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
Whatever happened to Carroll Reed? It’s a question many East Coast folks have been asking since the ski-focused clothing chain shut down. At one time, there were 54 stores. The Carroll Reed Ski Shops Inc. was started, not by some matronly woman, but by Carroll Purinton Reed, a clever entrepreneurMORE HERE
The news on RadioShack Corp. is not good. Sales are down in the current quarter by 15 percent, and the Fort Worth, Texas retailer has closed hundreds of stores. Wall Street has all sorts of answers for why this Corner Electronic Geekfest Gathering Spot is failing, and they wonder whyMORE HERE
Some stores can be brand archeology exhibits. While market researchers admire Vermont Country Store, of course, another is Walgreen’s, if only because it is usually next door, and has prescriptions and film. The store itself is proof that providing odd, seemingly outmoded products for strange, unfashionable consumers is quite aMORE HERE
While Woolworth is still alive in Mexico, Bahrain, Oman, South Africa, the U.K. and Germany, Americans have had to go to eBay to get anything related to Woolworth’s. And that’s not only a pity, it’s a lost opportunity for struggling Foot Locker, the company that killed the brand off inMORE HERE
Kmart hasn’t given up on Blue Light yet. The height of 70s tacko became a dot-com story with Bluelight.com. Kmart seems to be terribly sensible about what to do about the legacy of Blue Light Specials. No longer does a harried store manager need to run around with display signsMORE HERE