I was talking to a lower-level Circuit City exec in Richmond, Virginia, around 2001-02. He had just left the company. He shall remain nameless, mostly because I can’t remember his name! Wait, back on subject. So I am chatting with this fellow, and ask about the Alan McCullough era atMORE HERE
The brand Marimekko, so popular across the world in the 1960s and 70s, has returned to retail. Here, a look at their store in South Beach, Miami. It’s a full concept store, and its right off Lincoln Road. Visit them at marimekkomiami.biz. Marimekko was founded in 1951 by Armi andMORE HERE
It looks like Wal-Mart has become the museum of Great American Brand Names. Need a Vassarette undergarment? There it is, on the shelves, just like it’s 1942! For the last four years, Wal-Mart has sold Grapette soda. It sells the soda as a sub-brand of the Sam’s Choice store brand.MORE HERE
We wish the greatest and oldest corporation in North America well. Founded in 1670, Hudson’s Bay company was once the government in Canada. The importance of the company to Canada would be as if the Virginia Company that founded the Virginia Colony had survived as a department store! Imagine that.MORE HERE
Many companies, large and small, are faced with the idea that a brand name might die off, might have died off or be struggling. At right, the logo for the venerable department store Abraham & Straus. The original A&S store in Brooklyn is still open, but it is now aMORE HERE
There was a time when Sears ruled the world of sporting goods, and brands like Ted Williams and Sears Yachtsman were seen as prestige. At right, a Sears Yachtsman logo and shield sewn onto a Sears life vest. This attic find looks cool and stylish as ever, even though itMORE HERE
Ever since it closed in 2005, folks have missed the Bermudian department store Trimingham’s. Fodor’s 1961 Guide to the Caribbean, Bahamas and Bermuda stated that the store had a “wide selection of bargains including doe-skin gloves, perfume, English handbags and Indian Madras sportswear.” At the time, Bermuda prices were soMORE HERE
Easy to Pair. Fun to Wear. That’s the simple premise of Garanimals. And they are back this February 2008 at Wal-Mart. It’s the perfect brand to bring back. The public knows the brand story. Its simple; match the animals, and the clothes match. The line was founded in 1972, thoughMORE HERE
Perhaps the most famous revived brand in the U.S. is Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF). The company was once an old-line sporting goods company selling guns and tents to presidents and such. Today, American mall-goers are so mesmerized by the half-naked teens of today’s Abercrombie that we forget that it wasMORE HERE
The news that Sears wants to buy Restoration Hardware shows that the venerable retailer is in desperate search of growth after its merger with Kmart. While merging the two retailers might not be a bad idea, the reality is that Sears Holding Corp. (Nasdaq: SHLD) needs its current crop ofMORE HERE