• Bob Phibbs

MAXEDA PLANS TO SELL A DOZEN OF ITS STORES TO ITS FRANCHISING NETWORK ------------------------------------   Earlier this week, Maxeda DIY Group announced its intention to sell a dozen of its company-owned stores to the current Brico and Praxis Franchising Network.   Franchising is widely seen as a forward-looking business model in the European DIY sector, and certainly within the Benelux market. Successful leaders such as OBI Group Holding and Hubo België NV continue to reinforce their operating strategies by building on the proven advantages of franchising.   This morning, I spoke with Patrick Vandenbogaerde, General Manager of Brico Belgium who noted: “ The aim is to the optimize the nowadays store network which requires to better match the current and latent expectations of our customers. Our current store formats (City-Small-Medium-Big Box) request a better alignment regarding customer’s needs, whether these are small DIY tasks, reparation, renovation or major projects at anytime, anywhere, including on Sundays. The Maxeda franchising creates significant opportunities that will benefit all stakeholders”.   At the upcoming DIY PRO & GARDEN Trade fair, I look forward to share with the 90 Franchisees how to build on this momentum and sail further on these winning waves. Have a great weekend and keep on DIY-ing...

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What happens when a retailer spots opportunity in the wake of a competitor’s collapse? Michaels Stores is answering that question with bold action, acquiring Joann's intellectual property and private label branding, including fan favorites like Big Twist yarn, and rapidly expanding its fabric, sewing, and crafting assortment. With Joann’s 800 stores shuttered, Michaels is seizing the moment: adding more than 600 new products, launching a dedicated landing page for former Joann customers (re-direct when you access the Joann.com website), and accelerating in-store and online offerings to capture a suddenly up-for-grabs market. This move not only fills a void for millions of displaced crafters but positions Michaels as the go-to destination for creativity in North America. However, while the strategy is opportunistic and well-timed, there are important precautions I'd highlight for leadership. Michaels faces ongoing financial pressures, including tariff risks from heavy reliance on Chinese suppliers, and is now on Debtwire’s “Retail Distressed Watchlist.” To sustain momentum, leadership must invest in supply chain resilience, technology, and customer experience, avoiding the pitfalls that doomed Joann and others before it. Michaels’ approach offers a blueprint for retailers: act quickly when rivals falter, but pair market-share grabs with disciplined financial management and future-focused innovation. For Michaels’ leadership, the call to action is clear: double down on customer engagement and operational agility to turn this acquisition into lasting growth. Other retailers, take note—success favors those who anticipate customer needs and use disruption to their advantage. #RetailStrategy #BusinessTransformation #CustomerExperience #CraftingCommunity #MarketOpportunity

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Demos can be the most impactful tool in an early stage brand’s tool belt. Kiera Kehoe knows this first-hand. Before jumping on board with Smash Kitchen, Glen Powell’s condiment brand, Kiera built Lift Off, a demo and merchandising agency that covered ~40 states. Kiera joined Shelf Help: The Tactical CPG Podcast to break down what it actually takes to build, run, and scale a demo program. We dive into the real mechanics of building and running a demo program from the ground up, when brands should start demoing (three to four months after launch, not day one), and which categories see the best demo ROI. We get into how to find, hire, and motivate top brand ambassadors (referrals and Facebook groups to name a few), the case for starting with an agency before building in-house, and how to diligence demo agencies. Kiera also talks candidly about the realities of scaling a national demo program, including why most brands eventually have to pull back on demo spend around the two-year mark as they move into conventional retail. 🛒 How Lift Off demo agency was born 🎯 Two marketing buckets: like your brand vs. buy your product 💰 Budget priority: sponsored search first, demos second 📊 Metrics that matter (samples, sales, reorders) 🤝 Why ambassadors are your best source of store-level intel 🔍 Finding great ambassadors (referrals and Facebook groups) ⚠️ Agency vs. in-house: when to make the switch 📈 The two-year compounding effect at Whole Foods The link to the full episode is in the comments. Make sure to follow on Apple, Spotify and Youtube to be the first to know when a new episode drops.

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Last week I shared how custom jewelry has finally become real. Not “choose your head and shank” kind-of-custom. I’m talking napkin sketch to finished ring custom. And—most importantly—it’s finally affordable. But here’s the thing: Most customers still don’t believe it. They’ve been trained to think custom = complicated, expensive, out of reach. So now I’m asking: How do we bring this to life—in-store—so people get it immediately? I’ve been thinking a lot about some of the best examples of hands-on retail: • Build-A-Bear: You walk in and you know what’s about to happen. The stuffing machine is front and center. • Lids: The embroidery center takes up half the store. You don’t ask “do they customize?”—it’s the whole show. • Cold Stone: You build your dessert on a slab of stone, toppings and all. It’s interactive. It’s fun. And it’s yours! That’s the playbook I want to borrow. What if we created a “Dream It, Build It” custom zone inside our stores? • A case with each step of the process: sketch → CAD → wax model → casting → finished ring? • A looping video showing real customer designs come to life? • A hands-on iPad or tablet where people can upload a sketch or browse for inspiration? • And critically: interactive pricing No mystery, no pressure—just clarity. And why now? Why is this finally doable? Three big reasons: 1. Lab-Grown Diamonds – Plug-and-play brilliance. No stress, no sticker shock. Just “Great” or “Perfect.” 2. Rapid CAD Design – What used to take weeks now takes overnight. Sketch it, scan it, see it by morning. 3. Factories That Get It – Real custom rings, built from scratch, in 10 business days. Seriously. We’ve spent years telling customers to pick what’s in the case. Now it’s time to show them they can create what’s in their head. If you’ve worked on in-store retail experiences like this—or know someone who has—I’d love to talk. Designers, tech folks, creatives—this is your moment. Let’s make custom jewelry as engaging as building a bear. And heck—maybe a customer decides to bling out a real stuffed bear!

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Retail is changing, but the fundamentals haven't. I recently joined the NYSE Floor Talk at the ICR Conference to discuss the current state of the apparel industry and where Faherty is headed. In a world obsessed with "tech-first" retail, we’ve found success by being a lil old school. A few takeaways from the conversation: 1. In-Person Retail (wholesale + stores) is a superpower: It’s not just about distribution; it’s about brand discovery and building trust in-person. 2. The "Modern Comfort" Shift: Post-pandemic style isn't going back into a box. People want high-quality pieces that work for the city, the beach, and everywhere in between. 3. Team is Everything: As a former college athlete, I look at business through a coaching lens. Our success is a direct result of the incredible team we’ve built. Check out the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/eppjpqCv

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If you’re still expecting distributors to build your brand for you… Don’t. They’re not telling your story. They’re not building your brand. They’re moving what’s easy to sell. And if that��s not you? You get forgotten fast. That’s not personal. That’s business. Smart brands know this: Distribution moves volume. But demand? Demand moves everything. And demand isn’t just built on shelves, it’s built everywhere your customer is. And where do people spend more time than ever? Online. Your brand has to show up where they’re already paying attention. Demand doesn’t come from being stocked. It comes from being wanted. So make your brand that desirable. That clear. That unforgettable… Make noise or make excuses. The shelf won’t wait.

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There is a paragraph in Keith McNally’s memoir, “I regret almost everything,” which talks about how McNally’s Balthazar co-chefs Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson were so overwhelmed by the restaurant’s demand that they were worried that it would impact the quality of the dishes they were putting on the tables. This dilemma - meet the volume and sacrifice value or maintain value at the expense of the volume - is at the center of the most of brand positioning, competitive, and growth strategies. This isn’t a straight-cut dichotomy: there are scenarios where the value is just good enough to sustain large volume (once masstige, now aspirational brands), or where there’s neither volume nor value (a discount rack). Similarly, when high-value, low-volume brands (like luxury fashion brands) adopt high-volume strategy, their perception of value is impacted. Or, when low-value items, like t-shirts, caps or other merch, assumed low-volume, limited-edition strategy, their value skyrockets. Decision where a brand will sit in the value/volume environment impacts its sales and pricing strategy as well as risk and profitability. It also influences what types of products a brand makes and how it markets them. Keith McNally could have listened to his co-chefs and restricted demand, creating long lines and waitlists. He could also have had reduced the care that went into prep of the dishes. Neither would have made Balthazar into what it is today. The first approach would created allure, but customers, tired of waiting to try a new place, would eventually moved on. The second approach would worked short-term, until enough people realized that the food is bad and told others about it. McNally chose to have a busy kitchen instead. Applied to the brand world, the volume/value matrix links consumers’ brand perception with its business performance. There are four kinds of strategy: aspirational, luxury, mass, and “last chance” (which is more of a failure of strategy). Volume/value matrix can also generate the hybrid strategy within brands, whereas organizational functions move at different speeds (more about this in the September 22nd installment of the Sociology of Business). A brand’s position on the matrix is not psychographically or geographically uniform. It depends on customer segment, location, region, context, etc. For certain customers Haagen-Dazs is aspirational; for others it is mass. In some regions IKEA is considered mass, in others, it is deemed aspirational. In certain contexts, Beluga vodka is aspirational, and in others it is luxury. Read about the four strategies on the Sociology of Business: https://lnkd.in/ex5dbGCK

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