Entries by Jay York

Wawa, Casey’s, 7-Eleven, Buc-ee’s Convenience Stores Win With Trustworthy Brand-Business Value

Barron’s, the financial weekly, is suggesting that investors take a long look at convenience stores. Apparently, convenience stores, such as WaWa and Casey’s and others, have captured the attention and wallets of customers. With fresh, hand-crafted foods, beverages, other merchandise and, according to Buc-ee’s, “the cleanest restrooms in America,” convenience stores are fast-becoming go-to places […]

If Only EV Makers and Policy Makers Had Asked About Problems

Lately, there has been a lot of hand-wringing over the sales of EVs. EVs are not generating as much interest as expected. US automotive giants, except for Tesla, have backtracked on their EV plans, even going so far as to say that hybrids may in their futures, just like Toyota. Mercedes is pulling back, too. […]

Whole Foods Daily Shop May Be Amazon’s Winning Grocery Concept

Ever since Amazon purchased Whole Foods in 2017, observers, pundits, analysts, investors and the curious have wondered how Amazon would shake up the grocery business. At the time of the purchase, astute commentators opined that Amazon would treat Whole Foods as a laboratory for new grocery and retail ideas. These commentators were not wrong. Amazon […]

Chanel, Prada, Hermès: Maintaining Exclusivity in a World of Ubiquitous Availability

Consumers face rising prices from many favorite brands. Insurance costs, fast food costs, transportation costs and the cost of stamps have all increased. The pushback from rising prices is now seriously affecting package goods, especially grocery-purchased brands. Package goods volumes are declining. Consumers are finding all sorts of work-arounds by which to manage their stressed […]

Boeing And The Loss Of Its Brand-Business Trustworthiness

In 1957 there was a TV show called Who Do You Trust?. The host was Johnny Carson, pre-Tonight show icon. Who Do You Trust? was probably the last time that trust was considered comedic. Trust is now a serious component of brand-business management. Trust it one of those elements that a brand-business needs in order […]

Carhartt: Old is New

In 2003, McDonald’s was, as BusinessWeek stated, “In Hamburger Hell.” McDonald’s subsequent turnaround had many facets. One of McDonald’s critical strategies was modernizing the brand-business without jeopardizing its heritage. In other words, McDonald’s aimed to evolve its heritage for today without losing its roots from yesterday. Brand-businesses can live forever, but only if properly managed. […]

UPS And The Omen For Marketing

UPS ditched its CMO. And, UPS eliminated the CMO role completely. While it is true that that marketing does not solve every organizational problem, it is also true that the CMO role, when executed properly, is a necessity.  This rejection of the CMO and the role is not a surprise. But, it is a bad […]

Applebee’s And The Loss Of Neighborhood

Local continues to be a driver for customers. Grocery stores like Publix and Whole Foods label items that are locally produced. Farmers’ markets are a draw for shoppers wanting produce that have not accrued a lot of air mileage. Craft fairs and art shows emphasize local creativity and talent. One of the strongest drivers of […]