In the new Broadway-bound musical Hands on a Hardbody, ten East Texans seek to reverse their hard luck lives in a competition to win a Nissan truck. In one song, Used To Be, the contestants lament the loss of independent stores across Texas. “How will we know when we’re home,” the cast croons, “in a land filled with Walmarts and Walgreens and Wendy’s?” The musical captures much of what is hurting in America, the retail landscape being but one example. Office Depot, Staples and Office Max for example displaced local office supply stores while Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, Target and other national chains displaced locally owned pharmacies. National retailers then pressured manufacturers for cost reductions, creating ruthless competition that’s driven every last penny and non-essential US job out of consumer goods companies’ cost structures. The change from local to national had advantages. A developer…
Borders Books Needs More than Branding
Borders Group, the struggling bookseller, has a new Chairman of the Board, Bennett LeBow. LeBow’s a member of Vector Group Ltd., the investor group that recently acquired 15% of Borders (35% if warrants are exercised). According to interim Borders CEO Mike Edwards, LeBow “will play an extremely important role in helping us redefine the Borders brand.” Will a new brand image change the landscape? Perhaps on the margin, but Borders needs more than marginal change. Borders needs a new business model not just a new brand. Otherwise, change will consist solely of the smoke and mirrors of advertising rather than the real transformation required to win a profitable share of the market. As a Borders lover, I’d hate to see LeBow follow in the footsteps of other leaders who foolishly and tragically banked their hopes on a new brand alone. Let’s face it….