https://lnkd.in/gTVqUZCQ

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The state of the consumer in 2024 is already taking shape — even before the country’s major retailers begin to report first-quarter earnings, starting with Home Depot and Walmart next week. There are signs that the U.S. consumer is still spending, especially on experiences. But stubbornly high prices are squeezing consumers with lower incomes, pressuring everyday purchases and corporate profits. #retailsales #consumerinsights

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In the segments covered by Retail Dive, retail sales in May rose 4.5% year over year, with e-commerce surging 6.4%, according to numbers released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Commerce. #retailsales

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This release is a big deal! It allows for much greater and easier customization of prioritization logic of missions for store and field leaders. Take a closer look, and I think you’ll realize that Quorso is a game changer for retailers to help their field teams identify and prioritize activities that would otherwise fall between the cracks.

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One of the primary aspects of the retail store leader’s role is helping associates maximize their own potential and performance. Your leadership training needs to address the issues of associate engagement and motivation. Here are four leadership best practices from MOHR Retail research that we’ve seen drive success: ▶Goals: When sharing goals, leaders should communicate both what’s “expected” (standards) and what “exceptional” looks like. The range helps associates know what’s required and what to shoot for in terms of service, sales, or procedures. ▶Communication: Every store leader needs to know to listen to the other person’s voice more than their own. Communication will feel a lot more connected and engaging to associates when they’re allowed to participate in the message. ​​▶Growth: Leaders need to develop people at all levels, not just the new people. Experienced associates want to keep learning and growing, and giving them that opportunity keeps them committed to staying with you. ▶Celebration: Celebration that is frequent and impromptu is important. Don’t just wait for the annual review or major milestones. Even small, unexpected celebrations can build confidence and enthusiasm. Don’t discount the importance of these essential interpersonal aspects. They can and should be developed as part of your store leadership training strategy. Not sure where to start? Message me so we can chat! #LearnMOHR #RetailLeadership #RetailTraining

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