"Workers at the first Apple store in the US to have unionized, in Towson, Maryland, have voted to authorize a strike as progress in bargaining for a first contract has stagnated.
Oh shit, Sam Ash music stores are all closing. Literally the end of an era; they've been around for 100 years!
Most of us who've been doing this music thing for years have bought something from a Sam Ash store in person or online at some point. Pore one out, I guess...
Another small business that went from doing well to nearly bankrupt by partnering with Amazon.
"[we sent] five pallets of product to Amazon over the holiday season and they delayed receipt into their warehouses for nearly three months as our products were not a priority for their holiday sales... we ran out of stock on almost all our listings, subscribe and save couldn't be filled, #Amazon cancelled people's orders without explanation..." https://www.helpforibs.com/news/newsletter/24/amazon-weve-left.html
In the continuing saga of John Lewis Partnership's struggle to restore economic health & to retain its vaunted partnership culture, the replacement for Sharon White (who is stepping down after being the shortest serving chair in the Partnership's history), is a veteran of..... Tesco.
Jason Tarry, will take up the Chair after over 30 years of working for the supermarket ending up as England & NI CEO.
He's said he's 'long been an admirer of the employee-ownership model'... hmmm
Retailers are selling digital ads for third parties more than ever before. It's now a $50 billion industry.
"Amazon dominates #retail media, taking in about three-quarters of all ad dollars. 'Advertising has a [profit] margin of something like 30 to 40%, so at least 10 times as much as they earn on the products they sell'"
This on top of vulture capitalists forcing the closing of Bed, Bath and Beyond. Local businesses were killed for the box stores and now there isn't anything left to replace them. 2/3
Pop music oldies from 50 years ago are really showing staying power.
I got to "play hooky" and had a day off work today. Went to the mall, and heard Rasputin by Bony M, and some Supertramp song, playing in the mall sound system.
It occurred to me how old those songs are now. That would've been like me hearing big band music at the mall growing up... which never happened. Even the elevator muzak was more contemporary back then.
The head of The Body Shop Canada Ltd. says it's seeking creditor protection because its parent company stripped its Canadian arm of cash and pushed it into debt.
In a move that will disappoint a certain generation of customers, it looks like the #BodyShop's new #privateequity owners have decided that the UK #retail chain has no future & will be calling the administrators for the part of the business.
The means the Body Shop is likely to become an online only brand... a not altogether unpredicted development given the difficulties the shops had been having.
Nonetheless, strikes me as a bit of a 'moment' for many UK high streets.
We need #retail in cities because shops give life to streets and neighborhoods. But in the age of Amazon, how does a small retailer make an urban store work? Increasingly by using it as a place for experience and introduction and connecting with customers through wholesale and e-commerce. Sales pitch: Try our chai tea. If you like it, you’ll see it on restaurant menus and you can buy it online. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/01/business/retail-entrepreneurship-new-york.html#CRE
The British Retail Consortium's quick data on January #retail sales confirms that as sales growth (of 1.2%) continues to lag #inflation (4%) we continue to see a squeeze/decline on sales volumes;
as this indicates, the #costofloivingcrisis (or as I prefer the crisis of #enforcedpoverty) is still driving down actual spending power for individuals.
We are still buying less, although spending more on what we do buy.
For consumers, this is what #recession looks like, whatever the formal GDP data
“stores are now testing a security tool that lets customers use their cell phone to unlock products on the shelf. It’s essentially self-service for unlocking display cases — in exchange for a customer’s phone number.”
"Deliberately grounded on a tiny reef in the #SouthChinaSea, part of an island chain claimed by the two Asian countries, the #BRPSierraMadre is now the unlikely base for a detachment of Filipino marines who stand guard over the atoll, scanning the turquoise waters for Chinese ships." #AyunginShoal#SecondThomasShoal#Philippines