No Retreat, No Surrender
Analyzing and commenting on the hot topics in business, politics, and economics globally
I do not play favorites nor do I criticize to be malicious or disrespectful. My goal is simple: Provide opinions that help cut through noise, educate, uncover lies and half-truths, and provide clarity.
AI has Changed Everything
I’m in Florida this week with a technology client that I advise. The primary topic of discussion is AI followed by more AI. The company has no choice. AI has changed everything related to business. Twitter has hired a new CEO. Makes sense. Elon Musk has more important...
The Albatross: Coles, Ocado and the Grocery War Down Under
One of the most interesting grocery markets in the world is located in Australia. Woolworths Group, is the dominant grocery retailer followed by Coles Group. The two retailers have engaged in some of the most ferocious battles ever seen in the grocery industry. I’ve...
Amazon’s Road Not Taken
I wake up at 4 AM to go work out. Before I go to the gym, I check for messages. I communicate with people from around the world on LinkedIn including the press, students, professors, consultants, and executives. I’m grateful for the opportunity to interact with so...
The CEO’s Delimma
OpenAI released ChatGPT on November 30, 2022. After reviewing ChatGPT, I knew I was witnessing something special - like witnessing the unveiling of the Apple iPhone in 2007. Apple's foldable phone that should be released by October, has the potential of becoming...
Amazon is Now Using Funeral Homes to Make Deliveries and Other Amazon News
Amazon continues to look for ways to reduce their shipping costs while also providing opportunities for customers to order more products. Amazon is a perfect example of a company going through growing pains while facing increased competition. For example: ➡ Amazon is...
Walmart’s Instacart and Amazon Killer
Individuals like to reach out to me off the record to ask for my opinion on strategy, robotics, and operations. In return, they provide me with information. For example, for nearly 2.5 years, I’ve had discussions with individuals from Walmart and dunnhumby about...
We Run Our Company, Not You
Crime has become so rampant that many retailers have chosen to lock up nearly all of the products in their stores behind plexiglass. I recently stated in a post, "Retailers that lock up their products lock out their customers. Far too many stores have become...
Killing Blackberry: The Lessons Learned
The undisputed King of smartphones is the Apple iPhone which controls 57% market share as of March 2023. What makes Apple's accomplishment even more impressive is that the company Apple dethroned, Research In Motion or RIM, maker of the BlackBerry, owned over 50% of...
Shopify Pivots by Selling its Logistics Division to Flexport: Is it the Right Move?
Shopify CEO Tobias Lütke announced early Thursday that the company is cutting 20% of its workforce and selling the majority of its logistics business to Flexport, including Deliverr Inc. Shopify also divested 6 River Systems to Ocado Group. Ocado has terminated 80% of...
The Myth of the Nimble Retailer
I've watched with fascination as many retail CEOs over the last year are announcing layoffs. Although layoffs are common in retail and other industries, what makes the recent layoff announcements made by Amazon, Meta, Salesforce and other companies unusual is this -...