According to Charles de Brabant, Executive Director of the Bensadoun School of Retail Management, investing in smart technologies may help retailers profit in the long-term despite a steep upfront cost. In a pandemic world, frictionless alternatives to face-to-face interactions prioritize consumer safety, which could lead to increased brand loyalty and in-person browsing.
The labour shortage created by the pandemic forced many large retailers to decrease their hours of operation, leading to significant revenue losses, particularly over weekends. As the academic year progresses, Charles de Brabant, Executive Director of the Bensadoun School of Retail Management, predicts more students will be willing to work weekends if it means regaining some semblance of normal, pre-pandemic life.
Eric Bosco, the head of business development and partnerships at MITACS, provides recommendations for solving the current labour shortage in Quebec. He cites the Bensadoun School of Retail Management’s new Retail Innovation Laboratory as an essential partner in encouraging and supporting innovation within local companies.
Throughout the pandemic, in-store technologies like price-check kiosks and self-checkout have created a more convenient shopping experience for consumers and provided retailers with greater access to valuable data on shopping habits. But consumers are concerned about privacy, and retailers may not have the necessary resources to purchase and upkeep in-store tech.
Professor Maxime Cohen joins Boston College’s Dmitry Mitrofanov to weigh in on tax opportunity zones in the U.S. Designed to generate cash flow in lower-income areas, opportunity zone programs have proven useful for both residential and corporate real estate developers. On the other hand, these programs would benefit from clearer metrics and more adaptable protocols for identifying communities in which to invest.
Retail experts like Charles de Brabant, Executive Director at the Bensadoun School of Retail Management, are signaling the rise of revenge shopping, a phenomenon describing how consumers purchase more for pleasure as retailers re-open their doors to the public. Clothing retail will see a particular uptick in sales, de Brabant predicts, along with home decoration and renovation. But consumer behaviour continues to evolve in response to the pandemic, and retailers must be ready to adapt to budget, time, and safety concerns.
Maxime Cohen,Professor of Retail and Operations Management awarded2021 NSERC Discovery Grant
As convenient becomes more synonymous with contactless, Professor Saibal Ray, Academic Director of the Bensadoun School of Retail Management, sees a wealth of opportunity for retailers to innovate.
By providing more digital options, both in-store and online, retailers can set the stage for a boost in sales and customer loyalty that exceeds their investment in technology upgrades.
Charles de Brabant, Executive Director of the Bensadoun School of Retail Management, provides insights on the $5 billion, Montreal-based luxury clothing retailer, SSENSE.
The company's success, he says, bodes well for the fashion industry in Montreal. It’s a chance for high-end retail brands to build into a niche group of customers yet unreached, particularly millennials with deep pockets.
Professor Saibal Ray, Academic Director of the Bensadoun School of Retail Management, joins a group of experts on the Bill Kelly Show podcast to share his perspective on the status of Canada’s COVID-19 vaccination rollout initiative, including the growing pressure to expand vaccine access on a global scale.
Authors: Maxime C. Cohen, J.J. Kalas, and G. Perakis
Publication: Management Science, Volume 67, Issue 4, April 2021, Pages 2340-2364.
Abstract:
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Delve, the thought leadership publication of McGill’s Desautels Faculty of Management, has examined how organizations grapple with a rapidly changing world. In the spirit of embracing transformation and leveraging insight from the latest management research, Delve launches into uncharted post-pandemic directions with a new website and “New Normal” podcast episodes, aiming to inspire conversation and shift perspectives on some of the most consequential economic, social, and ecological topics of our time.
Menswear retailer Harry Rosen Inc. built its brand by dressing Canadian men in tailored designer suits, but the mass exodus from offices and boardrooms across the country during the pandemic sent demand spiraling downward. In response, Harry Rosen expanded its casual collections and made a foray into the male grooming and personal care product arena.
Anwar White, Program Director for the Master of Management in Retailing, weighs in on the luxury brand’s ongoing efforts to address shifting demand.
In episode 3 ofThe‘New Normal’ hosted byDave Kaufman,ProfessorYu Ma discusses how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected our relation to grocery stores, how shopping has changed in the last year, and what can be done from a technological perspective to improve the shopping experience and perhaps even help the consumer make more informed and healthier choices at the store.
In episode 1 ofThe‘New Normal’ hosted byDave Kaufman,Professor Saibal Rayhighlights the successes and failures of the COVID-19 vaccine procurement and global distribution, compares Israel's effort to Canada's, and questions if Canada will want to do all that’s necessary to be prepared should similar incidents arise in the future.