From selfish reasons like instant gratification to macro reasons like stopping war mongers, here are 10 reasons to make you feel good about skipping Prime Day everyday.
From selfish reasons like instant gratification to macro reasons like stopping war mongers, here are 10 reasons to make you feel good about skipping Prime Day everyday.
Brand strategy is one of the most powerful initiatives an organization can undergo. It’s an opportunity to evolve a company’s mission and value proposition based on current and future customer needs with the result being a purpose-led, customer-centric road map to create enhanced value for customers. ANDMORE recently completed this process as we rebranded from International Market Centers (IMC) last year. ANDMORE is more than just a new name and logo, it’s a framework for how ...
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Baccarat and Zero Bond NYC unveil an elevated whiskey experience at the Baccarat Whiskey Lounge, where a diverse selection of fine beverages is elegantly served in refined Baccarat barware.
Baccarat x Zero Bond NYC, an unparalleled whiskey journey awaits.
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I saw this Instagram post from official Mark Levine and thought, “How much are the Amazon lobbyists paying our officials?” NYC continually over taxes our indie businesses and fines them—but we’ll build six marinas for Amazon? (Mark said three marinas, but it’s actually six marinas.) The main culprits behind this: Mayor Adams and the Economic Development Corporation (EDC). Amazon is one of the richest companies in the world. Jeff Bezos, the founder,...
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How Amazon privatizes public spaces for its own profit
February 14, 2024
This is a daily sight on 8th St. in the East Village of New York City, a spot historically chockablock with indie, brick-and-mortar shops. This is an Amazon truck and freelancers who have taken over the street (it’s a no standing zone) and sidewalk as their own. This is one way Amazon sells things for less: it turns public streets and sidewalks into its “warehouses” and “stores.” Imagine you’re a local business with a roof and rent. You can’t compete ...
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How technology hurts the entertainment industry just like Amazon hurts the retail industry.
August 1, 2023
Over the last three decades, Hollywood and many that rely on the entertainment industry have embraced ordering goods over Amazon.com. Recap: Amazon is a technology company that often cuts costs by replacing humans with code and robots and bypasses local red tape like, um, taxes and labor rules. Hollywood writers, producers, and ticket goers embraced a technology company that made their lives easier but often at the cost of others (aka retail workers).
Our retailers recently told us that customers are calling and asking about non-existent brides, and brides are asking about non-existent registry gift lists (e.g. wedding registry lists, baby lists).
We investigated the issues and below is what we found.
What is Happening:
We found that many of these purchases are coming from registrants that open a ‘universal registry’ on websites such as Zola or MyRegistry. These universal registry services allow the registrant to add ...
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Still popular in many areas one of the favorite tasks of becoming a bride is picking out items for the couple’s gift registry. Instead of spending money on decorations for the head table a new trend is for the couple to use their own signature dishes and side pieces to set their head table. This can include their dishes, silverware, glasses and even items from their favorite collections.
Guest are asked to help by shopping their gift registry and paying special attention to adding ...
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In the early 2000s, the board game Cranium became a hit. The game combined elements of Scrabble and Pictionary with the goal of helping more people enjoy playing a game. Richard Tait, who created Cranium and sold it to Hasbro in 2008 for $77.5m, passed away in July. Like Mr. Tait, I had been a paperboy, but he went beyond what I ever offered: he came up with a new service that sold breakfast sandwiches along his newspaper route. He increased profits and made customers happier. ...
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For the last 10 years, Bridge has been building software to support indie, brick-and-mortar stores. We watched in 2018 as 230 city leaders competed to give the world’s richest man money to bring his tech company to their city. After awarding an HQ to NYC, Amazon tried to bully NYC. When Amazon wouldn’t get its way, it broke off the deal. We see in today’s news more evidence of the same bullying behavior. We’re happy to see that the tide has turned and ...
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Do you love a great deal on a t-shirt or TV? Sure, we all do. Yet, sometimes when we shop, the lower the price we pay, the less we pay: people. People that make the goods (factory workers) and people that sell the goods (aka indie store owners) are the victims in the discount-pricing rush.
Today’s Times shares that making a bathing suit in Sir Lanka costs about $4 per unit while in Portugal it may cost $16. In NYC, the minimum wage is $15/hour—making production in NYC ...
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While walking down Broadway last weekend, I discovered this plaque regarding Gorham, a producer of fine metalware and flatware. The plaque shares that Gorham was located in this first-ever mixed-use building built in 1883. Notably, Gorham is still producing beautiful products today and is a member of Bridge's Product Syncing service. Ironically, the brand's modern-day showroom was just seven blocks away until very recently. (This building is at 19th St. and Broadway and the Lifetime Brands ...
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When I flew home yesterday from Charleston, while most people were seeking relief from their sunburns and reminiscing about their vacations, I was delving into The Wall St. Journal’s profile on Tracy Britt Cool, an ex- Berkshire Hathaway star. Mrs. Cool’s new company Kanbrick invests in businesses with $10m - $50m in revenue. What does Mrs. Cool look for when investing in a company? People and moats.
At Bridge, we’re reading Jim Collins’ Beyond ...
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I think that Zola, an online provider of gift registries, may be harming local stores. Zola allows brides to pick things from any site, such as an indie store’s gift registry. Zola may then encourage the registrant to bypass that local store and use those gift funds with Zola. This is an issue because Zola has handled more than 650,000 registries, and its revenue is estimated to be $130m. Millions of dollars may have been diverted away from indie, brick-and-mortar stores to Zola&rsquo...
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A new trend in retail is vacant shops in urban neighborhoods being converted to small warehouses. In the East Village on 10th Street, we see on the left the new warehouse model; on the right we see a traditional retailer. For the ‘store’ on the left, the customer orders via their mobile phone and then does a pickup or gets a delivery.
I’m seeing more of these ‘zombie stores’ around the city. Just in the East Village, I’ve seen four: ...
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I was disappointed to learn that one of my favorite men's shops had been robbed not just once--but twice. Rothmans, a legendary store on 18th St. and Park Avenue in New York City, is a fun destination grab a t-shirt or a tuxedo. This shop's convivial spirit has been dashed by smash-and-grab robbers that use a flash mob approach. The issue of more crime affecting retail is not limited to men's shops. New sources reported today that even trains in Los Angeles rail yards are being ...
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Roger Bailey, sale rep extraordinaire, shared these 2013 pictures with me. They’re taken outside the 41 Madison building. Since it’s 19° in NYC this week, these pics make us long for a warm day when we can bike to a market.
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Did you know there is a connection between the NYC marathon and 41 Madison? 41 Madison, home of the New York Tabletop Show, is owned by the Rudin family, and the family helped start the NYC Marathon. The Times shared this history in an article recently. Excerpt:
"...In 1976 when George Spitz, a civil servant and runner, proposed a marathon through all five boroughs, the time seemed almost right — if daunting. “A race like that could cost $15,000,” Mr. Lebow ...
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