Like millions of Americans, my first job was in retail. Maybold Shoe Store in Newark, Ohio sat right on the town square and was owned by Floyd McKenna, a well-known small business owner and active member of the community. As a teenager, I saw firsthand what it meant to own and operate a small business. [...]
As the nation’s largest private sector employer, no one knows “jobs” better than the retail industry. And with the current state of our economy, retailers have taken that jobs call to heart. Through NRF’s This is Retail campaign, we’ve focused on telling the story of not only retail jobs, but retail careers. We have some [...]
There’s a well known proverb that “it takes a village to raise a child.” A small village in Honduras serves as an amazing example of just that. As part of the Retail Orphan Initiative, retail executives from across the country traveled to La Entrada, Honduras in April to the Plan Escalon campus, a haven for [...]
Green is the new black in retail. And it has been for years. More than ever these days, shoppers are paying attention to businesses that choose to make sustainable choices when it comes to product development, community initiatives, business practices and even retail models. According to Edelman’s Good Purpose survey, “at least monthly” purchases of [...]
The rumors are true – many young people just don’t see retail as a viable career. Four out of five young adults aren’t considering or pursuing careers in the retail industry, and this rate is even lower among those holding a college degree. Why is this a problem? As NRF president and CEO, Matthew Shay, [...]
Today is a ground-breaking day at the National Retail Federation, and not just because I’m blogging for the first time on Retail’s BIG Blog. Later this afternoon, I’ll be speaking to hundreds of students from the University of Arizona Lundgren Center for Retailing along with top retailers, including Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, One Kings Lane, The Hudson [...]
I click on a J.Crew email marketing piece at least twice a month. Someday I’d like to meet the talented marketing team that has reviewed the customer data, brainstormed the perfect subject line, and in essence, guided my brain to click through to the fabulous No. 2 pencil skirt I’ve been eyeing for weeks. If [...]
Over the past few years, you might have noticed that we’ve talked a lot about jobs here on Retail’s BIG Blog. There are many reasons for that, but specifically in 2011, when the National Retail Federation launched its advocacy platform, Retail Means Jobs, the organization wanted to make sure U.S. lawmakers and opinion leaders knew [...]
It was standing-room only during the Main Street Retailing Forum, held last week during Retail’s BIG Show in New York. One of the highlights of the forum for me was moderating a session with three of our winners from NRF’s “This is Retail” video contest. While the contest itself told the stories of retailers all [...]
In his opening remarks at Retail’s BIG Show this morning, NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay shared stats on NRF’s successes in 2012 as well as his vision for what’s next for the industry. Specifically, Shay touted accomplishments ranging from the addition of 1,000 new members to increasing political influence in Washington. He also provided [...]