• Best Buy delivers positive Q4 earnings results as its Renew Blue plan continues to help turn this retail giant around.
• YOY Holiday gains seen in 2014 across many retail sectors and Consumer Electronics product categories.
• Consumer confidence (and the attendant rise in spending) continues on an upward trajectory.
• Emerging technologies are ready for mass consumption.
Just like the crocuses that will soon emerge from the melting snow packs across much of the U.S., these budding signs are showing there is much life in the retail (and e-Tail) world of Consumer Electronics as the harsh winter gives way to the warming days of spring. Despite the loss of many retailers these past few years, allow me to take a contrarian view of the often reported demise of retail by quoting Mark Twain: “Reports of my death, have been greatly exaggerated.”
I am not ignoring the realities of what brought many retailers to their knees (most recently the well-documented troubles of Radio Shack), but from my travels around this country, meeting with retailers like yourself and your partners (manufacturers, distributors and buying groups), I have been hearing about winning solutions and growing optimism. Best Buy is not alone in this rejuvenation.
Bad news seems to attract attention more than the good, but that does not mean there is not an abundance of good things happening in the industry — just that we are not sharing them enough. It is time to turn that trend around, and here is where you come in:
I would love to hear about YOUR successes, the ways YOU are innovating your business, how YOU are changing doing business. I understand you will not want to share proprietary information, so please feel free just to share the results. There is good news out there and we can all share in each other’s good fortune.
Reach out directly to me at [email protected] and we will share your news with our community at www.twice.com.
Wishing you much continued success and thank you for your continued support and partnership.
Ed Hecht
VP/Publisher TWICE
