Retailers’ customer relationships have changed, permanently. The price, the offer, the goody-bag, so to speak, all matter. They open the relationship and might cinch a sale but don’t close the deal, suggesting the long-term customer today is not just demanding more, but requiring it. In its latest quarterly analysts call, J. Crew’s CEO, Mickey Drexler, said it even more bluntly:
“It ain’t inventory that drives profit: it is the right inventory that drives profit. You can buy all day long today, and if you aren’t buying the right stock, the right inventory, the right fashion, it ain’t getting you the sales except at second and third markdowns and on promotions.”
