The Best of BoF 2017 | Opinion

1. To Save Retail, Let It Die

An abandoned shopping mall in the US | Source: Shutterstock

The store of the future will become the most powerful media channel available to a brand, offering customer experiences that are the most profitable product a retailer can sell. But to get there, retail as we know it must die.

2. The Newness Imperative: Innovate or Fade

Louis Vuitton x Supreme Menswear Autumn 2017 | Source: Louis Vuitton

With fewer ‘virgin’ markets left to tap, established consumers now drive luxury demand — and they want something new — with significant consequences for creative strategy, says Luca Solca.

3. Fashion’s Culture of Lechery

Abercrombie & Fitch Spring/Summer 2012 campaign shot by Bruce Weber | Source: Abercrombie

Bruce Weber’s alleged sexual harassment of the model Jason Boyce is the latest sign of a culture that encourages and capitalises on mass predation, argues Chris Wallace.

4. A New Era of Retail Is Coming

Crowds at a shopping mall | Source: Shutterstock

Toxic mass merchants are making brands commoditised hostages in a high-speed chase to the bottom. But a new class of experiential retailers is rising.

5. The Cost of Dead Inventory: Retail’s Dirty Little Secret

Source: Shutterstock

Among the many problems facing today's retail market, unsold stock might be one of its biggest handicaps, argues Haley Smith Recer.

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