RETAILOBSERVER.COM OCTOBER 2015
4
Eliana Barriga
eliana@retailobserver.com
Bring it on!
Elle's View As I See It
T
his is our 100th issue! We took over The Retail Observer in 2007 and before
we were able to put away our party hats, the economy crashed. Since then,
we have watched the industry undergo a complete metamorphosis.
Some of you may know that before caterpillars morph into butterflies, their
bodies literally "melt" almost completely inside their cocoons. Then the new body
of the butterfly is formed pulling from this nutrient rich soup of enzymes. Crazy,
but it's true!
And this is exactly what manufacturers did to survive when the economy
crashed. They cocooned into R&D and began building and investing in products
for the future, so they would be ready to come out in splendor when the economy
turned around. That's why the marketplace is now experiencing a rebirth of
exciting, new, colorful, product lines.
And savvy retailers did the same thing. Instead of becoming frozen and
paralyzed from the sudden drop in sales, they cleaned up their operations so that
they could run more efficiently and still turn a profit. Most importantly, they
upgraded outdated systems, implemented new sales technology and got more
connected with their existing customers online, learning how to market to the
Millennials in this fast paced, high-tech cyber world.
We now find ourselves rounding the corner in 2015. And depending on who
you talk to, the prognosis that our economy has fully recovered or that we may be
limping into another meltdown; either way, the businesses that are thriving today
are not the same as they were in 2007. They have been transformed and are
stronger and more resilient than ever before.
And we are just as ready to share in this changing landscape we call "retail"
with you for another 100 issues.
METAMORPHOSIS:
Changing the retail landscape
OCTOBER 2015, VOLUME 26, ISSUE 10
CELEBRATING OUR 26
TH
YEAR
AS THE RETAIL OBSERVER
PUBLISHER/MANAGING EDITOR
E LIANA BARRIGA
DIRECTOR OF SALES AND MARKETING
MOE LASTFOGEL
ART DIRECTOR
TERRY PRICE
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
BILL BAZEMORE
RANDY CARNEY
AUBREY DANIEL
JIM SENDRAK
DOUG STEWART
JOHN TSCHOHL
E LLY VALAS
LIBBY WAGNER
JOHN WHITE
DEADLINE FOR DEC. 2015 ISSUE:
NOVEMBER 1, 2015
THE RETAIL OBSERVER
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