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Polo and Penney's will prosper in spite of American Living blunder

January 20, 2010

Analysis of:Polo Ralph Lauren profit drops | www.marketwatch.com

American Living has not been, and will not be, the win both RL and JCP had hoped for.Fortunately, Polo has grown its top-line while most other luxury players have shrunk in the last 2 years. Penney's is positioned to capitalize on consumer frugality.

Pacific Sunwear New Management Continues Flawed Strategy

January 5, 2010

Analysis of:PacSun Names Cameron New Marketing Chief | www.wwd.com

Today's announcement reinforces the company's focus on the 15-24 year-old customer. The company's success was built on a customer focus of 12-17 year-olds.

Ken Hicks is JCPs secret weapon

April 17, 2008

Analysis of:JCPenney chief merchant named to board | www.retailingtoday.com

Operating under the radar in the shadows of industry greats like Allen Questrom and Mike Ullman, Ken Hicks has been the guy who brings the theme "every day matters" to life as an executive. He takes the vision of these great leaders and translates it into the strategies and tactics that have helped Penney's evolve from a sleepy giant to an energetic industry leader.

Penney's/Ralph Lauren partnership looking like bad timing.

January 23, 2008

Analysis of:Polo Ralph Lauren profit drops | www.marketwatch.com

- Impending American Living launch with Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL); higher prices in the face of a down turn. - New Store opening initiative; they're all in newly developed areas hardest hit by the sub-prime bust. - Hollywood writers’ strike could derail the Academy Awards broadcast. Penney’s is the lead sponsor & plans to launch American Living on this broadcast.

How can more change improve the situation?

January 22, 2008

Analysis of:Sears to break into several companies | money.cnn.com

- Separating the brands from Sears & KMart will only be a benefit if the retail organizations go down altogether. - Excessive change at Sears Holdings is a large part of the problem today.     

Change in marketing strategy mostly "me too"

May 29, 2007

Analysis of:Federated revamps marketing plan | www.retailingtoday.com

- JCP has become Macy's biggest competitor in many product categories following the Federated/May merger. They launched a rebranding campaign earlier this year.   - The hemoraging of former May Co. customers has rendered the Macy's marketing model of heavy emphasis on direct mail promotion ineffective to grow the customer base.

URBN getting it's Groove back

May 15, 2007

Analysis of:Urban Outfitters new business strength offsets weather issues denting comps | www.wgsn.com

URBN got off track in 2005 and 2006 with rapid expansion into the mall space. Products became more "suburban" and strayed from the DNA of the Urban Outfitters & Anthropology brands. From looking at recent comps and the store assortments, they have found themselves again. The URBN strategy of incorporating Home products into an apparel specialty environment is unique and allows them to shift emphasis as merchandising cycles occur. The fact that their comps are strengthening while the industry is weakening is especially encouraging in light of the VERY weak Home Furnishings market; driven down by the housing/mortgage industry woes.

More Positioning than Profit at JCP

March 26, 2007

Analysis of:JCPenney, Chip & Pepper launch new line | www.retailingtoday.com

- Penney's ( JCP )needs to add credibility to its denim mix.
- Arizona is becoming a tired and highly promotional brand.
- Timing is more important than the best name.

Kohl's well positioned for battle with JCP

March 7, 2007

Analysis of:Kohl's ceo 'very pleased' with results | www.retailingtoday.com

- Kohl's has clearly benefited more than JCP from the Federated/May merger.
- Both JCP and Kohl's gaining Gross Margin leverage from increased private brand and exclusive brand penetration to their total businesses.

Polo does it again!

March 7, 2007

Analysis of:Richemont, Polo to Create Jewelry Line | www.wwd.com

- Polo has historically licensed categories it does not have the technical expertise to design and source.
- Polo RL has recently been buying back its licenses and bringing design and production in-house to drive greater sales and earnings. Often this has been through aggressive business tactics like the forced take-back of the Polo Jeans brand from Jones Apparel Group.

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