STORES Magazine - December 2008 - (Page 24)

EXECUTIVE SUITE / COVER STORY CIOs will seek to renegotiate contracts with suppliers and consolidate services when possible. Decisions will come down to a simple metric: where can retailers get the most bang for their buck? For many, the answer will be sustainability projects: Rising energy costs and tighter budgets will create a potential boom for solutions providers that can capitalize on the “greening” of retail. Another top priority should be business analytics. Building data warehouses is futile if you don’t use the information. In the coming year, retailers will need to wring better results from the data they already own. • Now more than ever , it’s not about technology; it’s about solving business problems. • The data explosion is real. Understanding how t o c ope w ith t he v olume, d issect t he data and use it to make more precise decisions is what will separate the winners from the also-rans. • There’s a potpourri of emerging technologies clamoring for retailers’ attention. Will the winner be: (a) fabric computing, (b) cloud computing, (c) contextual computing or (d) none of the above? If you picked “d,” trot down to Starbucks and reward yourself with a latte. Making the most efficient use of limited resources will be imperative as companies look for ways to dial back power usage, reclaim water and rethink supply chain routes solar panels many retailers installed in 2008 are just the beginning. If you aren’t familiar with carbon footprinting, you’re way behind. A new standard was recently launched in the U.K. to help businesses assess the carbon footprint of their goods and services. The standard measures emissions in goods and services throughout their entire lifecycle – from sourcing through use and, ultimately, disposal. A handful of U.S. manufacturers are already looking at the opportunities for reducing emissions in the design, manufacture and supply of products. Retailers won’t be far behind. Potential bottom-line improvements linked to energy cost reduction, water conservation and new sources of power make sustainability the project du jour of 2009. etailers acknowledge the moral imperative around green projects and recognize the emotional connection these initiatives build with the growing cadre of environmentally-conscious consumers. But when you get right down to it, it’s all about saving money. Last year, many retailers went after the low-hanging fruit; now it’s time to climb the tree. Making the most efficient use of limited resources will be imperative as companies look for ways to dial back power usage, reclaim water and rethink supply chain routes. Foreign companies have taken the lead here, and it’s time for U.S. businesses to get on board – quickly. It is now entirely possible for a building outfitted with the right technology to generate enough energy to power everything under its roof, and the R • Metrics assessing sustainability are beginning to surface, and will soon be the standard by which projects are judged. • With metrics in place, green results will be scrutinized more closely by Wall Street and shareholders. This year marks the first stages of sorting out how to collect green data and which data will resonate with those using it for decision-making. • The ROI window on sustainability projects is shrinking; once a five- to seven-year timeframe, most companies now want to see a return in three years or less. • People’s brains are not yet calibrated to deal with the scale of change around sustainability . For example, it’s entirely possible that, in the future, margins will be determ ined by how mu ch energy a retailer can save. No one will be spared from credit woes in 2009. The debt crisis is straining retailer/vendor relationships, retailer/landlord unions and retailer/lender marriages. usiness and consumer credit woes will continue through most or all of the next 12 months. Assetbased lenders have tightened lines of credit, making it difficult for retailers to borrow. Meanwhile, banks are cutting credit lines, hiking interest rates and raising fees for credit card customers they deem high-risk. The effects are undercutting efforts on both ends to pull out of the financial funk gripping this industry. Adding to the air of crisis are recent “going out of business” announcements by the likes of Mervyns, Linens ‘n Things, Whitehall Jewelers and Shoe Pavilion. With the current crisis still unfolding, reorganizing under Chapter 11 is no longer the B 24 STORES / DECEMBER 2008 WWW.STORES.ORG http://WWW.STORES.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of STORES Magazine - December 2008

STORES Magazine - December 2008 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Wrap Rage Unraveled What Shoppers Think Courting a Comeback 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Cover Story: Navigating the Road Ahead Website Strategy Concept2Watch Online Customer Service International Marketing Green Retailing Online Merchandising Signage Operations Online Strategies Pricing Strategy Kiosks RFID Human Resources Loeb Retail Letter ARTS Update Point of View NRF News Retail Crossword Retail Industry Calendar Last Laugh

STORES Magazine - December 2008

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