Culture & Society Archive

Everyone has a hobby. Mine is fragrance.

When thinking about how to approach this post, I’ve recalled how I’ve made mention on Facebook to my friend community there my own interest in fragrances, especially rare or unusual fragrances. My suggestion of it seems odd, but consider the following: Some people make a hobby out of collecting wines and spending thousands of dollars [...]
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Retail 101 (Part Five): Why quality matters.

(The conclusion of a series on how retailing misses the customer message) In the last installment, I mentioned some key differentiators between the low-end and high-end of the retail markets, and why that difference can be meaningful to the customer. During this recession, savvy retailers have figured out where they can compete, and it hasn’t [...]
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Retail 101 (Part Four): Our identity in the market

In the last installment, I left off proposing a question: How does a retailer know who or what it is? If the “Great Recession” has taught us anything, it’s that consumer behavior can be changed by countless market forces in play, including the simple availability of cash. If cash isn’t available, the consumer might revert [...]
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Retail 101 (Part Three): Who’s the customer?

Working in retail is perhaps one of the world’s crappiest jobs, and I should know. One of my first jobs while I was in college was to work in a women’s shoe store on New York’s Fifth Avenue. I’ll pause whilst everyone has their good laugh over the fact that — for an entire month [...]
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I’m bringing Paisley back if it kills me…

I have in my closet two Paisley patterned ties. One of those I adore, but it’s an insanely expensive piece that I wear only gingerly for fear it’ll be damaged or spotted, so it emerges on occasion. The other isn’t one with which I’m in love, but it works in a pinch. I’m bringing Paisley [...]
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