Today’s Retail Needs Both Tech and the Human Touch
Digital tools can enhance the customer experience, but won’t replace people.
Consumer Products
Competing for Shoppers’ Habits
PwC’s seventh annual global survey of consumers suggests that the next major retail industry battle will be over control of everyday routines.
Melissa Snover’s Recipe for Sweet Success
The “head magician” at Katjes Magic Candy Factory talks about custom candy, serial entrepreneurship, technology, and the growing pains of startups.
Closing the Gap between What Consumers Want and What They Get
People want more human touch in their shopping experiences, but in this increasingly digital, automated world, how can brands deliver?
CEO Succession Planning in a Family Business
Jonathan Warburton, chairman of U.K. bakery chain Warburtons, is clear-sighted about developing family talent and attracting top managers.
s+b BlogsAsk Not What Your City Can Do for New Jobs
Towns in the U.S. are scrambling to attract Amazon’s second headquarters, but there are more effective ways to put people to work. Fill the vacant jobs in your area.
Why Haier Is Reorganizing Itself around the Internet of Things
The world’s largest and fastest-growing home appliance company has always moved ahead of technological change. Now, as it enters a world of sensors and artificial intelligence, it is shifting the way it does business yet again.
How Precision Medicine Will Transform the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Industries
Leaders must act quickly to overcome obstacles so they can harness revenue opportunities for the industry and health benefits for society.
s+b BlogsThe Legacy of IKEA Founder Ingvar Kamprad
He understood that everything a company sells — and everything its customers do — should contribute to the experience.
s+b BlogsRewards Cards Test the Limits of Customer Loyalty
How I liberated myself from points and why it matters to your company.
Can Craft Beer Continue to Tap into Growth?
As the thriving sector matures, new growth strategies will be necessary.
The Magic of Predicting Demand from Data
Demand sensing is a key element of a real-time, connected supply chain ecosystem and can kick-start digital transformation.
s+b BlogsA Guide to This Season’s Consumers
In a complicated retail landscape, it is critical for retailers to understand what shoppers are thinking.
s+b BlogsWhy the Aetna–CVS Deal Is a Lesson for Leaders
It’s a case study in the “attacker’s advantage.”
s+b BlogsThe Dangerous Necessity of Relying on Bots
Algorithms and AI can help a company achieve massive scale, but they bring with them new risks.
s+b BlogsUniqlo Addresses Retail Woes with High-Tech Vending Machines
A small but growing number of retailers and restaurants are experimenting with selling their wares through unstaffed kiosks, often linked to apps and e-payment systems.
What the Body Tells Us about Leadership
In this Thought Leader interview, social presencing theater innovators Otto Scharmer and Arawana Hayashi describe how to develop your management skills through physical awareness.
In High Spirits
How to capitalize on the boom in craft liquors.
A Strategist’s Guide to the Digital Grocery
As Amazon and Walmart disrupt the grocery industry, smart retailers can compete by plying their wares in a technologically enabled way.
s+b BlogsSpeed Meets Variety in Amazon’s Deal for Whole Foods
The $13.7 billion agreement may help both retailers overcome some of their biggest hurdles.
VideoEileen Fisher on Leadership: The Personal Side of Organizational Change
The founder of the apparel company talks about how much personal growth leaders should demand — of employees and themselves. For further insights, read “Eileen Fisher and the Personal Side of Leadership.”
