The Convergent Future

Overview

With the jokes about gas station sushi aside, many c-store brands are selling darn good food. You know who they are even if you don’t admit to your friends that the hot brisket sandwich lunch from Wawa was the best you’ve had this side of Texas. Grocery stores are selling furniture and jewelry. Online retailers are opening brick and mortar stores. What the Retail Apocalypse is going on!!?

Key Challenge

In today’s retail environment, it’s about surviving. Resist change and go the way of the dinosaur. Innovate and exploit competitive advantages and the select few can actually grow and prosper. Despite the aforementioned apocalypse, Dollar General is opening nearly 1,000 new stores in 2019 and remodeling/relocating hundreds more. Burger King’s parent company, Restaurant Brands International, plans to add another 14,000 restaurants over the next decade!

Proposed Solution

As retailers focus on surviving, an old friend is often ignored. Retail signage is the most visible representation of your company’s brand. If your customers have been seeing the same signs on their favorite stores for more than 7 years, it may be time to refresh and invest in current technology.

Lessons Learned

Focusing internally on operations at the expense of the brand may be a costly mistake. Put a different way, the cost of a brand refresh is just part of the equation. The potential 5-10% bump in revenue (temporary as it may be) may produce a very juicy ROI. Better than the brisket!