Below you will find helpful and relevant articles that we carefully curate for the benefit of our B.R.A. Retail Members almost every day. Be sure to scroll through the most recent article or use the Search/Lookup feature to find topics and keywords related to articles that may help you to lower costs, increase margins or create more remarkable customer experiences.
by admin | Apr 14, 2025 | Apparel /Fashion, Brick & Mortar, Industry, News, Opinion, Political Action, Retail Economy, Retail Strategy
The $8+ trillion retail industry is the backbone of the American economy and like all industries, success in retail relies on the presence of orderly strategies and planning disciplines. It’s difficult enough to accommodate the ever-changing landscape of consumer...
by admin | Apr 12, 2025 | Competitions, Opinion, Surf
The Italo effect is undeniable. The chains, the hair, the cars. When he launches into the air, arms windmilling in celebration, a tsunami of opinions crashes across social media. Love and hate in equal measure – nothing in between. It’s the same with Medina. Three...
by Doug Works | Apr 10, 2025 | Community, Industry, News, Resources, Retail Strategy, Skateboard, Snowboard, SUP, Surf, Trade Shows
Image of a vintage copy of The Surfer Quarterly over from when an issue only cost $.75 courtesy of Surfer Mag SAN DIEGO — CARV Expo, taking place June 20–22 at the San Diego Convention Center, will bring together board sports brands, retailers, athletes, media, and...
by admin | Apr 8, 2025 | Brick & Mortar, Governmental Affairs, News, Resources, Retail Economy, Retail Strategy, Sales Training
All retail chains face a brutal reality in 2025. Your margins are under attack from three directions: Promotion addiction: Your marketing team runs flash sales that train customers to wait for discounts, delivering temporary revenue spikes but permanent margin erosion...
by admin | Apr 6, 2025 | Brick & Mortar, Community, News, Retail Strategy, Retail Technologies, Surf
Hi, I’m Cheyne Cottrell, General Manager and Co-Owner of Island Water Sports. My family has been riding the waves of the surf retail industry since 1977. This is my short story of how we navigated decades of challenges and expanded into new opportunities. I’ve also...
by admin | Apr 4, 2025 | Industry, News, Opinion, Predictions, Retail Economy
Stocks tanked, a major U.S. bank upped its risk of a recession to 60%, and brand executives scrambled Thursday to come up with a plan to respond to the severe tariffs announced Wednesday by the Trump administration. Paul Naude, the CEO of surf and...
by admin | Apr 2, 2025 | Artificial Intelligence / CHAT GPT, Brick & Mortar, Customer Experience, Customer Service, HR, m-commerce, Resources, Retail Strategy, Social Media
I shared a story last month about a visit to Saks where associates were too engrossed in their smartphones to look up at shoppers. A friend commented they had the same experience and when they asked the manager, they were told, “Oh, they’re clienteling.” First, I...
by admin | Mar 30, 2025 | Holiday, News, Outdoor, Snowboard
Strap in, ’cause here we go. Photo: Andrew Miller//Mammoth Mountain ollowing a brief respite of high pressure that teased summer in western North America, a powerful winter storm is set to dump up to three feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada over the next...
by admin | Mar 28, 2025 | Apparel /Fashion, HR, Industry, News, Retail Crime, Retail Strategy, Retail Technologies
Let’s be honest – when it comes to retail fraud, the online world grabs all the attention – and probably justifiably so. Last year, losses stemming from internet shopping scams and duplicity approached $400 million, according to statistics from the Better Business...
by Doug Works | Mar 26, 2025 | Brick & Mortar, News, Resources, Retail Strategy
Retailers often think that the next boost in their business is going to come from finding the next amazing line of merchandise, or discovering a new marketing tool (the next Facebook?). Sometimes they believe it will happen because they hire a killer...
