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.

“How Dick’s Sporting Goods Built a $13.7 Billion Business by Putting Community First” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor Blog

by admin | Feb 4, 2026 | Brick & Mortar, Community, Customer Experience, News, Opinion, Outdoor, Resources, Retail Strategy

“It’s Never Just a Baseball Glove”: The Story That Shaped Dick’s Culture Dick’s Sporting Goods built a $13.7 billion business by treating every customer as a human being first and a transaction second. At NRF’s Big Show this past...

“Intelligent Retail: Mastering Agentic AI” by Sarah Holbrook via The Robin Report

by admin | Jan 28, 2026 | Artificial Intelligence / CHAT GPT, Data Driven Performance, News, Opinion, Predictions, Resources

Agentic AI is an amorphous catchall that is tricky to define but managed to eclipse any other discourse at the recent 2026 NRF Big Show. Brands including LVMH, Home Depot, Warby Parker, Target, and others discussed their understanding of an Agentic AI future. They...

“How The North Face, Vans and Timberland are trying to transform their businesses in 2026” by Julia Waldow via Modern Retail

by admin | Jan 15, 2026 | Industry, News, Opinion, Outdoor, Predictions, Skateboard, Story Telling

The North Face Apparel and outdoors giant VF Corp is revealing more details of its growth playbooks for three of its core brands: The North Face, Vans and Timberland. The company, which recently reported a 2% rise in revenue for its second fiscal quarter,...

“How to Develop Retail Managers From Within” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor Blog

by admin | Jan 7, 2026 | Brick & Mortar, HR, Opinion, Resources, Sales Training

Your store manager is buried. They’re unpacking boxes at 6 AM, fixing the display that nobody else can seem to get right, covering a call-out on the register, and trying to squeeze in interviews for the third assistant manager who quit this year. Meanwhile,...

“How Retailers Can Mobilize for Peak Season: A Holiday Readiness Checklist” by Joel Mathew via Total Retail

by admin | Dec 17, 2025 | Brick & Mortar, Holiday, Opinion, Resources

Credit: Getty Images by Caiaimage/Paul Bradbury With holiday 2025 in full swing, retailers must ensure their technology and operations can support rising demand and higher consumer expectations. This comes at a time when mobile technology is emerging as the critical...

“Why small businesses must go narrow (extremely narrow) to survive – The path to success runs through radical specialization” by Faisel Hoque via Fast Company

by admin | Dec 15, 2025 | Customer Experience, Customer Loyalty, News, Opinion, Resources, Retail Strategy

A few blocks from my home sits a small Japanese grocery store that has been in the neighborhood for years. It’s the kind of place that once felt irreplaceable—carefully sourced ingredients, shelves stocked with items I couldn’t find in mainstream supermarkets, and an...