Stay in Touch
The 2020 Modern Retail Awards celebrated brands, agencies, retailers and platforms that responded to a most challenging and unusual year for consumers and shopping.
Healthcare and insurance aren't the sexiest areas, but they are both ripe for disruption. That's why Matt Gamache-Asselin, co-founder and CEO of Alto Pharmacy, decided to enter the space. The five-year-old company has raised over $350 million thus far and has been building digital pharmacy to compete with the likes of CVS and Walgreens. On the Modern Retail Podcast, he spoke about why he entered the space.
Walmart is starting off 2021 by losing one of its key e-commerce executives. Marc Lore, who has led Walmart's e-commerce strategy since the big-box retailer acquired his startup Jet.com for $3.3 billion, announced he was leaving Walmart after nearly five years. It leaves Walmart without the person who has previously been deemed the architect of its e-commerce strategy. All this during a year in which e-commerce is likely to once again experience tremendous growth — and as the coronavirus pandemic drags on.
As one of the biggest furniture retailers in the country, Ikea has greatly benefitted from the pandemic's e-commerce boom. However, the brand's mobile shopping capabilities have always lagged behind its in-store shopping experience. The company is hoping to improve its mobile experience with a newly-launched U.S. app.
Existing pharmacies are attempting to revamp their offerings following a rocky year. Walgreens, for instance, is emphasizing the speed of pickup at its store, while Rite Aid is putting money toward sleep products, essential oils and other new-age health goods. The Covid-19 vaccine will offer a unique chance for these pharmacies to make their pitch to consumers and draw new customers.
A boom both in online shopping and sales of home goods have helped give Bed Bath & Beyond new life. The big-box retailer has reported more than 75% growth in e-commerce sales during each of the last three quarters. The company's chief digital officer, Rafeh Masood, spoke with Modern Retail about how the company is seeking to capitalize on its e-commerce growth.
Last year, a number of major fashion brands -- Lululemon, Adidas, Stella McCartney and Gucci -- announced they were investing “seven-figure sums” to produce clothes and shoes made out of mycelium fabric with a startup called Bolt Threads. Bolt Threads specializes in a mycelium-based leather it calls Mylo -- and as the leather industry continues to slide, driven in part by concerns about sustainability and animal rights, startups are pitching fungi as an environmentally friendly replacement.
Big CPG continues to experiment with subscription services. This week, Coca Cola relaunched its Insiders Club program after pausing it during the pandemic. The program lets a select number of subscribers receive monthly boxes of exclusive items. The move highlights a bigger trend within food and beverage.
Off-price stores, including TJ Maxx and Ross, are recovering a lot quicker than many bankrupt retail counterparts. While department stores with robust online shopping presence continue to struggle, discount chains -- that still rely mostly on in-store purchases -- are finding loyal customers returning for bargains amid the pandemic.
Lauren Picasso, founder and CEO of Cure Hydration, has learned some lessons over the last few years about how to grow a beverage business. She has a background in e-commerce, hailing from startups like Jet.com, but Cure was her first foray in drinks. On the Modern Retail Podcast, Picasso described the process of launching and growing Cure -- and what she's learned along the way.
More people bought holiday items online, and returns volumes are likely to hit record highs. And these items may end up on a liquidation site or at a warehouse, where small businesses, resellers or regular consumers can buy bundles of products at steep discounts. In recent months, many of those liquidators have reported a surge in inventory, right as resale platforms like Poshmark are ballooning in popularity. And to unload products faster, the two industries are partnering up.
The architect of JCPenney's most recent turnaround plan has left the company. Last week, JCPenney announced that CEO Jill Soltau was leaving the company effective December 31. During Soltau's two-year tenure, she started to take some steps JCPenney around, by paring down the company's in-store assortment, redesigning some of its private label brands, and had started to experiment with new store formats. But some analysts said she didn't move quickly before the coronavirus pandemic hit. Now, JCPenney's path forward under its new owners, Simon and Brookfield, is unclear.
It took it nearly three decades since its humble beginnings, but the QR code is officially considered hip. Thanks to its ubiquitous presence at shops and restaurants across the country, this year the QR code's technology is making up for lost time.
Oddly, 2020 might prove to be the year of the zombie brand. Even the companies that did shutter their physical stores are on track to find a second life online, thanks to companies like Retail Ecommerce Ventures buying rights to the brands out of bankruptcy.
Nearly 30 retailers have filed for bankruptcy so far in 2020, closing thousands of a stores. But a few of those businesses have been acquired by consortia like Authentic Brands Group. Most recently ABG has purchased Brooks Brothers, Forever 21 and Barneys -- all ailing for their own set of reasons. ABG's philosophy seems simple, and predicated on past wins: buy low and eke out profit any way you can every step of the way. The question remains: Who's next?
Emilie Arel joined Casper in late 2019 as its president and chief commercial officer. She oversees all the disparate and growing parts of Casper's retail business. Arel spoke on the Modern Retail Podcast about what she's focused on during her tenure, as well as how the pandemic through everything into disarray. "I don't think we recognized how much people would invest in their home so quickly," she said. "We had no clue we'd still be sitting in our houses almost a year from then that was not on the horizon."
Read MoreAt the Modern Retail Summit LIVE, retail executives will come together virtually to discuss effective strategies for driving sales by building a loyal customer base both online and offline.
Buy Passes
