You might not know Shein’s brand, but chances are you’ve seen their clothing. The Chinese fast fashion company has quickly and quietly grown into an e-commerce giant. Shein targets young shoppers with an online-only business model and rock-bottom prices. They have been able to scale quickly because without physical shopfronts, Shein can sell anywhere that it can ship their products. But companies shouldn’t try to compete with Shein on price, according to Charles de Brabant, the Executive Director of the Bensadoun School of Retail Management.
Poets&Quants has named Professor Maxime Cohen to its annual Best 40-Under-40 MBA Professors of 2022 list. The influential business school news site annually recognizes professors under the age of 40 who are masters in the classroom, influence business and policy, are prolific researchers and have demonstrated meaningful impact on their fields.
The pandemic hit brick and mortar retailers hard. Lockdowns pushed consumers toward e-commerce websites. ALDO was forced to close more than 250 stores, but it rapidly pivoted its business model to accommodate changing retail trends, says ALDO CEO David Bensadoun, who spoke to undergraduate and graduate students from Professor Marie Josée Lamothe's classes at the Bensadoun School of Retail Management.
Data can tell you a lot about the current state of business, and what the future holds. That’s information that companies can use to make strategic decisions, and it is multiplying quickly. Up to 90 per cent of all data was created in the past two years alone. To leverage, Prof. Maxime Cohen recommends executive education programs in data science as a way to understand the possibilities, and communicate effectively with data scientists.
The check-out counter is the last place paying customers visit before they leave the store – and it is a retailer’s last chance to make a sale. The counter and the aisles that lead up to it are called a cash wrap, and can be arranged to entice customers to made additional purchases. A good cash wrap should incentivize impulse buys without being pushy, according to Prof. Maxime Cohen, a Professor of Retail and Operations Management at Desautels.
Standing in a check-out line is the least pleasant part of the shopping experience – and it could become a thing of the past. New technology is allowing shoppers to make in-store purchases with their phones, and a variety of self-checkout pilot projects are already underway at stores in Montreal. Some are as simple as scanning a QR code, and confirming your credit card information.
Victor Luis, Chairman and CEO of Moose Knuckles, explains his unique view on success and how he rose through the corporate ladder during the Bensadoun School of Retail Management Retail Leaders Talk. Students in the Master of Management in Retailing (MMR) were given insights into how to view success and pave one's own way rather than following others.Â
During lockdowns, access to luxury services was severely limited. Fine dining establishments were reduced to haute cuisine in take-out containers, and spas forced to close altogether. But some shoppers have tried to fill that void with consumer goods. Everyone’s life was disrupted, but those who kept their jobs had some extra money in their pocket, and many of them spent it, says Charles de Brabant, Executive Director of the Bensadoun School of Retail Management.
Canada’s largest integrated network of medical clinics is using technological innovation to improve the patient-physician experience, and Bensadoun School of Retail Management Prof. Maxime Cohen will help them do it. ELNA Medical recently announced that Cohen will be their first Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer. The Professor of Retail and Operations Management will use his expertise AI to help ELNA Medical achieve better health outcomes for their patients.
Workers in the service industry have often endured low wages, few benefits, and poor treatment. The pandemic has changed what they are willing to accept, and employers can no longer afford to treat workers like they can be easily replaced, says Charles de Brabant, the Executive Director of the Bensadoun School of Retail Management. With workers in high demand, many will simply move on from a bad situation, but companies can help reduce the strain on their workforce through measures like reduced operating hours.
A generous donation from the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) will support the Retail Innovation Challenge at the Bensadoun School of Retail Management by contributing to the development of the next generation of retailers. This partnership will help to deepen the Bensadoun School’s ties with Québec’s business ecosystem and further shape the future of retail.
Congratulations to Professor Maxime Cohen, Desautels’ Scale AI Chair in Data Science for Retail, on his recent appointment as ELNA Medical’s inaugural Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer. In his new role, Cohen will leverage AI methodologies to improve health access and outcomes at primary and specialty care clinics across Canada.
What makes luxury? Is champagne’s charm found in its effervescent lightness, or the ceremony of its uncorking? It can be both. Consumers will pay a premium for all kinds of reasons, and luxury goods acquire their reputations through their rarity, provenance, or workmanship. But luxury is also in the eye of the beholder, according to Charles de Brabant, the Executive Director of the Bensadoun School of Retail Management. Once the exclusive domain of the rich, luxury goods are now more widely consumed than ever before.
The McGill Bensadoun Master of Management in Retailing (MMR) continues to reinvent retail education through offering experiential learning opportunities. By solving real problems in collaboration with industry partners during their internships, MMR students gain early career experience and establish meaningful connections with mentors even before they graduate.
Professor Saibal Ray, academic director of the Bensadoun School of Retail Management, is concerned that the ongoing rise in retail technologies like self-checkout kiosks and smartphone-based order facilities may backfire as some shoppers find these features inconvenient and frustrating. While technology has proven useful for navigating social distancing guidelines, it can only go so far before it disrupts people’s sense of comfort and control, he says.