RetailReady’s Post

Friday Thought - Ask the Customer! 🎠 Customer Feedback and Our Little 'Heads of Product'! 🎠 I wanted to share a video from my recent shopping center adventure with my two little explorers. 🚀 🎪 As they spun around on that colorful carousel, it got me thinking about our work here at Clearhill , just like this merry-go-round, our business revolves around our customers. 🎠 Their feedback is our compass, guiding us toward excellence. 👦👧 And speaking of direction, let me introduce our "Heads of Product": my two kiddos! 🚀👑 They've taken their roles seriously, analyzing every detail of our services. 🔍 So, next time you visit your local Shopping location, look out for the FunHub powered by Clearhill sticker, keep an eye out for the pint-sized consultants. Are they having fun? #CustomerFeedback #HeadsOfProduct #CarouselMagic #FeedbackLoop *Disclaimer: No horses were harmed during this carousel ride.* 🎠😉

Remember Foxtrot? The upscale corner store with a unique selection of products? Well, if you haven’t heard, they recently closed all of their stores and it was pretty abrupt. So what does that mean for the Foxtrot employees, featured brands, and investments? Head over to my blog to hear my thoughts on Foxtrot closing. https://buff.ly/4caj9bx Did you have a chance to shop in Foxtrot before their closure? Let me know in the comments. #foxtrotmarket #favoritedaughterfavoritethings #favoritedaughter

"Brand extension is all about finding opportunities, building relationships, and getting to know your fans. But balancing everything can be tough, especially without enough time or budget for market research. That’s where Skew comes in! We've designed Skew's Haul events to be a one-day masterclass tailored to your brand challenge. Come spend a day in London with us and discover a whole new way to work." - Oliver Dyer, MD of Skew. Find out more about how Skew’s Haul retail masterclass can help your brand 🔗 in the comments. 🛍️ Skew's London Retail Masterclass 🗓️ 10th September 2024 📍 London #brandlicensing #licensing #brandextension

I visited my first Foxtrot last year while in Chicago and absolutely loved it! I'm curious to see what will happen (if anything) for this brand. If you're interested to learn more about Foxtrot and/or its recently merger with Dom's Market, check out the Special Features and Small Operation sections of CSNews.com

🚨 Major Move in the C-Store Industry 🚨 Couche-Tard’s acquisition of GetGo’s 270 C-stores marks a significant consolidation in the convenience store sector, particularly in the mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions. This deal underscores the importance of strong food service and loyalty programs in today's competitive market. As more companies prioritize customer experience through innovative offerings, the implications for store operations, customer loyalty, and market share could be profound. Looking forward to seeing how this acquisition shapes the future landscape of convenience retail. Thoughts? #ConvenienceStores #RetailIndustry #Acquisition #CustomerExperience #LoyaltyPrograms #CStoreNews #MarketTrends #RetailInnovation

The news of Foxtrot's closure last week was devastating and my deepest empathy goes out to all those affected—to the employees, the brands, and all who partnered in bringing the retail concept to life, many of whom are my customers, peers, and friends. For me, personally, this has been the loss of a fellow pioneer. Since starting Pop Up Grocer in 2019, barely a day has gone by without the retailer coming up in conversation. Foxtrot was by our side in supporting emerging brands—often times, like us, serving as their very first shelf. Larger retailers have extremely high barriers to entry and independent stores have limited reach—these brands need somewhere of meaningful impact to go, quickly. And while their failure, for many, will simply help draw the conclusion that “small format”, “premium convenience,” and “emerging brand-first” doesn’t work. Or, as I’ve seen commentary here, “a lack of product/market fit,” I respectfully and sorely disagree. One must look closer. For us, I won’t pretend to be without challenges—the market has significantly changed since our start five years ago and this has impacted our brand partners as well as our own costs of doing business. But, we believe very much in the opportunity to serve these emerging brands and to provide a much-desired and unique experience for our customers—now, more than ever. If you are a brand looking for a shelf with high visibility, I hope you will reach out. And if you are interested in joining us in this pursuit—as an investor or other strategic partner—I would love to connect. 

Can you believe we’ve made it to the last month of the year? December is the perfect time to pause and reflect on the journey so far. Every step forward, every challenge faced, and every small win – they all matter. For me, it’s been a year of growth, lessons, and unexpected victories. If you’re anything like me, you’ve had your share of ups and downs, but look at how far we’ve come! Here’s a look at some of our highlights from November: 🌟 360clean started a new partnership with Greystar's Elan Madison Yards, managing all cleaning and on-demand property services through VendorCall. 🌟 Completed on-demand services for retail partners Lacoste, Zara, and Charlotte Russe. 🌟 Onboarded 319 vendors in pilot cities: Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Austin, and Houston. 🌟 Began development on Velari, our AI Property Services Assistant that will revolutionize how property services are booked and managed. There’s still time to make moves, push boundaries, and close this year with purpose. So, let’s do it together: ✔ Celebrate your wins – big or small. ✔ Reflect on what worked and what didn’t. ✔ Set one intentional goal to crush before the year ends. What’s one thing you’re proud of this year, and one goal you’re excited to finish in December? Let’s inspire each other and make December count! #KeepPushing #FinishStrong #CelebrateWins #DecemberGoals #OnwardAndUpward

Lockersfirst video interview with Vytautas A. - Vice President of the Vinted Go Check out how Vinted Go is shaking up last-mile delivery with their cool, cost-saving parcel lockers. In this chat, Vytautas A. spills the knowledge on what users really want, and how they're making delivery more eco-friendly. Plus, we dive into whether out-of-home delivery is really better than the old-school ways. Our full interview is here - https://lnkd.in/dh9aFf68 What you can learn from this interview: ☑️ Vinted Go prioritizes cost efficiency and aims to manage a network with fewer resources, contrasting traditional carriers. ☑️ User preferences show a strong inclination towards lockers over home delivery due to reliability and convenience. ☑️ Vinted Go's strategy includes leveraging data to optimize locker locations for maximum convenience and efficiency. Our company, Parcel Locker Central , leads #innovation within #logistics, transforming #lastmile #delivery with our expertise in #parcellockers and  #smartlockers. Keep your finger on the pulse of industry innovation by following Parcel Locker Central and Andre Veskimeister #VintedGo #Vinted #LastMileDelivery #Logistics #Ecommerce #Sustainability #Innovation #DeliverySolutions #AutomatedLogistics

The Gearflow journey started 6 years ago when Ben Preston decided to leave his high-flying career in advertising tech to jump into the nascent world of construction tech. What we knew then as first-time entrepreneurs could be described as seeing the very tip of the iceberg of knowledge we would need to gain. A wise person said at the time, "if you knew all the problems you'll face, you'd never start." From a dream and our savings accounts, we kept building day in and day out. Many times we were wrong, tired, and disappointed. But the fire inside just grew. We pushed ourselves to do it better next time and keep going. We challenged each other's thoughts daily, then backed each other ferociously when a decision was made. The seemingly easy part of building construction parts commerce software where none exists today is the perception is that the user experience must be easy to nail. When, paradoxically, the bar for ease-of-use is high BECAUSE offline is standard. So, as with all great things, it takes time and an amazing team. Here's Ben rightly giving credit to the amazing people creating magic daily. If the first 6 years sometimes felt like we were fighting the waves ("this will never work," "I don't need this," "you guys are nuts"), my gut is that the next 6 years will be defined by our ability to ride the coming waves.