It’s challenging to list all of the things causing angst for the retail sector, from Amazon to new startups to the death of once-popular malls around the country.
But according to Lindsay Angelo, a former Strategy Manager at Vancouver-based lululemon athletica, all that disruption creates the imperative to think differently and take risks. (Angelo left the company earlier this month, and is now a growth strategy consultant.)
"I’m going to be honest, I went to Lindsay Angelo’s talk, Betterment, the Future of Retail & Maslow, mostly because Lindsay works for Lululemon and I’m a sucker for dropping a lot of money on a pair of Lululemon Wunder Under yoga pants. I wanted to judge the company that made yoga apparel mainstream more than I wanted to learn about the actual subject matter of Lindsay’s speech. Shame on me, I know. But here’s the thing, once I was in the room, I paid attention to the actual subject matter and it was really fascinating – Lindsay turned Maslow’s tired hierarchy of needs on its head...
Driven by a digital landscape, the maker’s movement & crowd everything, we are witnessing disruption in the world of retail. Consumers are shifting from passively consuming a product to co-creating and inventing on their own. An army of authentic, innovative start-ups with engaged guests are emerging and the landscape is democratizing like never before. How can established businesses respond to maintain their “it” factor?
