From the pages of Images Retail (July 2009)

The end of isolation – World Retail Congress
Giving the keynote address at the global retail meet last month (May 6-8), retail veteran Marvin Traub, former President and CEO of Bloomingdales, said: "Great merchants will have the courage to try new strategies. Now is not the time to shy away from innovation and uniqueness."

Traub, who led the transformation of Bloomingdales between 1950 and 1991, said: "This is the most difficult and challenging time the industry has ever faced… The issue is survival and survival and success is about leadership."

Fellow keynote speaker Jim Stengel, CEO of Jim Stengel LLC and former Global Marketing Officer of Procter & Gamble, echoed the view of a "fundamental shift in consumer behaviour".

"This is not a weather change. This is climate change," he said, adding that while consumer confidence is returning, spending is not increasing. "A recessionary mindset has taken hold," he said.

Stengel set out five principles for "turning ripples of opportunity into waves of growth." These were: stand for something that matters; play a deeper and more important role in consumers’ lives; focus on ownership not purchase; cultivate smart and savvy shoppers; and create joint value for retailers and brands.

Stengel said that enhancing retail experience is an area where suppliers and retailers can work together. "Understand the shopper in ways that only suppliers and retailers do," he advised, urging suppliers and retailers and suppliers to work collaboratively, based on "a deeper, shared understanding and shared goals."


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