Who Will Be The Last Retailers Standing?

Who will be the last retailers standing?

9 years ago the public relations agency hired to launch this book posed the same question, and we are doing it again today. Who will be the Last Retailer Standing? We are once again face to face with risks and opportunities from the next generation of challenges which include everything from technology to human social issues. They are all important, they shape our behaviours and social contracts with one another and the political environments we live in. The current times feel strange and fragile. We never know when the next variant will surface. Everyday how to escape from this pandemic is on our minds. What I have done is uploaded Chapter 8 from this book on georgeminakakis.com I hope you will be interested in knowing what I was thinking in 2013. You will also find my thoughts on who will be some of the Last Retailers Standing. My view is we are still arguing the same issues with just a different framework of technology, and other socioeconomic issues. I've also added comments in red so that you can read my current views. You will find that I refer to virtual stores in this chapter. I had a vision of what the future should really be like.

Consumers are the Decision Makers and Retailers are the Dream Makers.

This is the message I have been leading off with in my presentations to companies. What is it all about? Well it is the defining relationship that reminds us on why organizations exist and the need to be innovators, by creating a great culture, hiring talent that is a competitive advantage, who in turn identify and develop strategies, innovate concepts, products and services. Then it's the job of the whole organization to operationally execute and repeat, repeat, repeat.

Even technology needs humans for it to operate. Talent is the key to every day survival and market wins. It is what differentiates long-term brands from short-term ones. The need for vocalized motivational speeches?is limited, with a healthy work culture. Workers want to know what they need to do and how? The why, is as obvious as the nose on your face and the need to breathe. Our purpose is everyday to be one step ahead of the market and faster than competitors.?Write our own history by preventing risks and discovering new opportunities, then refine and deliver them.?

Let's put the importance of innovation into perspective. Here is a list of the worlds most innovative companies. The market cap for the top 5 companies as you see them on this list is collectively $8.64 Trillion as of Friday this last week. The market cap of all stocks on the S&P 500 is $40.7 T. That's 5 stocks out of 500 on the S&P. Innovation isn't an option.

Your new car won't be just another car, it better be an intelligent learning machine.

By the year 2035 it will not be vogue to own a gas car and have it driven by human intelligence. In fact, it may be dangerous because your hands, eyes and feet may be no match for the bots driving all other electric cars. ?History may also show that we reduced accidents. Now this all may seem whimsical but it is far closer than you think. And there is a lot more that will happen because of this. Auto manufacturers are scrambling to keep up with Tesla, which by the way, Tesla for now spends no marketing dollars to sell cars. And Tesla's market cap is over $1.0 Trillion whereas all the other car manufacturers are at $1.5T collectively. This isn't about Tesla, this about how electric cars will change everything from related businesses to how we view society. And the speed that this will happen will be quite extraordinary equivalent to our adoption of the internet and Smartphones. Read this UBS also predicts by 2040 the market will be 100% EV. If that's the case I suspect there will be a delay in trading cars for a few years after 2025 because it would make no sense to buy another combustion engine vehicle. Who would buy something no one wants? But remember the internet and smartphones improved our productivity, ability to communicate and connectivity. If an electric car does not have robotics, AI, machine learning, connected to a neural network, it is just a battery operated car! And that will be a differentiator in the market just like Apple and Samsung have been. Even the selling of cars will be different or at least it should already be by now and completely contactless! And a whole lot of related retail businesses will disappear.

If you want the job, Lead like a CEO

Most of us were told early in our careers if you want the top job "you have to act the part." It is a very over used dictum however it is also very true. Because in other words you need to develop yourself in a manner and in the disciplines that a successful CEO would be presumed to behave. I will be very clear about one thing, do not confuse charisma and a positive behaviour with leadership capabilities and competencies that deliver results. We have all seen a lot of these leaders crash in flames. But if you want the job you need to lead with clarity, integrity, credibility, authenticity and accountability. Sure you can find a mentor but success is about who you are as a leader. There is no perfect CEO as there are no perfect executives, humans make mistakes. But its what we do about those mistakes that defines our leadership. This article from Harvard Business Review may be helpful. In the end you may have specialized in one or two functions. However, it is your overall operational and general management experiences that matter and surrounding yourself with people who can lead the functions you can't. Get those skills honed early and take the assignments no one wants, it will strengthen your abilities and define your leadership potential. At the end of the day it takes a great deal of courage to step forward and put your career on the line and believe that you are good enough to lead an organization. The question is what how will you prove you are the right leader? That's a question of performance and have you earned the trust of others for greater responsibility? You may also want to listen to this LinkedIn interview between myself and Julian Roberts. I was being asked about Authentic Leadership and covered off the other attributes as well.

Politics, Bureaucracy and Entitlement vs. Society

There is a growing rift between society, politicians and bureaucracy brewing and if what's happening around the world which as a "do as I say and not as I do" mentality and entitlement doesn't get reigned in there is a collision course in the making. We don't have a problem with anyone running for office or working for government and having benefits and a defined pension plan. The issue is that there is such a discrepancy between the working class that does not have those benefits and opportunities and it's our tax dollars that's paying for it. That creates a lot of anger, however, we should be looking at this a little differently. The private sector has been in a constant state of change with technology and competitive forces. Bureaucracy on the other hand is slow to change and seldom has a reason to be disruptive, they invest the least in digital transformations and integrating technology to improve service to the public. In other words the private sector keeps losing jobs to technology and the public sector is slow to change and adopt. Intentionally, or by virtue of culture, it is creating a rift within society. Yet this article from May 2020 on one hand validates arguments about the technological shortfall of bureaucratic services and on the other hand being grateful that it exists. You decide. But the issue is now more transparent than ever, and its a problem of economic disparity between those working in the private sectors versus the public sectors. Especially when it comes to benefits, job security and retirement.

A pathway & willpower to emerge out of this pandemic

Has our exit from the pandemic gone sideways instead of forward? Many people are asking the same question. And there is a lot of dialogue about how Florida is managing and growing through the pandemic WSJ Article an interview and opinion that not everyone or medical professionals will agree with. The question is should we just throw caution into the wind and just begin living with this, vaccines, all other controls, and hope for the best? The future looks very different than when vaccines were first introduced. Now we are looking at vaccines for a few more years. Most of us will be okay with that, but not continued shutdowns and shut-ins from life, they are no longer feasible. Certainly, we cannot ignore more outbreaks of variants, but we need to rethink consumer facing businesses for those that are not comfortable, because without them that means less revenue. The time is now for dialogue and decisions. What kind of future are we really facing? For how much longer? What is the safe workaround and what role does the public and business play in this? We need a common ground to safely walkout of this, but not one dictated by lobbyists and special interests groups. That will only lead to more doubt and distrust and our political leaders need to be more candid and less protective for the sake of re-elections.

Notable Stuff

Retail Rethink put out its list of 2022 Retail Influencers, I was given that distinction and once again very grateful.

NFT's (CNBC) stocks and property will be turned into NFT's? See my comments on LinkedIn, on another NFT sale by Economist for $420K.

Other drives of inflation: Retail theft of goods from stores and shippers News Video (50secs) A crime is a crime. But what drives crime is also an issue, if I can suggest reading Freakonomics.

Walmart, Nike, Disney, Apple and others want to tell you that they are joining the metaverse.?There is a real head to toes human commerce component to this if they get it right. Read this article on Yahoo Finance. We need to differentiate the PR hype to stoke investor and consumer interest from inter-operational reality. Upon the day that the Metaverse is a financially sound commercial reality will be the same day, the lines are blurred between our real and virtual worlds. The everyday addictions of escapism from one life to another with our minds and thoughts are our biggest risks.?Perhaps it is time for prudent laws and governance, because the question must be asked who will be listening, tracking your virtual footprints, and why?

Personal Log - Fair Pay vs The Greedy

The reason higher pays are being demanded is because the standard 1-2% increase, if you were lucky to get that, never really kept up with inflation. Suddenly that has come back to haunt many business. I am all for paying people fairly. But recently it was noted that investors have been dumping any stock where management said that they were facing upward pressure on cost of labour. So, investors decided to punish many of them by taking their money out. Most of these investors are greedy and lack any common sense. We understand the financial impact, but the economic impact is positive and will eventually find itself back in the hands of the same businesses. It is nothing but pure greed on their part. Pay people more and they will spend more! How can that be bad? Employees are quitting jobs to get more pay, a better job and trusted workplace. The message is rather simple. The world has changed.