Rob McClellan

I have always been skeptical of the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) approach to product/solutions development. Too often, it has become an excuse for poor planning and rushed design. The result: half-baked solutions that fail to connect with the very people they’re meant to serve. In retail IT, that applies not only to shoppers but also to our internal customers. Store teams, category managers, and supply chain planners don’t need “viable.” They need tools that are reliable, intuitive, and actually improve their day-to-day work. This is why the concept of the Minimum Lovable Product (MLP), as highlighted in the Medium article, “Why You Should Build an MLP Instead” by Garima Srivastava, makes more sense. Lovable means the product is not just functional, but polished and designed with the end user in mind. It creates trust, engagement, and adoption—whether in the hands of a shopper or a colleague. Speed is important, but delivering something people value is what drives long-term success. In this environment, aiming for “lovable” is not optional—it’s the only way to build lasting impact.

24

1 Comment

🔥 Moore’s Law Is Now a Pressure Cooker — Time for a Step Function in Strategy It seems like we cross new thresholds every week... Moore’s Law isn’t just accelerating—it’s compressing. What used to be a predictable curve is now a pressure cooker. Technology generations are collapsing into 6-month cycles. Leadership is asking, “Where’s the return on all this investment?” Meanwhile, technologists are trying to explain architectures that didn’t exist a quarter ago. This isn’t a scaling problem. It’s a transformation imperative. 🧭 The first step? Instrument for Intent. Transformation begins when we stop describing what systems do and start capturing why they do it. Every API call, workflow, and data flow must be enriched with its business purpose. This isn’t just metadata—it’s the raw material of the intent graph. The intent graph is not documentation. It’s your infrastructure. It’s how agents, systems, and humans know what matters, what’s changing, and what to do next. It’s a living, auto-generative semantic map of enterprise processes—continuously updated by telemetry from every node. In this new paradigm, transformation is no longer about deploying more tools—it’s about aligning every signal with enterprise purpose. The organizations that master this semantic architecture will not just survive—they’ll lead

13

1 Comment

Kohl’s shares climbed more than 15% on Wednesday after the retailer topped Wall Street’s second-quarter earnings and revenue expectations, even as its sales declined and it looks for a new CEO. The Wisconsin-based department store narrowed its full-year sales guidance to reflect the higher part of its previous range. It said it now expects net sales to decline by between 5% and 6%. It had previously anticipated sales would fall 5% to 7%. It also revised its full-year earnings per share guidance. Kohl’s said it expects earnings to be in the range of 50 cents to 80 cents per share adjusted. It was unclear how that compared to a previous outlook of 10 cents to 60 cents per share, which was not adjusted.

15

5 Comments

Kohl’s Inc. said strength across its private labels helped drive better-than-expected second-quarter results and remains key to its recovery efforts as it prioritizes showing value to consumers. “We know that we have a powerful set of proprietary brands that build customer trust and loyalty,” said Michael Bender, Kohl’s interim CEO, on an analyst call. “In addition, customers who buy our proprietary brands spend more of their wallet with Kohl’s. These proprietary brands play an instrumental role in our value proposition. They allow us to offer quality products at a lower opening price point, which highly resonates with our core loyal customers." Here's what members of RetailWire's BrainTrust had to say: "The question isn’t whether Kohl’s should sell more or fewer national brands — although some categories like intimates and athletic shoes depend on those brands — but whether they are offering 'clarity of offer' within given departments." (Dick Seesel) "Customers want a clean, organized store where products are presented with intention and impact. If Kohl’s can deliver, private labels will strengthen the brand story." (Anil Patel) "Kohl’s has had private labels for some time now. What level of distinction and differentiation have they accrued for themselves? Zero. Let’s not oversimplify the work ahead." (Jeff Sward)

15

5 Comments

A recent report reveals that 𝟳𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻-𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 when selecting apparel shops, emphasizing the importance for retailers to align with customer values. What about the other generations? 📌 𝗚𝗲𝗻 𝗭 shoppers, while digitally savvy, find in-store shopping stressful (50% report this), indicating a need for retailers to create more welcoming environments. 📌 𝗚𝗲𝗻 𝗫 consumers value experience over cost—only 33% would tolerate a negative shopping atmosphere for lower prices. 📌 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 feel their style preferences are often overlooked, with only 37% affirming that retailers understand them. #RetailInsights #MillennialShopping #GenZ #CustomerExperience #BrandLoyalty #Boomers #GenX

8

1 Comment

Kroger is opening its “Deli of the Future” concept on September 19 at its new Marketplace store in Kentucky — just 20 minutes drive from its Cincinnati headquarters. This new deli, three to four times the size of a traditional deli, features an open-kitchen format where customers can order and consume made-to-order sandwiches, private selection of sushi, and homestyle sides creating a hybrid of restaurant experience and neighborhood deli charm. It matters because the transparency of food preparation will help build trust, freshness perception, and engagement amongst the customers. Also higher-margin prepared foods and deli offerings can offset pressure from center-store sales. Seating and restaurant-like experience will surely extend store visits and foster brand attachment. However, running a restaurant within a grocery would require culinary talent, speed of service, and high standards which may not be easy in today’s tight labor market, especially if Kroger decides to expand this initiative to other stores. Weis Markets recently expanded deli/food service as part of its remodel strategy. Ahold Delhaize USA has leaned heavily into its Fresh & Convenient strategy — focusing on ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook options, supported by digital ordering and pickup/delivery integration, rather than large-scale experiential delis. Its still good to see redefinition of the deli as a strategic battleground in grocery. It’s no longer just about sliced meats and cheeses — it’s about blending food service, fresh convenience, and theater to capture share of stomach against restaurants, QSRs, and meal kits.

15

1 Comment

Kohl's plans to maintain its current brick-and-mortar footprint of more than 1,100 stores, focusing on improving productivity rather than opening or closing locations as it works to boost sales. The retailer is emphasizing value-focused initiatives — including new under-$10 “Deal Bar” displays and expanded private-label offerings — as it seeks to attract budget-conscious shoppers and reverse recent sales declines. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3OZ5Nbt

63

1 Comment

Retail turnarounds don’t come from flashy ideas. They come from getting the basics right. Clearer storytelling, better presentation, and a more focused assortment are proving to be powerful levers for Foot Locker. Having worked on testing and scaling new store formats in the past, I love the willingness to test, learn, and move fast. Testing is always a "win". You either win and scale, or you learn and refine. In this case, the early pilots are delivering real wins—driven by disciplined execution of the fundamentals. Terrific results for Foot Locker, and a strong example of what focused leadership and operational clarity under DICK'S Sporting Goods can unlock.

19

MIT Week3: Moore's Law vs. The S-Curve: What's the real measure of progress? If you're a technologist, you'll have experienced the paradox: the S-Curve says every single technology hits a plateau (a "fundamental asymptotic limit"), but Moore's Law promises unstoppable exponential progress. So, who, what, which is right? The S-Curve is the life cycle of a single, specific technology. It's a short-term story: namely that progress accelerates quickly but then stalls due to physical limits. That's the ceiling for that one tech. It's topped out. Moore’s Law describes the overall, long-term exponential progression of a system function, like computing power. It doesn't track one S-Curve; it tracks a series of S-Curves. The exponential growth is maintained by a constant technological "staircase": as one specific technology's S-Curve starts to stall, a new, disruptive technology is introduced to start a new, higher S-Curve, sustaining the overall exponential path. So it goes on... Ultimately it’s the story of continuous deliberate architectural jumps, not one single perfect invention. As I see it, progress is not smooth: it's a deliberate, sequential leap from one S-Curve to the next. #TechnologyRoadmapping #Innovation #MooresLaw #TechStrategy

18

5 Comments