Howard Davidowitz

Howard Davidowitz
customers help lean lure retailers year
Lean inventories won't help retailers this year if they can't lure customers into their stores.
catering classes customer familiar industry known opportunity retail within
Within the retail industry Federated is known for catering to the classes and May to the masses. For the May customer, it's an opportunity to get more upscale merchandise that a Bloomingdales' customer is familiar with.
best customer found gone loyalty product school store time
There is no loyalty to a store -- that's what Federated has gone to school and found out. The place with the best product at the right time and at the right price, that's where the customer loyalty is.
banking customer food opportunity ought sees toy
Wal-Mart sees banking as an opportunity to give the customer a better deal. That's what Wal-Mart's about. That's why they have demolished the food and toy industries. If it's better for the customers, then that's the way it ought to be.
coming creative customers longer retailers specialty stores true
This is specially true of the specialty stores. Retailers have to become more creative if they want to keep customers longer in their stores and if they want them to keep coming back.
ben chance charge customers full game later name promotion reasonable return taste
The name of the game for Ben and Jerry's is to get someone to taste the product. If this promotion can get more customers in the doors, there's a reasonable chance that many of them may return later (when they charge full price).
customer generally sales target
If you look at Helen of Troy's customer base, sales are generally strong. Wal-Mart sales are up, Target sales are up,
biggest customers feed game gets million name traffic
In retailing, the whole name of the game is to feed off your competitors' footsteps. Wal-Mart is the biggest traffic generator around. It gets over 150 million customers a week.
execution problem
The problem at Linens 'n Things is execution.
available billion companies equity private
The private equity companies have never had this much money. They have $125 billion available for acquisitions.
fickle game impress money numbers potential public rule stays
The rule of the game is go public for the money when you have the numbers to impress potential investors. Retail, and especially apparel, is so fickle that nothing stays the same forever.
downside stock
The stock has a lot of downside and very little upside.
associated costs gigantic given process share warehouse
There would have been gigantic costs associated with the unbundling process given that the different units share warehouse and distribution centers,
businesses buyers companies effect factories fewer gotten led less meetings products rolling sars stopped visits
SARS has not stopped factories from rolling out products in China, ... The only effect it's had on U.S. businesses is that it has led to fewer visits from buyers to the region. So there have been less face-to-face meetings between buyers and suppliers, but companies have gotten around that by teleconferencing.