Kite Realty Group’s Post

🚫 Today's Discovery: The "No Hawkers" Sign 🚫 While out on appointments today, I came across a sign that read "No Hawkers" and was curious as to the history behind this phrase. Traditionally, "hawkers" refers to individuals who travel about selling goods, typically with loud advertising. This term has roots stretching back to the Middle Ages, where hawkers played a crucial role in rural commerce, bringing goods and news to isolated communities. However, as cities grew and retail shifted to more established storefronts, the presence of hawkers began to clash with the evolving urban landscape. The "No Hawkers" sign is a relic of a time when businesses and homeowners sought to deter these itinerant vendors from soliciting in certain areas, aiming to maintain privacy and reduce the disruption caused by the often loud and persistent selling techniques. Isn't it fascinating how a simple sign can open a window into the past and reflect changes in society and commerce? 🤔✨ #history #nohawkers #SocialDiscovery #urbanevolution #alwayslearning #tradition

TECH JOURNEY :: DAY 19 The Inspiring Journey of Sam Walton: From Humble Beginnings to Building an Empire! Once upon a time in a small town, there lived a boy named Sam Walton. He didn't come from a rich family, and life wasn't always easy for him. But Sam had a dream, a dream to build something extraordinary. Sam's journey started on a farm in Oklahoma, where he learned the value of hard work from his parents. Despite the challenges, he never gave up. He worked odd jobs, went to college, and even served his country during World War II. After the war, with determination in his heart and a small loan, Sam bought a struggling store. He faced many obstacles, but he was determined to make it work. He studied the rules of retail and then broke them to find his own path to success. Sam's secret? He focused on making life easier for his customers. He offered low prices, quality goods, and a friendly shopping experience. People loved it, and his business grew. As Sam's empire expanded, he never forgot the importance of treating his employees well. He believed in sharing success with others, making them partners in his vision. With each store he opened, Sam Walton changed the retail game. He introduced new ideas, like self-service and discount pricing, making shopping more convenient and affordable for everyone. Despite facing criticism along the way, Sam stayed true to his values. He believed in the power of choice, letting customers decide where to shop. By the time Sam passed away, he had built a retail giant known as Walmart. His legacy lives on, inspiring generations to dream big, work hard, and never give up on their dreams. And remember, as Sam once said, "Celebrate your successes. Find joy in your work. Make a difference every day." #SamWalton #Walmart #RetailSuccess #DreamBig #HardWorkPaysOff #Inspiration #NeverGiveUp #CustomerFirst #ValueCreation #InnovativeRetail #Legacy #Motivation #SuccessStory #DreamersJourney #CelebrateSuccess #MakeADifference #DreamsComeTrue

Hannah (Prokop) Hammond's first-person reflection on Foxtrot is a showcase in the importance of neighborhood journalism. There is a lot to this story that has yet to revealed but from a 30,000 foot perch, the stunningly abrupt shutdown took me back some 22 years ago when a venture-backed M&A beast called Swifty Swerve closed and literally padlocked overnight 500 stores across the South, casting thousands of employees out of work and without a paycheck. Swifty soon descended into Ch. 7 bankruptcy after a multi-year run of aggressive growth and a flood of mounting debt that Swifty's investors never knew. On some levels, you cannot compare Foxtrot to Swifty. The latter was about scale and a mass of inferior stores, while the former was the gilded knight, bedecked in upscale ornaments and aspirational affluence. But what the two likely share is what lay beneath the glittering self-praise and self-promotion. Too many mistakenly believe convenience is a guaranteed pot of gold. It's not. It requires extraordinary discipline, a narrative (which Foxtrot certain had) and, as longtime industry savant Gerald Lewis nails it, customers. It's easy to get caught up in extravagance and hype, but someone ultimately has to pay for that investment. I remember not so long ago when a respected c-store chain opened up a striking prototype. My eyes were taken in by the visual magic. But a sober executive at another company confided, "this will be closed or converted in under 3 years." I looked at him in disbelief and wondered aloud whether he was simply jealous. "No, it's not about jealousy," he replied. "The store is beautiful. The question is whether the store can pay for itself. They're going to have to either get a lot more traffic into the store or price everything at a super premium." He guessed (rightly btw) that the store cost about $2m more to build than the typical cstore at the time. The business didn't justify the cost. And I suspect that, at least in part, is what happened to Foxtrot. #cspdailynews #hannahhammond #foxtrot #swiftyserve #bankruptcy

I was saving my yearly LinkedIn post for my 3 year anniversary in a few weeks, but today’s launch of Brooklyn Storehouse is a far more exciting milestone (first iconic, stateside partnership- watch this space!). Joining Vibration Production in 2021 at the tail end of the pandemic seemed like a crazy risk to anyone looking in at the time (and many told me as much!). Having forged my career in the comfort of big international corporates, moving into event production, heading up a finance function and being tasked with a complete overhaul/creation/imbedding of all processes and a commercially driven team was a big move away from my comfort zone but little did I know, it was going to be much more than that original job description. Best. Move. Of. My. Life. What Broadwick has given/taught me: -Collaboration; not cold hearted competition. -Good Ideas are given a fighting chance. -No one worth knowing is going to take credit for your hard work. -No one is claiming to know it all or have all the answers. -Partners that share our vision fuel us, those that don’t get it, fuel us too! -You need the tiny details to form the bigger picture (always been my mantra but now reinforced daily!). -If you can’t be unapologetically yourself, you’re not in the right place. -Working with people that push and inspire you, will be your greatest education. -And so, so, so much more. Thank you for believing in me, trusting in me and holding me to the highest standard. If giving it your all, being highly adaptable and being fully invested isn’t for you, then Broadwick won’t be. It’s more unbridled passion, inspiring ways of thinking and delivering these to the highest standard across MUSIC•CULTURE•SPACE.

Are there any lessons Party City should take from other companies in how to manage inventory and cut costs in a post-COVID world? Party City is set to exit bankruptcy with nearly 800 stores intact and a significant reduction in debt by almost $1 billion. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court's approval of their Plan of Reorganization will provide the retailer with a stronger financial structure and enhanced liquidity to pursue renewed profitability. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January, citing challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain uncertainties, and a helium shortage in 2019. It streamlined operations by closing less productive stores and renegotiating leases during the bankruptcy proceedings to cut costs. While the pandemic initially impacted Party City's operations, rising interest in social gatherings offers hope for increased party supply sales. The company is also expected to leverage its next-gen stores, which have shown promising results in terms of sales increases and cost recovery. With Halloween approaching, Party City has an opportunity to capitalize on costume sales and kickstart its revival. #PartyCity #Retail #Bankruptcy #Recovery #HalloweenSales Here's what others are saying... Carol Spieckerman “Party City is in a perilous business called category killing that continues to mercilessly take down niche retail players.” Perry Kramer “Party City needs to diversify in multiple directions…There are miles left in the journey if they are able to approach the model differently.” Mohammad Ahsen (Socially Ahsen) “Reduction of Party City’s debt by nearly $1 billion gives the company extra money to make its stores better, streamline operations, and sell improved products.”

Waitrose and John Lewis Partners Waitrose and John Lewis have lost their shine and affection in the hearts and minds of customers recently. It's been a steady decline since 2020, February. I think it's because of 3 simple reasons, some business some personality and some just idiocy. One the idiocy. In their vast distinctly fitted stores the warmth has gone and is replaced by silliness and occasionally annoyingly unhelpful staff. That costs money and loss of market share, I think. The experience seems different. Two leadership skills and people. There was Andy Street, he's the man who ran the shop until 2016. He talked on TV in simple sentences was engaging and he understood the affection premium with the population there was the novelty of the Christmas ad- it sort of worked. That's value and that brings people in. Andy’s replacement was Dame Sharon White an executive with regulatory experience was selected, suddenly leading a £12bn commercial retail business and she seemed to propel the business downwards, during a term with a strange project to develop property assets for housing projects and the sale of a golf course owned by the group to manage a high cost base. She's often described as a businesswoman but I'm not sure. What I find funny is she's also married to a guy who is also a regulator, so happy days. They never liked speaking about profits at John Lewis, only 'sales revenue and products' in well curated releases to the press- a flag all isn't so great. Three the money or business piece. Dame White used Covid19 and the cost of living crisis as excuses for the performance yet it's curious how much any of this are reasons for the fall from grace. For example digital is a key centrepiece today- if you want to swim with the sharks. Why didn't they focus on that when it was ideal during the public destruction of Arcadia and Debenhams? What cost of living crisis when Waitrose customers often hint they shop there and that it's clever to buy 5 apples for more than you need to pay. The indirect outcome of Dame White's awful term was successfully losing market share and customers to M&S, a more dynamic high street rival and much loved food/fashion place. Go to an M&S and look at the difference-it's obvious. The people look good and smile and are funny sometimes. Compare the mood theme between both and you get the picture. It's simple from all this, Sharon was unfit for purpose a political appointment and she was just bad.

*Transparency Post* Closing this store had to be one of the hardest things I had to in my entrepreneurship journey. I opened two retail stores and a recording studio around the same time last year in Nashville. Not knowing where this journey would take us but I was down for the ride.. We did everything you could think off to promote this business venture promotional ads, press releases, news coverage hell we even made the front page of Tennessean . Exhausted every resource, mentor and peer I knew in town and around the world. I made some really great friends, connections and mentors a long the way while doing it. At first I thought, I failed myself, my community and other entrepreneurs. I had to re-look at things from another perspective though. If I had utilized all my efforts and resources to make this work, what else could I do? A good friend of mine, told me "if I could go to sleep every-night knowing I gave my all to this project you'll be okay." I didn't understand what he meant at that moment, but know I do as I reflect. I could talk about all the things that didn't work out for me in this venture whether it was employees, 6-8 month reserves, partnerships etc.. Every first Friday we amplify over 80 Black Owned Businesses but we had a vision to amplify these businesses every day with this store. Maybe this concept was to far ahead and needed to be nurtured a little bit more, who knows. What I learned was, this was not a loss but a lesson. A lesson for my next venture or journey, I could apply everything I learned for this put into the next thing. I've done that before, but here's what I would do differently..

The John Lewis Partnership has been through a torrid time. And no one has felt this more than Partners. From my conversations with people I know across all levels of both Waitrose and John Lewis, there has been a sense of frustration that then business has not been focusing on the right things and that it has been drifting away from retail. Dame Sharon White has started to correct this of late, but the blunt truth is that many in the business never thought she was the right person for the job because of her lack of retail experience. The role of Chairman has changed at the Partnership. It used to be somewhat ceremonial - like a head of state - there to represent the interests of the partners and to promote the business. Under that old arrangement the day-to-day businesses were run by managing directors who were highly experienced in retail. Dame Sharon would likely have been good in this old-style Chairman role. But today the structure is different. The Chairman role is more hands on and more operational. That needs someone with deep retail expertise, which is why Jason Tarry's appointment as the next Chairman is highly sensible. There's a lot more work to do, but as I told the Daily Mail - it will give confidence to partners, who have been increasingly nervous and frustrated that the business isn’t focusing on the right things. More of my comments in the article linked in the comments. #retail #retailnews #departmentstores #JohnLewis #Waitrose

The City of Whitehall recently embarked on a strategic planning process - resulting in the Opportunity Blueprint, our proposed 2023 Strategic Plan. Learn about the process and preview the plan below. Want to learn more? Whitehall community members are invited to join us September 5 for a Strategic Plan Community Meeting at 7 p.m. at City Hall. #OpportunityIsHere #OpportunityBlueprint