The Marketplace Strategy Blog

“They’ve actually got Holiday decorations in the supermarket, can you believe it, it’s only just October!?” Every year it’s the same. One minute we’re enjoying light evenings and family BBQs, the next we’re unearthing scarves and complaining about Christmas songs in the shops. But for those of us working in the retail industry, planning for the peak season actually begins months in advance.

We’ve gotten used to seeing the headlines about the “death of the high street,” “retail stores facing an apocalypse” and other equally scaremongering predictions. It’s been refreshing this week to hear that retail stores could be facing a renaissance, led by Amazon of all companies! Instead of dissipating, the role of store has evolved, and smart retailers should be examining how they can embrace this growing trend favoring experiences over products.

This week Dick’s Sporting Goods made many headlines by taking a moral stand: They will no longer sell assault style rifles in their stores, and have raised the age to buy a firearm to 21. While they didn’t sell the exact gun to the Parkland shooter, they did sell a shotgun to him in November of 2017.

I’m very proud to showcase the launch of Christian Lacroix’s “Brand Platform” christian-lacroix.com built in collaboration with Mirakl.

The Christian Lacroix brand is iconic to me - I’m French, I love fashion, and the bold Christian Lacroix designs have always delighted me. And although I’m always proud when any of our clients launch their online marketplace with Mirakl, this presents a historic use of the marketplace model. The House of Christian Lacroix is now successfully selling directly to customers online: the universe of Christian Lacroix products is now available under on a single “Brand Platform.” This new online experience sells Christian Lacroix menswear, women’s accessories, and lifestyle collection on christian-lacroix.com.

One of the joys of parenthood is that it gives a great opportunity to rewatch movie classics. This weekend I decided to watch the movie BIG with my 7 and 9-year-old daughters. During the famous piano dance scene my daughters asked me, “Dad can we go to this store? It looks amazing!”