The Robin Report

Like many people, we want JCPenney to succeed; there are some good pros there and they have been working hard to turn this thing around. But we just saw yet another quarter of dismal financial results: sales off 4.6 percent and a net loss of $65 million. You have to ask how much longer will JCP’s real estate owners keep subsidizing this sad story. Penney is in a tough spot, stuck in the middle market and getting squeezed in every direction. We get that and feel their pain.

Growing dependence on AI has revealed how risk and trust are influencing customer shopping behavior. Join Shelley and Shiv Gupta, Chief Analytics and Solutions Officer at Volute Group, as they explore how AI is used as a confessional when consumers trust agents more than websites, data collectors, and even other humans.

We’ve come a long way from the days when we never saw magazine photo shoots until the issue hit the stands. Static photo shoots have been transformed into dynamic video footage for online viewing. Vogue’s July edition’s photo shoot in Texas to celebrate the country’s 250th was fully chronicled online in an engaging video travelogue with high production values and an honest voice.

Sneakers are losing some of the cachet they enjoyed when buyers were willing to pay hundreds of dollars for limited editions on resale platforms such as StockX. Remember the Nike Air Force 1xTiffany & Co. drop? But sneaker culture remains integral to contemporary style; it’s just that the likes of Nike have lost their footing, replaced by challenger brands that offer both authenticity and distinction.

Kimberly Shenk is co-founder and CEO of tech brand Novi, a trustworthy commerce company that helps consumer brands make their products visible in AI search. Having been trained at MIT as a data scientist and a former captain in the Air Force is a unique pathway for a woman to achieve entrepreneurial success in the male-dominated, tech-bro culture of big tech. Many of the lessons Kimberly absorbed early on serve her and her company well today.

Technology often arrives with a promise larger than the power of the tool itself. A new tech stack simplifies the work, and a new platform connects the enterprise. A new dashboard creates visibility, and a new algorithm sharpens decision-making. AI has entered the same room with the loudest promise yet: faster analysis, cleaner forecasting, automated service, content on demand, and fewer constraints on human capacity.

Yes, they went private, racked up some debt, and no doubt need to spend some cash to keep above the water line. We get that. But their annual summer sale is also their 125th Anniversary and Nordstrom has upped the ante, with a big print catalog, lots of special events and, the big kicker, preview sales of fall merchandise not yet available. It’s a celebration on so many levels, and Pete and Erik Nordstrom are the hosts, with heartfelt thanks to their loyal customers.

AI continues to make headline news throwing retailers into disruption. But the real news is that retail is in crisis and it’s in the physical store. Join Shelley and Mark Cohen, TRR contributor and former Director of Columbia University’s Retail Studies Program, as they challenge the industry’s obsession with technology and make an unapologetic case for getting back to basics.

The first-quarter numbers are in, and the winners are easy to spot. Knowing what the numbers actually mean is the harder part, and most of us get it wrong in the same way. A clean read on any business is rare. There’s a lot of surface noise obscuring what the data reveal. Candid feedback thins out the higher it travels in the management hierarchy. And the temptation to treat the latest quarter as the definitive story of success (or failure) is hard to resist.

If you find yourself at your local Brandy Melville wondering whether you might fit into their clothing, I have bad news. The popular Gen Z favorite basics brand has decided to close its fitting rooms. This decision was likely made to combat shoplifting and vandalism, both of which run rampant in stores. However, for a retailer whose clothing varies in fit despite its infamous “one-size fits small” approach, the decision might seem like a risky inconvenience to customers.