Quiet Hours for Shopping: How Retailers Aim for Accommodation

07 Wednesday Oct 2026

Posted by in Chapter 17: Store Layout, Design, and Visual Merchandising

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istockphoto / Pressmaster

Some retailers actively work to create excitement and interest by showcasing bright colors, blaring loud and boisterous music, and running constant video feeds. The distracting, noisy environment is, in a sense, the point. But for many shoppers, such environments are distracting, difficult, and even painful. Rather than excitement, they produce confusing, unpleasant experiences, which is the last thing a retailer wants to convey.

Whether consumers exhibit neurodivergent tendencies or simply are sensitive to loud noises and bright, moving displays, many of them have expressed clear preferences for less sensory-intensive, quieter settings. In response, a range of retailers have begun experimenting with sensory-friendly or quiet hours. During select times, the stores turn off display monitors, lower the volume of any music playing (or stop playing any sounds at all), avoid emitting any strong scents (e.g., perfume, cleansers), and even dim the lights.

Sephora is the most recent retailer to announce such an initiative, noting that all of its stores will designate specific hours of sales days as quiet hours. Although the specific times are up to each store, it encourages them to establish calmer environments at least during the first hour or two that they are open on every Tuesday and Saturday. The earliest opening hours will vary, but the novel environmental design will be consistent in stores throughout the country. Before initiating the universal adoption, Sephora tested out this strategy in a select set of 32 stores, which provided it with clear insights into how best to serve customers with sensory sensitivities, even while attempting to sell products that tend to feature strong scents.

It is not the first retailer to adopt the offering though. Walmart began promising sensory-friendly hours several years ago. It also tested the concept before committing to a full rollout. Starting with just one day per week, the experiment proved so popular that in most of its stores, the retail giant offers quiet hours every day, for the first two hours the stores are open. For Walmart, the appeal of such a tactic reflected input from not just customers but employees as well. Employees with hyperactivity, autism, and attention deficit conditions note the very meaningful benefits, in terms of both their productivity and their personal comfort, associated with working mainly during quiet hours.

Some other retailers have begun experimenting with the idea as well, including Target and Chuck E. Cheese. Citing the “overwhelmingly positive” feedback that existing adopters have received in response to their efforts, one observer thus argues that quiet hours are the “future of retail.”

Discussion Questions

  1. Should all retailers adopt the notion of quiet or sensory-friendly hours? Why or why not?
  2. When various sensory elements are quieted, what can retailers do to engage or excite consumers, in a way that leaves them comfortable?

Sources: Sara Moniuszko, “Sensory-Friendly Hours Are Becoming Mainstream. Who Are They For?,” USA Today, July 28, 2026; Drew Pittock, “Sephora Launches Quiet Hours. Here’s What Shoppers Need to Know,” USA Today, July 29, 2026; Gabe Hauari, “Walmart to Start Daily Sensory-Friendly Hours in its Stores this Week: Here’s Why,” USA Today, November 8, 2023.

In the Novel Popcorn Bucket Market, Movie Theaters Confront an Age-Old Challenge: Buying Just the Right Amount

30 Wednesday Sep 2026

Posted by in Chapter 13: Buying Merchandise

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istockphoto / Cavan Images

Blockbuster movies represent cultural events. People flock to be among the first to catch the latest blockbuster, from Marvel and Star Wars films to 2023’s massively successful Barbie movie to 2026’s 70-millimeter extravaganza The Odyssey. So imagine: You’re a movie theater operator, selling a thrilling experience to a vast audience of willing consumers. They’re already in your retail location, and they are accustomed to spending money to enhance their experience with snacks and drinks. What else could you do to earn more of their entertainment budget?

Behold, the collectible popcorn bucket.

Rather than sell popped kernels in conventional paper bags, movie theaters have introduced “collectible concession vessels” that hold moviegoers’ favorite snack in themed, plastic buckets that the fans can take home with them after the credits roll. The first of these collectibles was released in conjunction with the 2019 Star Wars installment, The Rise of the Skywalker. Disney licensed the likeness of the droid R2-D2 to a company called Golden Link, which created a 17-inch version to hold popcorn. It sold well, signaling massive consumer demand. In response, the market expanded, with prices to match. Today, some of the special, limited-edition receptacles retail for up to $70, and resale markets among collectors exhibit even higher prices.

In an attempt to benefit from these opportunities, many studios have entered into partnerships with the three main bucket suppliers currently in existence: Golden Link (which mainly works with Disney), Snap, and Zinc. When these firms win a contract to provide the collectibles for a particular movie, they refer to it with a new verb: They “bucket” the film. The resulting bucketing contracts have proved remarkably popular and lucrative. According to AMC Theaters, buckets associated with the various movies it screens will earn $100 million in revenue in 2026, which is approximately twice the amount it earned in 2023.

A brand new revenue stream, with benefits for multiple members of the supply chain (i.e., bucket suppliers, film studios, and theater chains), seems like a fairy tale. But creating a new retail market also inherently involves challenges, as became abundantly clear in relation to the popcorn buckets for The Odyssey. Snap produced two different versions: a recreation of the 70-millimeter IMAX camera that Christopher Nolan used to shoot the epic and a 22-inch-high Trojan horse, sold for $50 and $70, respectively. Worried that people would not really be interested in the technical details surrounding the camera used for filming the movie, IMAX ordered only 2,500 of this version to stock its U.S. theaters.

It sold out within just 90 minutes. The online orders came in even before the film opened. The theater company then scrambled to find more, requesting the products that had been slated to ship to China (where the movie opened later than in the United States). That shipment of 2,500 more camera buckets sold out in 7 minutes. In the meantime, Snap was busy manufacturing more of the buckets, such that IMAX estimates it has sold 30,000 of the collectibles.

It was fortunate to be able to find an alternative source, to make up for its insufficient estimates of actual demand. On the basis of its experience, other studios and theaters might plan to purchase more. For example, noting the “unbelievable” demand for the buckets that Cinemark Theaters commissioned to commemorate the release of The Devil Wears Prada 2, one executive noted, “If I could do that one over again, I don’t even know if there’s a max I would buy.”

But predicting uncertain market demand, and then ordering an appropriate inventory level in this novel market, remains incredibly difficult, and ordering too much carries its own risks. Good predictive models are not yet available. For example, most analysts have proposed that demand for the collectibles comes mainly from younger, Gen Z consumers. But movies targeting this demographic have been responsible for some notable market failures. The Supergirl movie did not do well in theaters, and neither did its themed bucket, featuring the main character’s canine sidekick. Masters of the Universe also performed pretty poorly in terms of ticket sales, but its bucket outcomes varied: A version depicting Castle Grayskull (designed with a candy compartment and a detachable cup) sold massively, whereas the one made to look like Skeletor’s throne barely moved off theater shelves. Young viewers were the target markets for these films, whereas the popularity of the red, handbag-shaped buckets evoking The Devil Wears Prada sequel actually involved purchases by older women who had enjoyed the first movie when it launched, two decades ago.

The implications of poor buying decisions are critical. If they order too many, theaters are stuck with bulky, excessive inventory that they cannot easily sell, discount, or repurpose. Unlike conventional popcorn bags and paper buckets, the themed containers have a limited time appeal. Once the relevant movie leaves the theater, there’s virtually no more demand for leftover, unpopular vessels.

This challenge also appears likely to become even more pressing, as the bucket suppliers come up with new and more extreme versions. For example, marking a theater rerelease of a Harry Potter movie, filmgoers will encounter a four-foot replica of Harry’s broom, the bottom of which will hold 135 ounces of popcorn. Storing such large containers, in a way that still ensures they are food-safe, represents an ongoing challenge.

Other creative designs create an opposite problem, because in prioritizing the cleverness of the visual design, the resulting containers cannot hold enough popcorn to satisfy hungry filmgoers. Then theaters confront a different problem (or perhaps an opportunity) associated with forcing viewers to leave the film to come get refills of their snacks (and maybe buy something else while they’re there).

All these questions remain to be resolved. Like a good thriller, the twists and turns that have marked the storyline of this new market are holding the interest of a lot of audiences.

Discussion Questions

  1. How should the sellers in this supply chain develop metrics to predict demand for collectible popcorn buckets for different movie releases? What are some of the factors they should take into consideration?
  2. Who should be responsible for dealing with unsold collectible buckets: the supplier, the film studio, or the theater chain? How might these actors establish a fair method among themselves?

Sources: Nicole Sperling, “Salty, Buttery, Astonishingly Lucrative: The $100 Million Market of Popcorn Buckets,” The New York Times, July 23, 2026; Matt Minton, “Popcorn Bucket Craze Pops Off with Skyrocketing Scalper Prices, Director Approvals and Imax’s First-Ever Movie Merch,” Variety, August 3, 2026.

Sears, Where America Shops—Until It Wasn’t

23 Wednesday Sep 2026

Posted by in Chapter 02: Types of Retailers

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istockphoto / LindaJoHeilman

For more than a century, Sears Roebuck was one of the most dominant retailers in the United States. Even well into the 1990s, at a time that its reputation for high-quality clothing and home goods had faded a bit, and direct competition had flooded into the same retail space, Sears was able to pivot and carve out a profitable niche for itself. From appliances to hardware, footwear to home décor, Sears promised that consumers could trust it for all their purchasing needs, building on the security of a decades-long reputation for quality and affordability.

Yet by the end of 2025, only a handful of Sears locations remained, none of which were doing very well. In response, the retailer’s corporate ownership announced plans to close and liquidate the last of the physical holdings, in an attempt to pay off a $1.5 billion loan that it had taken out in its efforts to maintain operations. What went so very wrong?

Most experts agree that the company’s change in ownership in 2005 was a first major mistake. Edward Lampert took over Sears and its subsidiaries, and the initial response was promising. In particular, share prices for the company rose after the new leadership team initiated spending cuts designed to trim away any excess. But it turns out that what they trimmed was less fat and more like vital organs. Lampert implemented expansive sell-offs of once-valuable assets under the company’s umbrella, like Lands’ End, rather than investing further in attempting to turn their performance around. Instead, the executives channeled their budgets to the introduction of an expansive omnichannel program that would support order-ahead and in-store pick-up capabilities. The problem was that by that time, other retailers already had established such capabilities, such that Sears was left scrambling to catch up with the appealing offerings of competitors like Home Depot and Walmart.

In the meantime, Lampert functioned in multiple roles: Sears’ largest shareholder and chair, as well as the CEO of ESL Investments, a hedge fund that served as one of the department store’s major creditors. This status raised some ethical questions, but undeterred, Lampert also founded a real estate holding company called Seritage in 2015. Seritage then entered into a leaseback agreement with Sears, such that it purchased physical stores, infusing the retail business with much-needed cashflow, then leased those stores back to the retail corporation. Again, ethical questions about the potential conflict of interest created by these multiple roles arose, but in its publicly available financial reports, Sears painted a rosy picture. Citing its efforts to unload underperforming assets and its new influx of capital, the retailer offered a positive outlook and promise of improved operations.

Rather than a rosy future though, “there were red flags from the beginning,” according to one market analyst. In retrospect, it is evident that Sears’s financial well-being was shakier than the public disclosures revealed. Sears Canada had just cut more than 1,500 positions, and sales figures continued to plummet. Even with these alarming developments though, the company seemed uninterested in supporting and meeting the needs of its brick-and-mortar stores—an error that failed to account for the historical source of the brand’s value.

For as long as there had been a Sears Roebuck, there had been Sears department stores. Even as it introduced new e-commerce initiatives and delivery options, loyal customers still wanted to visit stores in person and shop in the ways they had long appreciated and embraced. Instead, especially in the years just prior to Sears’ bankruptcy, shoppers increasingly complained about poor store maintenance and inconsistent upkeep. With the ready availability of competitive retail offerings, shoppers chose to look elsewhere, seemingly frustrated by both the conditions of the stores and the failure to acknowledge their nostalgic desire to have the same Sears they knew and trusted.

Discussion Questions

  1. Is it fair to say that Edward Lampert bears most of the responsibility for the decline of Sears? What might be some additional factors that contributed to the decline, out of ownership’s control?
  2. What measures could have been put in place to stop Sears’s losses from compounding?

Sources: Lauren Coleman-Lochner, “Why Sears’s Last Great Hope Was a Promise that Never Materialized,” The New York Times, December 26, 2025; “Sears Canada to Cut More Than 1,600 Jobs,” Reuters, January 15, 2014.

The Global Spread of Chinese Food Trends, from Bubble Tea to Hot Pot and Beyond

16 Wednesday Sep 2026

Posted by in Chapter 09: Retail Site Location

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istockphoto / insjoy

Boba might have bubbled up (sorry) on nearly every U.S. street corner these days, but there was a time, not so long ago, that U.S. consumers eyed bubble tea with a mix of trepidation and confusion. Once they overcame their initial hesitation, and grew accustomed to the unique texture, boba drinkers became a powerful force and a novel retail market. Its emergence seemingly is inspiring other food retailers to pursue a similar path and introduce unfamiliar recipes and presentation styles to a willing consumer public.

Many of these initiatives involve Chinese sellers. China’s food and beverage market has become largely saturated and defined by price competition. The competition among large-scale suppliers to provide the most affordable product pricing has left them facing thin margins and struggling to survive. In need of a new source of demand, U.S. consumers’ evolving palates seem to present a ready opportunity.

Accordingly, Luckin Coffee stores have popped up throughout New York City, as have HeyTea shops. The tea chain also has piloted stores in several additional markets; two locations in Houston, Texas, have reported notable success. The Wallace restaurant chain opened its first U.S. location in California, positioning its popular fried chicken as a tasty and more affordable alternative to existing fast-food chicken offerings. Although the Sichuan-based hot pot company Haidilao has had a presence in the United States since 2013, it more recently has been pushing for an aggressive expansion across the country.

As they undertake such efforts, Chinese food retailers encounter several notable regulatory barriers though. If they hope to go public in international markets, they must first seek approval from lawmakers in Beijing, which involves a formal, complex regulatory application and in-depth consideration.

Having obtained such approval, they also must decide whether and how to adjust their offerings and business models as they enter diverse regional markets in the United States. For example, Haidilao has defined different sets of expected behavior and services to be provided to Chinese versus U.S. customers. Retail interactions in China tend to be interactive, so staff are expected to provide lively entertainment, such as by dancing or offering to peel shrimp in front of customers. For diners waiting for tables, the restaurant provides free nail services. But U.S. consumers tend to appreciate stricter social boundaries and personal space, so staff working in U.S. locations are instructed to provide clear English instructions and minimize any service acts that might seem obtrusive.

In addition to service standards, these retailers adjust their menu offerings, such as by reducing spicy ingredients and expanding red meat options for U.S. diners. Wallace similarly swaps out lettuce with pickles for the chicken sandwiches it sells in the United States. Thus, we might view the first people to try bubble tea as open-minded experimenters, but Chinese food retailers increasingly are making it easier for U.S. consumers to try something just a little new.

Discussion Questions

  1. What types of considerations and preferences should Chinese food retailers take into account when adjusting their offerings to appeal to U.S. consumers?
  2. Should Chinese restaurant chains target multiple foreign markets, or is the United States the most promising market? Justify your answer.

Sources: Daisuke Wakabayashi and Joy Dong, “Get Ready, America: Here Come China’s Food and Drink Chains,” The New York Times, December 1, 2025; Selena Li, “Tea Company Chagee Gains Chinese Approval to List in US,” Reuters, March 6, 2025; Shafaq Patel, “Sweet Times: HeyTea,” Axios Houston, January 7, 2026.

Soup to Nuts: Patagonia Has Started Selling Food

09 Wednesday Sep 2026

Posted by in Chapter 06: Retail Market Strategy

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istockphoto / WeBond Creations

Even as finance professionals and tech bros have embraced its products, Patagonia has remained true to its founder’s original, ethical purpose to invest most of the profits earned from selling outdoor apparel to protect the environment. Taking Yves Chouinard’s ethos as inspiration, the company recently has sought to expand the product lines through which it can earn profits, so that it can invest even more in saving the planet.

Organized as a subsidiary of the parent company, Patagonia Provisions focuses on food production and engages actively with agricultural industry processes. A persistent goal underlying its production design is to limit the environmental impacts, so that it can establish a more sustainable way to source food, which then might be implemented more widely, and even on a global level, for the benefit of all parties.

For example, it has begun experimenting with cultivating Kernza, a variety of wheatgrass that requires relatively little tending by farmers and minimal amounts of soil to grow. Thus, it represents an appealing option for independent farmers, without creating excessive demands on natural resources, like land and water. For now, Kernza remains a relatively unused crop, primarily used to manufacture crackers that Patagonia Provisions offers for sale. Yet its value goes well beyond direct product sales: If Patagonia Provisions can determine that its development is sustainable, both environmentally and financially, it can expand the design to other source materials and alternative product developments.

Although these experiments are recent, Patagonia Provisions is not the first time Patagonia has attempted to enter the food business. In 1984, it sought to participate in the cultivation of grain—specifically, a species of Tibetan barley that was used to make flour. It also aimed to develop some new Chinese cereals and Japanese rice, but consumers appeared uninterested, seemingly because their demands already were being met by the vast number of competing sources of grain already available in their grocery aisles.

But in the twenty-first century, Patagonia Provisions moved beyond just grains. It introduced an energy bar, followed by soups, sauces, and oils. Even as this version of the food division took responsibility for more than 70 products, few of them achieved profitability. More recently, following a leadership change, Patagonia Provisions undertook a close market analysis, which revealed that canned fish represented its “hero” product, a top seller that also fit well with the company’s commitment to sustainability.

With the recognition that cans of fish provide its biggest sellers, Patagonia Provisions reoriented its priorities and devoted more attention and marketing resources to these items. In 2025 for example, it introduced fun, colorful packets of sardines and beans, citing the popularity, in Mediterranean diets, of combining tuna with beans. The specific product iterations leveraged careful product designs, such as one that promised a brighter flavor profile (e.g., white beans, lemon, garlic, and leeks) that could be tossed together with pastas or salads. Another reflected more Latin influences (e.g., black beans, corn, citrus, and salsa), promoted as a side to serve along with tacos or other entrees, or else as a meal by itself, when served alongside tortilla chips.

This emphasis on tinned fish resonates effectively with current culinary trends, including the widespread valorization of protein and consumers’ determination to get enough of it in their diets. In such a consumption context, pairing fish with beans—two foods that are packed with protein and fiber—offers a compelling appeal. Furthermore, these shelf-stable canned goods are comparatively affordable, meaning that they offer consumers with lower incomes a compelling solution to their protein demands.

Rising sales and brand awareness for Patagonia Provisions imply that the parent brand has finally figured out how to extend its product assortment, though not everyone agrees with that rosy prediction. Devoting its resources to develop agricultural practices and food products might represent an opportunity for Patagonia to transform farming practices in the future. Yet it cannot ignore or forget to maintain its existing, valuable brand status. The apparel and outdoor lines have achieved an enviable level of success. Patagonia’s strong brand reputation evokes the kind of customer loyalty that many other brands can only dream of. But in general, it is much easier to guarantee the quality and reliability of a jacket than it is to ensure that food products provide perfectly consistent quality, especially when their production process includes experimental forays into alternative, unfamiliar products. A few questionable products could threaten to impose an unsustainable drag on the company’s resources, as well as a violation of consumers’ expectations of Patagonia products.

For Patagonia, the opportunity to achieve new standards of environmental protection seems worth the potential risk of damage to its reputation. But how far can it experiment with diverse product lines before that excitement sours?

Discussion Questions

  1. What do you see as Patagonia’s core brand image, and has that evolved since its conception? Are any of the Patagonia Provisions products at odds with this?
  2. What are some other products that might have been a better compliment to Patagonia’s apparel business and environmental commitment than food? What are the benefits and risks of exploring this market instead?

Sources: David Gelles, “Patagonia Changed the Apparel Business. Can It Change Food, Too?” The New York Times, September 7, 2025; “Patagonia Provisions’ New Sardines & Beans Launch Exclusively at Whole Foods,” NOSH, February 19, 2025; Ryan Daily, “Are Beans and Sardines the Latest Viral Seafood Trend?,” FoodNavigator, March 6, 2025

Agentic AI Is Here for the Assist

02 Wednesday Sep 2026

Posted by in Chapter 18: Customer Service

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istockphoto / Khanchit Khirisutchalual

Human assistants often spend their days taking notes, booking travel, following up on outstanding material from other sources, and reminding their bosses of deadlines. As depicted famously in The Devil Wears Prada films, unlucky employees even might find themselves tasked with completing a range of personal requests, such as picking up dry-cleaning, compiling holiday gift lists, or booking private events. Across these tasks, whether reasonable or excessive, the common element is that assistants must function like a quiet, logical organizational center that runs in the background, dealing with the clutter of everyday chores and deadlines, so their employers can focus more consistently and clearly on their critical, creative, or executive tasks.

Such work thus requires someone who is detail-oriented and able to execute rote, boring tasks consistently and at nearly any time of day. Details, rote tasks, constant availability, working in the background, and precise consistency—those are the exact features that existing and emerging iterations of agentic artificial intelligence (AI) promise to offer.

In retailing contexts for example, mass merchandisers like Target and Walmart have integrated AI systems into their chat features, to help shoppers sift through vast information at exponentially quicker rates. Rather than sending a human assistant to the store to grab a host gift for the dinner the executive is attending that night, users can task ChatGPT to connect to third-party e-commerce checkouts and purchase a flower arrangement directly from its interface, as well as have those flowers sent to the site of the dinner, just before the party starts. Google Shopping’s speech-enabled bot even can conduct simple conversations with local stores to confirm the availability of specific items.

Other iterations are prominent in tourism sectors. Leading online travel agencies, including Priceline, Expedia, and Kayak, have introduced tools to support automated reservations, and Google is actively working to join the competition through its search sites. The travel-oriented AI tools handle cross-site aggregation tasks efficiently and effectively, such that they are able to search for ticket prices or resort discounts across multiple platforms, while setting alerts for updates and registering changes in real time. Recent estimates indicate that four out of five travel companies plan to adopt some form of autonomous AI in coming years.

With regard to users’ reactions to and reliance on such digital assistants, existing findings seem promising. In retail sectors, almost half of respondents to one survey reported that they had used AI to facilitate their holiday shopping in a recent year. That percentage rose dramatically when focusing solely on millennial and Gen Z survey respondents. Opinions about AI-augmented travel searches appear somewhat more mixed though. One survey suggested that approximately one-third of customers feel comfortable using AI to make travel plans, and according to the industry news site Skift, nearly all consumers it contacted had found reliable information through an AI-optimized search. But a State of Travel 2025 report suggested that only one in eight users indicated they would trust AI to make independent decisions. Virtually no one agreed that they had sufficient confidence to allow AI agents to make or change their travel itineraries without any oversight.

Emerging enhancements and new agentic iterations of AI promise to execute and complete more multistep processes independently, such that they appear capable of performing long-term planning and decision-making, similar to the way a human assistant might. But just as bosses might worry about the capabilities of a new human assistant, users remain skeptical of the performance achieved by AI-enabled assistants, especially for critical decisions like travel. Over time, an effective assistant who demonstrates their reliability and capabilities can gain their bosses’ trust. Accordingly, we might predict that if AI agents continue to perform well, they also will continue to take over more tasks from busy users.

Discussion Questions

  1. This abstract presents AI assistants performing shopping and travel booking tasks. What other regular or daily tasks might consumers be interested in assigning to an assistant, and how effectively can current AI systems perform those tasks?
  2. Using your preferred AI system or chatbot, ask it to book a hypothetical trip for your next vacation, using whatever parameters you prefer. Review its recommendations. How well did it do? Did this experiment make you more or less likely to trust travel information gathered by an AI agent, without confirming its recommendations?

Sources: Gabe Castro-Root, “What Is Agentic A.I., and Would You Trust It to Book a Flight?,” The New York Times, November 25, 2025; Natallie Rocha and Kailyn Rhone, “A.I. Can Do More of Your Shopping This Holiday Season,” The New York Times, November 25, 2025.

Why Retailers Are Moving Supply Chain Operations Out of China

26 Wednesday Aug 2026

Posted by in Chapter 10: Information Systems and Supply Chain Management

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istockphoto / suriya puhoy

Recent months have been turbulent for retailers that rely on international supply chains and trade—which means nearly every retailer competing in today’s global world. A particular challenge faces firms that depend on factories and manufacturing agents in China for their products, because the increased tariffs and vast uncertainty that mark current policies have made overhead costs untenable and logistics unpredictable.

Historically, U.S. companies moved elements of their supply chains abroad in attempts to reduce costs, in that overseas factories often could produce products with lower overhead and inexpensive labor rates. Over time, many countries have developed product-specific manufacturing expertise and strong, supportive infrastructure for their supplier networks. Such developments are especially evident in China, which has leveraged such capabilities to enhance its economic power and global standing, though it is not alone in this pursuit. Vietnam, for example, has already overtaken China’s production rates for certain consumer products, like shoes. India has also become a popular source for large-scale retailers.

These sorts of supply chain adjustments have intensified recently, especially as the political relations between China and the United States have grown more contentious. At one point, China was imposing a 125 percent tariff on all imports from the United States, a rate that the United States matched while also threatening to raise taxes on Chinese goods up to 145 percent. Both countries ultimately walked back these extreme positions, coming to a temporary truce with reduced tariff rates: 30 percent imposed by the United States and 10 percent tariffs by China. Yet this somewhat reassuring agreement remains temporary, and it can be suspended by either side at any time. Considering the historically fraught relationship between the two countries, U.S. retailers realistically recognize that things might change again, so they may need to rethink the design of their supply chains, both to reduce their dependence on China and to find other locations that can supply them with the products they sell, at more affordable (and consistent) manufacturing costs.

Some already have done so. The fashion brand Steve Madden started moving its supply chain infrastructure out of China as early as November 2024. Almost half of its products were being manufactured in China at that point, but noting the Trump administration’s pre-inauguration promise to impose tariffs, the firm’s leaders proactively worked to find alternative production locations. Even before the first policies went into effect, Steve Madden had announced its plans to build factories in Mexico, Brazil, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

As noted, such initiatives are not limited to large corporations like Steve Madden. A relatively smaller furniture retail firm, run by Simon Lichtenberg, moved its entire supply chain to Vietnam in 2025, at a cost of approximately $20 million. Yet Lichtenberg regards the expense as an investment, rather than a loss, considering the ongoing unpredictability of U.S.–Chinese relations.

Discussion Questions

  1. Which retail sectors seem to have been most affected by the U.S.–China trade negotiations? Are there sectors that remain largely unaffected?
  2. Choose a specific retailer and its primary product. Which overseas country would be the best location for manufacturing that specific product? What criteria did you use to come to that determination?

Sources: Alexandra Stevenson, “Why Factories Will Keep Looking for Alternatives to China,” The New York Times, November 12, 2025; Ananya Mariam Rajesh, “Steve Madden to Cut Sourcing From China on Tariff Worries Under Trump,” FashionNetwork USA, November 7, 2024; He Huifeng, “How China’s Tech Transformation Is Putting the ‘World’s Factory’ in a Tough Spot,” South China Morning Post, March 21, 2026.

At Your Convenience: 7-Eleven Introduces Japanese Store Formats in America

19 Wednesday Aug 2026

Posted by in Chapter 12: Managing the Merchandise Planning Process

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istockphoto / Prapat Aowsakorn

As the name suggests, convenience stores are designed to make one’s life, well, more convenient. But in some parts of the world, convenience stores are more than just quick, easily accessible solutions to daily needs. They represent a valuable, integral part of the retail landscape. In Japan, for example, convenience stores are known for their wide selection of fresh, high quality foods.

Could such offerings work in the United States? The newest CEO of 7-Eleven’s parent company is determined to find out. Raised in both Japan and the United States, Stephen Dacus grew familiar with both models for convenience stores. In his role as CEO of Seven & i Holdings, he also has grown familiar with the threats and opportunities facing the brand. In particular, Japan is experiencing serious population declines, along with reduced opportunities for retail growth, such that Seven & i needs to turn its attention to other markets.

Notably, 7-Eleven is the largest convenience store chain in the United States, but the company previously had embraced a strategic shift in focus, seeking to expand in Japan. In seeking new routes for growth, Dacus has determined that one option is to introduce some of the high quality offerings available to Japanese consumers in U.S. stores. For example, U.S. visitors to Japan have long praised the fresh egg salad sandwiches they can find in the Asian nation’s stores. Accordingly, the transformation started with the introduction of this cult favorite in U.S. 7-Eleven locations.

Although U.S. consumers tend to prefer and spend more on frozen prepared food, which represents the standard for many grocery and convenience store chains, their demand for affordable, high-quality, and freshly prepared foods also has increased. In the industry more widely, convenience stores that emphasize their fresh offerings, or that even go so far as to have rebranded as food destinations, seem to be enjoying stronger draws among customers. Furthermore, the margins that retailers can charge on prepared foods tend to be greater than those available for most other food items.

The expanded options in store represent the first step in a carefully planned campaign to expand in other ways as well. In coming years, 7-Eleven plans to create 1,300 more locations in North America, branded specifically as food-forward destinations. These new, relatively large locations will feature in-store restaurants, decorated with modern furnishings and a casual vibe. Already, redesigns have been implemented in more than 1,000 existing stores, seeking to transform them from quick convenience stops into places to linger for a while. The company anticipates that the larger, food-forward hubs will generate nearly 1.5 times the sales achieved by traditional convenience store locations.

Discussion Questions

  1. Which existing convenience chains already have the reputation of being food-forward? Have you seen their popularity increase recently?
  2. Will this expansion strategy work for all convenience chains? Which features might translate well and which are specific to what 7-Eleven’s strengths are?

Sources: River Akira Davis, “Is America Ready for Japanese-Style 7-Elevens?” The New York Times, September 9, 2025; Jennifer Mattson, “Why More Customers Are Skipping McMuffins for Gas Station Grub,” Fast Company, September 15, 2025; Irene Dong, “7-Eleven Ramps Up New Restaurant Store Format in the US,” Inside Retail Asia, August 15, 2025.

Local, Global, and Sold Out: Pierre Laborde, the Handbag Designer of the Moment

12 Wednesday Aug 2026

Posted by in Chapter 04: Multichannel and Omnichannel Retailing

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istockphoto / haveseen

The shop local movement seeks to encourage consumers to support independently owned businesses that operate in their own neighborhoods or cities, citing the benefits for not just the store owners but also consumers and society as a whole. Small businesses enable entrepreneurs to earn a living and perhaps even employ others; they grant consumers access to unique and artisan products; and they allow consumer spending to get reverted back into local coffers. But today’s world also operates on a global scale, which means that even local sellers might appeal to buyers located nearly anywhere. Finding the balance between local and global represents a critical challenge. It also constitutes an incredible opportunity, when done right.

Consider how Pierre Laborde—both the designer and the eponymous company he founded—has managed it. Born in Haiti, Francis Pierre Laborde moved to New York in his teens, where he attended the acclaimed Fashion Institute of Technology. During his education, he began experimenting with ways to integrate his Haitian cultural background with the penchant in high fashion circles to craft products made of rare, fragile materials, such as python and delicate leathers.

These inspirations led to novel designs for bespoke handbags, which Laborde started out selling to friends and family. As this immediate, personal network expanded, he cultivated a small following that he served from his apartment, which served as not just his residence but also as an atelier and sales floor. The space quickly became too small, so Laborde experimented with a new marketing and location strategy, in which he attended parties for people potentially interested in buying his wares. Having gained some security through this route, Laborde then opened a small shop in Manhattan’s Grand Bazaar.

But even with these steps and advances, Pierre Laborde remained a local, small business, and sales remained relatively limited and inconsistent. Then came the TikTok video.

A visitor to the Grand Bazaar posted an account of their rare find: handbags in a vast array of bright colors and eclectic patterns, decked out with high-end leathers and hardware, better suited to a luxury design house than a flea market. In addition to zooming in on the details and hand stitching, the video emphasized the relative affordability of Pierre Laborde designs. Since the moment the video went viral, the Grand Bazaar has been mobbed by shoppers, both faithful fans and new adopters, clamoring to get one of the distinctive designs while they can.

This seemingly overnight success may have been based somewhat on a fortunate encounter with a customer, but ultimately, it was neither quick nor lucky. Laborde’s creative process involves a detailed, three-pronged approach to the design of each bag, based in color, function, and expression. By insisting on maintaining these three principles when considering the design of each piece, he ensures that every handbag bearing his name maintains the aesthetic qualities for which he is known. Furthermore, the company has established a precise production process, to ensure that every feature is presented beautifully, but also that each bag is well-suited for daily use for years to come.

In light of its remarkable success, Pierre Laborde has instated an online ticketing system for the Grand Bazaar, seeking to control the crowds of eager buyers. Still, the company often sells out of products in mere minutes. It maintains a waitlist for interested customers, but because each handbag is handmade, by Laborde and his team, who insist on the highest standards of quality, there is an inherent limit on how many orders the company can fulfill each week. For now, most interested customers can only embrace Laborde’s suggestion that they follow along on social media or subscribe to updates from his website, as the company works to expand production.

Even as its popularity spreads everywhere around the world then, Pierre Laborde remains a local seller. Even as it benefits from digital marketing channels that make the products known to anyone, it continues to serve local customers at the weekly Grand Bazaar. In straddling these strategies, Pierre Laborde finds the best of all worlds.

Discussion Questions

  1. What challenges face Pierre Laborde at this point, as it attempts to capture its popularity and demand for its handcrafted products and scale up its small operation?
  2. How should the company alter its retail market strategy at this point? For example, should it move to a larger store location? Shift more of its resources to digital channels? Consider outsourcing production? Justify your recommendations.

Sources: Sandra E. Garcia, “The Harlem Handbag Maker Who Creates a Frenzy with Every Drop,” The New York Times, December 21, 2025; Jeroslyn JoVonn, “Meet the Haitian Designer Behind These Viral Hard-to-Find Handbags,” Black Enterprise, November 24, 2025; https://pierrelaborde.com.

YouTube Bets on Livestreaming

05 Wednesday Aug 2026

Posted by in Chapter 03: Digital Retailing, Chapter 15: Retail Communication Mix

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istockphoto / satura86

YouTube hosts the most livestream viewers of any platform, and nearly one-third of the consumers who visit the platform daily engage actively with live streamers. Keen to position itself, and livestreaming, as the next big media trend, YouTube is working hard to facilitate this method of communication between content providers and consumers.

When content creators go live, they can connect with followers in new ways, whether they are offering insights into their daily activities, telling stories about their life, or commenting on the latest headlines. The casual setting tends to make viewers and consumers feel more welcome, part because it signals an intimate connection with the content creator. In support of such appeals, YouTube has introduced several new features to enhance the livestreams. For example, content creators can now simultaneously stream themselves and another live broadcast, allowing them to react to a popular event or shared interest in real-time. Fans can watch their favorite football team dominate while also watching a knowledgeable creator in split screen, calling the plays.

Other new features include innovative mini-games on the platform, which livestreamers also can broadcast during their programs. The creator might play and also encourage followers to do so, which provides a new means for the creators to generate profits (i.e., by convincing users to purchase game access too). For creators that embrace the new format, YouTube also promises a more organic way to generate revenue, using side-by-side advertisements. In addition to making it easier for typical viewers to engage, this alternative, redesigned format appears less obtrusive than traditional promotional placements.

At the same time, YouTube tasked its developers with resolving a common complaint from livestream fans. Previously, streamers chose the framing for their broadcast, in either landscape or portrait mode. The orientation did not always align with the devices that followers used to access the livestreams. Therefore, the latest developments allow users to set their preferences and receive each broadcast in either a horizontal or a vertical setup.

To expand the market and incentivize more creators to try livestreaming, YouTube makes AI-powered tools available to them. Following each broadcast, they can implement the tools to comb through the recording, select the most engaging moments, and then generate a short-form summary that they can post in other contexts, to increase audience engagement across the board.

Together, these new features represent a comprehensive overhaul of an already popular platform, reflecting its attempt to ensure it remains popular into the future. While other media competitors have signaled their interest in expanding in this space, especially Netflix, which has recently made a sizeable push to capture parts of the live events market, no other competitor seems able to replicate how naturally the livestreaming format compliments traditional YouTube creator setups. Its edge on the competition seems safe, at least for now.

Discussion Questions

  1. What other marketing tools could YouTube introduce, in order to allow creators to monetize the same content in multiple ways?
  2. What is it about YouTube’s creators specifically that makes livestreaming such a natural transition from their other work?

Sources: Jessica Testa, “Can YouTube Make Livestreaming Its Next Big Thing?” The New York Times, September 16, 2025; Kurt Wilms, “Updates to YouTube Live Streaming,” YouTube Official Blog, September 16, 2025; Mike Straw, “YouTube Is Making Changes to Its Live Streaming Policy,” Insider Gaming, June 25, 2025.