John Rice

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Fasten Your Seatbelts. It’s Gonna Be A Bumpy Ride

(Dateline - Retail Doldrums) Once there was a time when we could blame slow winter sales on the weather. Or the disappointment of our local team to fail to reach the SuperBowl. Or any other idea we might invoke to rationalize why no one buys electronics in February. We know they don’t. We complain about it every year. Be we sales people, retail operators or manufacturers, we enter this... More

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Pick yourself up, dust yourself off…

Whew. Another holiday season has come and gone. Now, we calculate the returns and profit margins and wait for the analysts, consultants and pundits to tell us how our industry performed this year. But you already know, don’t you? As a manufacturer/supplier, you know if the marketplace wanted your offerings. As a retailer, you know if the customers were willing to pay top dollar,... More

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Who’s got a 'Pet Rock'?

In the 1970s, Gary Dahl made a small fortune selling Pet Rocks.  It was, understandably, a gimmick.  It was a rock in a box with a “Care and Feeding” manual.  He sold thousands, maybe millions.  I had one that I was given as a gift.It was a phenomenon — not unlike Cabbage Patch Dolls, Tickle-Me Elmo or other products that retailers could not keep on the... More

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Christmas Is Coming, Where’s Your Goose?

I know, it’s summertime, but I’m running Christmas carols through my head. Maybe it’s just me. “Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, Won’t you please to put a penny in the old man’s hat.” In boardroom and marketing departments, in buyers’ meetings and manufacturers’ sales presentations, there are a lot of... More

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Summer’s Here, I’m For That

I live outside of Philadelphia. On Thursday, the temperature hit 99-degrees and may have set a record. I’m not sure, and I really don’t care about records. I only know that it was hot, humid and the only release from the heat was an evening thunderstorm that threatened to destroy the canopy on my back-yard deck. (There was modest damage. It can be repaired. Thanks for asking.)... More