Entries by Jay York

Dollar General Chooses Market Segmentation

Market segmentation is fundamental to brand-business building. When creatively and intelligently managed, market segmentation can provide insight into: Dollar General applied market segmentation to generate its two-year-old pOpshelf brand-business. Without altering its brand promise, Dollar General is leveraging market segmentation to expand its footprint with pOpshelf. Dollar General is not alienating its core customer base […]

Beyond Meat: A Brand-Business Needs a Relevant Differentiated Brand Promise

In its latest earnings call, Beyond Meat articulated a three-step turnaround plan. Observers, investors and analysts agree that Beyond Meat is a troubled brand-business in need of a turnaround. In yet another analysis of Beyond Meat on CNN, there was the familiar litany of issues. As CNN points out, Beyond Meat is facing a “waning” […]

Macy’s: A Mall Within A Mall

Is the rejuvenation of retail going to be the idea of a mall within a mall?  While some retail establishments bit the dust after years of overwhelming debt and pressures from coronavirus, some surviving stores are giving up the old “department” store approach for the idea of a store within a store. And, logically, as […]

Sears: The Agonizing Attrition of An Icon

As we enter the holiday season, we learn from BusinessWeek that Sears, once America’s holiday shopping mecca, is barely alive, in the continuing agony of attrition. The sadness of Sears is palpable.  Let’s face the facts: Sears is no longer a living brand. Some refer to Sears as a zombie brand: no longer alive but […]

Twitter Is Torching Its Brand Power

A powerful brand is the consistent identity of a trusted source. A powerful brand reflects its trusted reputation for quality, leadership, and integrity, underpinning all stakeholder relationships. A powerful brand is not merely a marketing concept. It is not an academic theory. It is not a line in an advertising slogan. A powerful brand is […]

Amazon Prime: The Bundle Is Better

Which is better for the brand? Asking users to pay for individual services? Or asking users to buy a bundle of services? There is a lot behavioral psychology involved in this choice that affects brand perceptions. There are inherent risks whichever approach a brand employs.  Research shows that individual fees feel more personalized as a […]

Building Immersive Brand Experiences: American Girl and RH Restaurants

Prior to the pandemic, Starbucks’ founder, Howard Schultz, stated that the way forward for brands is making your branded space an “experiential destination.” At that time,   Starbucks’ CEO, Kevin Johnson said, “To survive, merchants need to create unique and immersive in-store experiences.” Covid-19 changed things for Starbucks as the company post-pandemic focuses more on […]

Walgreen’s Bets Success On Segmentation

Walgreen’s’ CFO told The Wall Street Journal that the pharmacy’s almost two-year focus on Covid-19 was at the expense of its established customer base. While selling hand sanitizer rubbing alcohol, masks and dispensing vaccinations, Walgreen’s lost relevance with its core customers’ other needs. Walgreens’ is clearly unhappy about this situation. Now that the urgency of […]

Harley-Davidson’s Brand Family

Bloomberg Hyperdrive, a newsletter on the ideas that are reshaping the automotive industry, interviewed the CEO of Harley-Davidson, Jochen Zeitz. The subject of the interview was the spinning-off of Harley’s electric bike division – LiveWire. Within a discussion on finances, stock prices and the rationale for the spinoff, the interview turned out to be a […]