An occupational hazard of being a futurist is that people remember very clearly when you’re wrong. But I think I got Agentic #AI roughly right. This is from my first book, written in 2012.

Brand equity is tough to measure.
Until it’s gone.

My latest piece for The Business of Fashion.

The one index that’s up today. And no, that’s not a good thing.

1/2 IMO, @shopify should acquire Hudson's Bay’s brand assets and key stores. Reclaim this great Canadian icon and flagships in key cities to create a multi-floor marketplace of new and exciting Canadian merchants.

There are rising reports of grocery retailers mislabelling US products as Canadian. I talked with @ctvyourmorning.bsky.social about why it's happening and how shoppers can be sure of what they're buying.

In Dubai last week delivering a keynote on the future of competitive advantage in business. I made the case that the old competitive fronts (product, selection, price, service and convenience) will be replaced by a new set of key imperatives! More here 👇

thefutureeconomy.ca/op-eds/the-f...

Starbucks mission : “With every cup, with every conversation, with every community – we nurture the limitless possibilities of human connection.”

Turns out “with every cup” they’re nurturing nothing but landfill. Over 75% of BILLIONS of Starbucks cups may end up as pollution.

Image CBS News

“The office” for the next couple of days.

Wonderful to be at the beautiful Hôtel Chateau de Montvillargenne to deliver a talk for the annual L'Oréal Retail University!

Had a wonderful day in New York City yesterday speaking at the Sourcing Journal Summit. Thanks to everyone who attended! You were awesome. #SJSummits

Heading to NYC today to keynote the kickoff of tomorrow’s Sourcing Journal Summit. Great lineup of speakers on tap.

www.events.sourcingjournal.com/sjfallsummit...

Huge thanks to Zach Phillips , John Mlynczak and the incredible team National Association of Music Merchants - NAMM for allowing me to kick off the morning today! And a special thanks to The Chapman Brothers for warming up the crowd with an absolutely amazing performance!

What a phenomenal week, beginning in Amsterdam to speak at Retail Trends Live and then on to Riyadh Saudi Arabia for a keynote and 4 amazing panel discussions on the future of cities. Thank you to all my amazing hosts and panelists. You were all outstanding!

When I wrote Resurrecting Retail in 2020 I posited that the next “big short” would be in the CRE market when the bottom fell out of mortgage-backed securities (aka dirivitives) in the retail sector, as it applied to malls/office.

Today’s FT seems to confirm my worst suspicion. Buckle up.

Something I talk a lot about when it comes to experiential design is surprise.

With that in mind, the team at Air Canada surprised me yesterday with a simple, hand delivered card, in the lounge en route to Miami. Memorable #CX often means doing small, meaningful, things and doing them well.