Bain Retail Holiday Newsletter #2
Bain & Company 11/18/2009
by Darrell Rigby, Kris Miller and Josh Chernoff
GAFS growth turned positive in October after 13 consecutive months of downward movement. Furthermore, recently released reports of third-quarter earnings tell us that margins and balance sheets are healthier than they were last year. A number of retailers exceeded their own projections for the quarter and raised guidance for the rest of the year. Still, as we enter the heart of the holiday shopping season, many consumers remain cautious. Some are delaying their holiday shopping, hoping to see a repeat of last season's deep discounts. Retailers need to be creative to get these shoppers spending both in stores and online.
Bain Retail Holiday Newsletter Special Edition: Social Networking
Bain & Company 11/7/2009
by Darrell Rigby, Kris Miller and Josh Chernoff
The 2009 holiday season has officially begun. Early indicators are simultaneously raising hopes and anxieties. October's same-store sales grew 2.1% over 2008's soft numbers, marking the second straight month of gains and showing improvement among both lower-priced and higher-end retailers. But the unemployment rate also rose above 10% for the first time since 1983, and consumer confidence and sentiment were down. Bain & Company believes that retailers can deliver positive growth this holiday season, but that's going to take innovation and action. One solution may well be social networking, a quick, flexible and effective way to connect to consumers. That's the focus of this special edition of our Retail Holiday Newsletter.
Bain Retail Holiday Newsletter #1
Bain & Company 10/24/2009
by Darrell Rigby, Kris Miller and Josh Chernoff
After nearly two years of recession, we are starting to see signs of a turnaround. As we head into the holiday period, we expect negative growth trends to reverse, and are forecasting GAFO growth for the season of 0% to 1% over last year. Retailers are better prepared for the holidays than they were in 2008: Inventories are leaner, value trends are no surprise, and savvy marketers are basing decisions on the needs, wants and behaviors of local shoppers. The purpose of this newsletter is to provide relevant information about holiday sales trends and strategies for success in this critical period. Updates will be distributed every two to three weeks throughout the holiday season to help you monitor both trends and results as the season unfolds.
Innovation in turbulent times
Results Brief newsletter 9/16/2009
by Darrell Rigby, Kara Gruver and James Allen
Innovation is critical to recovery and growth, but a lot of companies feel pressure to cut back on innovation during turbulence, which is the wrong move. Read Bain's latest insights on how companies sustain innovation through good times and bad. The key findings in this newsletter are based on Bain's article "Innovation in Turbulent Times," recently published in the Harvard Business Review. This edition of the Bain Results Brief also contains our perspectives on private equity's new landscape and on IT strategy that builds a foundation for future growth.
Management Tools for turbulent times
Results Brief newsletter 6/12/2009
by Darrell Rigby and Barbara Bilodeau
Bain & Company has surveyed global executives about Management Tools and Trends since 1993, but never during a period of such economic turbulence. One sign of the times: a cost-cutting tool-benchmarking-has become the most popular tool for the first time since we began tracking tool use. We also found that executives in emerging markets are more focused on growth and innovation than their counterparts in established economies, especially North America, where the emphasis on cost cutting is strongest.
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