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 6, 2025 | BRA Community Partners, Community, Customer Experience, Customer Loyalty, Industry
How to Start a Fundraising Program and Make a Difference | Credit: Getty Images by Peter Dazeley In today’s world, retail companies are faced with intense competition and are constantly seeking ways to differentiate themselves from their competitors. One...
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 | 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 | 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 26, 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 Doug Works | Mar 24, 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...
by admin | Mar 22, 2025 | Community, Competitions, Industry, News, Olympics, Surf
Caroline Marks thinks USA Surfing should still guide surfing’s Olympic future. Photo: ISA A power struggle is brewing behind the scenes of Olympic surfing in the United States. As the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) opens an application process...
by admin | Mar 20, 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 admin | Mar 18, 2025 | Brick & Mortar, Clearance Sales / Discounting, Governmental Affairs, News, Opinion, Retail Economy, Retail Strategy, Sales Training
I don’t care what side of politics you are on, the new administration in its first month in office unleashed waves of uncertainty surrounding the continued funding of federal grants, the work of federal employees and tariffs. With many retailers already...
by admin | Mar 16, 2025 | Community, Competitions, Governmental Affairs, News, Opinion, Predictions, Surf
So how’d ya know it was gonna be like this? in this part of the world? Photo: Marcus Paladino A growing number of mainstream news headlines these days have been heralding what appears to be the current executive branch’s systematic dismantling of myriad federal...
