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The New Rules of Retail: Competing in the World's Toughest Marketplace
The retail world is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Rapidly evolving technology, globalization, and a saturated marketplace offer consumers instant access to thousands of equally compelling products and services, creating unprecedented levels of expectation. The impact of these changes is so profound that 50 percent of today's retailers and consumer companies will not survive it. Traditional business models will become extinct, and the relationship between vendors and consumers will shift dramatically.Here, industry experts Robin Lewis and Michael Dart identify the forces behind these changes and look at the retail heroes of today and tomorrow to see how their business models are responding to the modern marketplace. They profile industry giants such as VF Corporation (owner of Wrangler and The North Face), Starbucks, and Ralph Lauren, as well as cutting-edge favorites like Apple, Gilt Groupe, and Amazon, to uncover why some retailers are so successful at reaching today's increasingly elusive and demanding customer while others miss the mark by a mile. What they find are three crucial factors that determine whether businesses win or *Neurological Connectivity -- creating an addictive, irresistible shopping experience, from preshopping anticipation to consumption satisfaction*Preemptive Distribution -- using all possible distribution platforms to access consumers ahead of the competition*Value Chain Control -- vertically integrating control of a company's entire value chain, from creation through point of sale, for maximum delivery on the brand promiseThis essential formula, Lewis and Dart argue, is responsible for virtually every retail success story of the past few decades. So while the landscape may never look the same, The New Rules of Retail gives business leaders the tools they need to not only survive, but thrive.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 7, 2010
57 people are currently reading
428 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
April 2, 2013
Told me a lot of stuff I knew already in a dry manner. I found it repetitive and often had to check to make sure I wasn't reading a chapter I had already completed. Because it was written in 2010, the market has changed and stabilized (to a small degree), as opposed to 2008 where the bottom was falling out of everything. Phenomena that were new a few years ago have become commonplace, like looking at an item in a store and comparing prices using a smart phone. I did find it interesting when the authors discussed the three waves of consumerism. The first wave was 1850-1950 and saw the advent of catalogs and department stores. Although I was born in 1976, we grew up in a remote town and receiving the big Montgomery Ward catalog was one of the highlights of my year, so I feel like I can remember this first wave to some degree.
August 4, 2016
Retail certainly is changing....Very tight travel schedule this week, but will try to get through this one on the hop from Phx to DFW and back. Finally finished this. Interesting analysis of retail progression over the last century or so. Prediction that 50% of the retailers in existence now won't survive the current climate. Those with the most control over their supply chain and who create the most compelling experience have the best chance. So - Sears in trouble, Zara not. Surprised? Not so much. Still a good plane read and had me thinking of my current client, ENR, and how their Brand name is great for batteries, but consumers will probably never equate ENR with suntan lotion!
July 27, 2019
The old days of seemingly endless retail expansion, big box stores, and consumers who basically just wanted to walk in and acquire a bunch of stuff are a thing of the past. The new rules of retail are 6 things that customers today demand from their product providers. I think we're better off in this changed shopping environment--Mom and Pop stores have an opportunity to take back some of the ground lost to big box stores. Let's get to work!
August 30, 2012
A very readable book on the changing world of retail. Yes, it suffers from some flaws - most notably using Best Buy as an example of a company doing it right. But having very little knowledge of retail, I came away understanding a lot more of the challenges faced today and what is required to succeed.
July 2, 2021
Useful Framework for Exploring Retail/Consumer Product Industry Transformation - This book is one of several I have looked at regarding the retail and consumer products industry and seems to be among the best in terms of an overview and foreseeable trends.
The Prologue/Introduction begins with the remarks of JC Penny’s new CEO in 2012 describing novel initiatives based on his iStore experience and their subsequent failure due to various factors that help illustrate the difficulty in addressing increasingly tough market conditions even with new retail approaches.
Section 1 covers the evolution of the industry or the Four Waves of Retailing: Wave I – Producer Power, Wave II – Marketing Driven Economy, Wave III – Total Consumer Power and Wave IV. The revisions in this second edition includes the addition of “Wave IV – Technology Explodes: The Jobsian and Bezosian Era” (which deals with incorporation of smartphones, expansion of tech platforms and other more recent developments such as those pursued by Steve Jobs at Apple and Jeff Bezos at Amazon). There is also a “Wave IV – The Transformation” section that further describes the types of innovation that will be required to compete.
In Section 2, the authors explain the three main new rules of retail: (1) making the mind connection – neurological connectivity, (2) redefining engagement – preemptive distribution, and (3) the importance of value chain control. Within these sections, diagrams such as those in figures 3.2 (Power of Accessibility), 4.2 (Consumer Market Shifts), and 7.1 (Virtuous Cycle of Value Chain Control) help illustrate what the “new rules” entail.
Section 3, sub-titled “The Masters,” as in “learning from the masters,” consists of many cases and examples in terms of models, ideas, turnaround tales and lessons such as those that can be gleaned from the “Struggles of Sears.”
While I would have liked more charts and diagrams that further explicate the “new rules” and the new business models they imply, this book does provide a fine overview of retail evolution that can be complemented with other works to provide additional detail. For instance, the reader can can use “Code Halos” by Malcom Frank and Paul Roehrig for more on “making the mind connections,” “Retail Value Chain” by Sami Finne and Hanna Sivonen for more on “preemptive distribution,” and “Using Models to Improve the Supply Chain” and other titles by Charles Poirer for more on “value chain control.”
The Retail industry and its transformation are complex and dynamic topics where this book offers us a useful framework for guiding further and continued exploration.
The Prologue/Introduction begins with the remarks of JC Penny’s new CEO in 2012 describing novel initiatives based on his iStore experience and their subsequent failure due to various factors that help illustrate the difficulty in addressing increasingly tough market conditions even with new retail approaches.
Section 1 covers the evolution of the industry or the Four Waves of Retailing: Wave I – Producer Power, Wave II – Marketing Driven Economy, Wave III – Total Consumer Power and Wave IV. The revisions in this second edition includes the addition of “Wave IV – Technology Explodes: The Jobsian and Bezosian Era” (which deals with incorporation of smartphones, expansion of tech platforms and other more recent developments such as those pursued by Steve Jobs at Apple and Jeff Bezos at Amazon). There is also a “Wave IV – The Transformation” section that further describes the types of innovation that will be required to compete.
In Section 2, the authors explain the three main new rules of retail: (1) making the mind connection – neurological connectivity, (2) redefining engagement – preemptive distribution, and (3) the importance of value chain control. Within these sections, diagrams such as those in figures 3.2 (Power of Accessibility), 4.2 (Consumer Market Shifts), and 7.1 (Virtuous Cycle of Value Chain Control) help illustrate what the “new rules” entail.
Section 3, sub-titled “The Masters,” as in “learning from the masters,” consists of many cases and examples in terms of models, ideas, turnaround tales and lessons such as those that can be gleaned from the “Struggles of Sears.”
While I would have liked more charts and diagrams that further explicate the “new rules” and the new business models they imply, this book does provide a fine overview of retail evolution that can be complemented with other works to provide additional detail. For instance, the reader can can use “Code Halos” by Malcom Frank and Paul Roehrig for more on “making the mind connections,” “Retail Value Chain” by Sami Finne and Hanna Sivonen for more on “preemptive distribution,” and “Using Models to Improve the Supply Chain” and other titles by Charles Poirer for more on “value chain control.”
The Retail industry and its transformation are complex and dynamic topics where this book offers us a useful framework for guiding further and continued exploration.
July 17, 2019
For those of you who have been following the technological disruption of the retail industry over the years, this book brings an interesting approach on the evolution of this industry in the United States of America. This evolution is comprised of four different waves: Wave I, II, III and IV. I must say I was afraid that the book would focus too much on past waves and not on the present and possible future waves. However, my fear was unfounded as the authors have made a wonderful job of resuming the first three stages in a brief and succinct way, highlighting the most important characteristics of each and moving on to the next.
The fourth wave, according to the authors, has started roughly in 2010 and the industry will continue to feel its effects in the coming years (they didn't stated any end date, obviously).
The authors' argument is clear, concise and supported by many different examples of the retail industry in the real world. There aren't any new mind-blow concepts or even buzzwords, but the authors defend the concepts here presented in a convincing and rational manner, which I enjoyed. My favorite part of the book, aside from having learned many things about the driving forces of the fourth wave, was the section with the real-life examples in which the authors resumed the path and evolution of different brands that, in one way or another, we all have heard about or even admired them for afar.
This book is very Americancentric. I believe that was a conscious choice on the authors' part because that's the economy they have been in contact with and after all, (I assume) it's their own country. I can accept that decision but I cannot understand how there's no mention at all of other global forces at work in this industry such as China, for example - other than the brief mentions of brands trying to expand globally and gain global presence.
For a book that stresses so much the importance of global commerce, it seems very lacking not to mention how other global economies might impact the evolution and even next waves of the retail industry.
The fourth wave, according to the authors, has started roughly in 2010 and the industry will continue to feel its effects in the coming years (they didn't stated any end date, obviously).
The authors' argument is clear, concise and supported by many different examples of the retail industry in the real world. There aren't any new mind-blow concepts or even buzzwords, but the authors defend the concepts here presented in a convincing and rational manner, which I enjoyed. My favorite part of the book, aside from having learned many things about the driving forces of the fourth wave, was the section with the real-life examples in which the authors resumed the path and evolution of different brands that, in one way or another, we all have heard about or even admired them for afar.
This book is very Americancentric. I believe that was a conscious choice on the authors' part because that's the economy they have been in contact with and after all, (I assume) it's their own country. I can accept that decision but I cannot understand how there's no mention at all of other global forces at work in this industry such as China, for example - other than the brief mentions of brands trying to expand globally and gain global presence.
For a book that stresses so much the importance of global commerce, it seems very lacking not to mention how other global economies might impact the evolution and even next waves of the retail industry.
December 6, 2018
This is a decent look at some of the main historic retail periods and a theory of what it will take to survive the new face of modern retail. Some of this is worthy, some speculative and there are many points which every company should be asking and hopefully finding solutions for. One book or dissertation, cannot cover it all but this book does touch on some interesting aspects of the evolution of retail and where it may be headed. Useful but as one of many sources.
October 24, 2017
A retail book for a primary student
The book covers all the buzz words without any wisdom. Typical book written by a consultant in profession. Unfortunately after rushing through all chapters I learned nothing but encountered many popular ideas with no anchor.
The book covers all the buzz words without any wisdom. Typical book written by a consultant in profession. Unfortunately after rushing through all chapters I learned nothing but encountered many popular ideas with no anchor.
March 4, 2022
Bom livro sobre varejo, entretanto acaba sendo muito repetitivo nos seus conceitos e temo que já esteja datado para 2022, seria muito interessante uma 2a edição revisada e atualizada. A 3a era acelerou-se muito com os smartphones, redes sociais e inteligência artificial.
May 14, 2020
Read for school, great if you're into this sort of thing.
August 18, 2023
At this point, it might be a bit dated. I am not dumber for having read it though. It's ok.
November 1, 2016
Good read for anyone who is taking baby step to retail industry. The first chapter covers four waves of retail so that readers can get to understand the evolution of U.S. retail from 1900s until now. The authors give in-depth analysis on consumer behavior changed at time as well. After explaining how important technologies are in retail, the book represents some new rules of retailing with big words like, neural connectivity, preemptive distribution, value-chain control, and omni-brand. The book is kind of repetitive with examples of Apple, JC Penny, and Sears. Disappointed that they didn't mention the new growing startups like Stitch Fix, Rue La La, Rent a Runway... No concrete execution plans for business but a bulk of information.
Still, this is not a fictional book or self help so don't expect it to be an easy book to read.
Still, this is not a fictional book or self help so don't expect it to be an easy book to read.
December 6, 2013
This is a require text for anyone that is in retail. Its highly educational and very informative. Beside explaining the modern retail and dot com business, the authors go into detail on how Sears got started with their catalog business. They became the forefathers in retail by starting in the late 1800's and how they are failing in our present time, but yet almost all retailers starts with the basic principle that Sears established. It starts with the old and ends with the new. Pretty good overall history on how the consumers became a brand for all retailers.
October 9, 2015
The first few chapters of the book could have easily been condensed into 1 chapter or a few pages, they expanded into detail unnecessarily and failed to provide any additional insight.
For someone who is not heavily invested in the retail world, this book gave me a good overview of challenges and changes taking place in the industry.
I was looking for in-depth omni-channel strategies - which this book did not provide. Nonetheless, I give this book 4 stars for giving me a decent insight into the industry.
For someone who is not heavily invested in the retail world, this book gave me a good overview of challenges and changes taking place in the industry.
I was looking for in-depth omni-channel strategies - which this book did not provide. Nonetheless, I give this book 4 stars for giving me a decent insight into the industry.
April 3, 2013
This is a very insightful read about how retailing has changed and where it is going. Robin Lewis offers the first cohesive model for evaluating what will work and what will not. Since reading this two years ago, I have applied his rules to every new merchant I have underwritten and have made much better decisions.
April 14, 2013
Overall, I think that the author's vision for how the retail landscape will turn out is accurate, but JC Penny just failed miserably using a similar approach... we'll see what happens, but Brands and their interactions with consumers will ultimately define success or failure for many companies over the next few years.
April 4, 2015
Makes some insightful predictions about the coming merging of boundaries between online and offline retail. However, the rules that the authors lay down are a little dated and known for most of us who are in retail. Interesting reading, especially because it vindicates quite a few of the things that are being practiced by us.
January 29, 2016
Very interesting history of retail in America, plus predictions (based on the authors' assessment of where we are now) on what will be happening in the near future. Although much has been said about this, the American shopper is now in Maslow's highest tier - self-actualization - meaning that we have everything we need. Now, it is about what we want - and what we want is "experience."
April 4, 2016
It was very helpful being able to take up microeconomics and marketing before reading this book. I learned new marketing strategies for retail. I also learned about the history and background of some of the top companies in the world, how they were and how they come to be. Again, like all business-entrepreneurship books I've read, it was informative- but this especially.
March 11, 2013
Excellent book for anyone with an interest in retail. The book is well written and easily understandable. It chronicles the three historic periods of retail and describes the new world of retail and how retailers need to adapt to the new world of retail.
December 2, 2014
Some of the theories are outdated (the book was written in 2010). However, I thought the most interesting parts were:
1) History on the various waves of retail
2) Theory on the three key strategies for winning retailers
1) History on the various waves of retail
2) Theory on the three key strategies for winning retailers
June 28, 2016
If you have any involvement in retail as a career, I highly recommend this book. As someone who works for an omnichannel retailer, I found this book to be very informative and timely. Make sure to pick up the second edition which has been revised and updated.
December 18, 2012
This book did not have a lot of great info. I'm sad I wasted the time reading the whole thing and definitely wouldn't have finished had it not been a recommended book from work.
November 12, 2013
As mentioned in other reviews, the book is really repetitive.
March 29, 2014
good book to read
September 8, 2015
An excellent book on Retail Industry. A must read for anyone who want to develop an insight about forces which have been, are and will be shaping retailing sector.
Read
December 18, 2016Stimulating and thoughtful. Very insightful book which all retailers should read
January 1, 2012
Incredible book on the future of retailing. A must read.
August 9, 2012
includes the history of retail and the future, gives thorough examples of relevant companies.
Read
June 21, 2017Những quy luật mới trong bán lẻ: Bi quyết để cạnh tranh thành công tại những thị trường khắc nghiệt nhất thế giới; NXB Tổng hợp Tp HCM; 2011.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews