Plenty of companies compete on price and features. How do you keep demanding customers coming back for more? Pottery Barn's secret for growth in a brutally competitive business: "Our brand is a state of mind," says one top executive. "And customers can make it their own."READ MORE›
From Pottery Barn to the feel of a room at the W Hotel to finding just the right gift at RedEnvelope, Hilary Billings has mastered the art of creating "lifestyle brands" -- products and services that forge an emotional connection with customers.READ MORE›
Plenty of companies compete on price and features. How do you keep demanding customers coming back for more? Pottery Barn's secret for growth in a brutally competitive business: Our brand is a state of mind," says one top executive. "And customers can make it their own."READ MORE›
"We Decided to Merchandise Raised Toilet Seats in the Same Way You'd Merchandise Lamp Fixtures at Pottery Barn." Can Take Good Care Make Hip Replacements Hip?
"What a drag it is, getting old," whined Mick Jagger in 1966. What a drag, ...READ MORE›
1988 - The shopping mall is a big hit. Suburban sprawl leads to malls in every corner you look. 2008 - As malls have fallen from favor (see deadmalls.com), new renovations spring up to make malls more of an entertainment ...READ MORE›
Google has just added a nifty little 'blue dot' feature to its mobile Shopping search engine. Anyone with either an iPhone, Palm WebOS phone, or any Android-powered device will be able to discover immediately if the item they're ...READ MORE›
It's the nation's busiest distribution center. And its concentration of trucks, trains, forklifts, and planes keeps all kinds of stuff - and the economy - on the move.READ MORE›
If you think that the stock market is where the action is today, you're missing out on the hottest, most important market in the new economy.READ MORE›
The Mitchell Gold Co. is bringing overdue change to an out-of-touch industry: home furniture. But unlike so many other mavericks, its primary competitive weapon isn't the Internet. Instead, the company is deploying a smart sense of design.READ MORE›
Lots of companies are now discovering what Target, Pottery Barn, BMW, and Apple knew all along: Great design is a strategic advantage in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
That's good news for folks comfortable with the ...READ MORE›
Brandweek reports "nearly 9 out of ten men who wear fragrances believe some form of reorganization at the fragrance counter would significantly help them when choosing and purchasing a fragrance."
Amen to that. Although it's not ...READ MORE›
Yesterday the Federal Reserve issued findings from a recent survey of the economy, something it calls the Beige Book (which is totally not code for a new Pottery Barn catalogue). In compiling the report, the Fed slices the country ...READ MORE›
Yesterday I got interviewed by someone who was doing a presentation on work satisfaction for his professional association, a group of people in the travel industry. He asked me if I thought the Gen Ys (those young ones) would stay ...READ MORE›
Carmel, Indiana
I'm shopping at Clay Terrace, an upscale open-air mall in suburban Indianapolis. I find a courtyard with red bistro tables. Ah, a cafe. A lovely place to enjoy the evening, I think--and then I notice that the ...READ MORE›
Last January, we re-connected with Hilary Billings (keep scrolling down!), a customer experience guru who had migrated from Pottery Barn to Red Envelope, the tony, high-touch Web-based gift shop. Billings expressed her concern that ...READ MORE›
Dear Bill,
I know you've been retired from Microsoft's day-to-day operations for about a year now and Steve B. is running the show, but you are still Chairman of the Board and the public identity of Microsoft. That's why I'm writing you, Bill, because Microsoft is still your company and it needs you. Think modified Pottery Barn rule: you own it, you broke it, you fix it. READ MORE›
Admit it: you don't pay always attention to whether the products you buy contain organic cotton or regular cotton. Neither do I, so it's a good thing that major companies are taking it upon themselves to use organic ...READ MORE›
Talk about a lovemark. Arthur Odle and Rebecca Lightfoot, both of Montgomery, Ala., were married in a Starbucks coffee shop last week. The two had met there every morning before work, and Arthur even proposed to Rebecca over coffee. ...READ MORE›
Google has just added a nifty little blue dot feature to its Shopping search feature. Anyone with either an iPhone, Palm WebOS phone, or any Android-powered device will be able to discover immediately if the item they're after is in ...READ MORE›
Norma's restaurant in Le Parker Meridian Hotel in New York recently added a $1,000 frittata to their menu. Featuring six eggs, a lobster tail, and 10 ounces of Sevruga Caviar (which retails for about $64 dollars an ounce at ...READ MORE›
If you want to convince customers to open their wallets, you've got to open your mind to new ways of connecting with them. That's why we set out on a nationwide shopping spree in search of the fearless companies and breakthrough ideas that are reinventing retail. Here's what we found.READ MORE›
What does it mean to be a fast company? How do you know a fast company when you see one? And perhaps most important, Is my company a fast company?
Those are the kinds of questions that you expect to hear when you are the founding ...READ MORE›
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