The Four Horsemen Driving The AMAZON Retail Apocalypse

The Four Horsemen Driving The AMAZON Retail Apocalypse Are: Inertia, Fear, Myopia, Apathy



Amazon’s “Killing Fields” are now relentlessly consuming the entire Specialty Products Industry with significant help from “The Four Horsemen of the Retail Apocalypse” (Inertia, Fear, Myopia & Apathy).

Amazon’s recent QUARTERLY results show their $40.3 billion online sales rose $3.3 billion (31% y/y);  more than the TOTAL sales of most specialty retailers whose in-store y/y sales were -2% to +3%.

Borders (1971-2011), Blockbuster (1985-2011), and Circuit City (1949-2009) (collectively “BB&C”) were the largest “Big Boxes” recently taken down by Amazon, with more on the way.

The Problem Is:  the bigger Amazon gets, the more NEW sales it needs to continue its 30% annual growth over the next 10 years.  And to do this, they are significantly investing in new technology and infrastructure all the time to meet these higher and higher internal growth needs.

What Can You Do About It ?     It’s really quite simple:

E-Commerce is relatively new. Amazon had a 15 year head start.  Copying Amazon now is risky with dubious to mediocre results at best.  You need a significant “Game-Changer” not a ho-hum copy-cat.

Beware The Four Horsemen (Inertia, Fear, Myopia & Apathy) who force the gates open from within allowing Amazon inside unchallenged to destroy you and your Industry (confirmed in chart one below).

Here are a Few of The Horsemen’s Misguided Opinions that Push Open the Gate;  Allowing Amazon Unobstructed Entry to Your Customers. (You simply need to close the gate).

1.       “When the economy recovers, so will we” – Your company’s decline began 1.5 years BEFORE the recession which ended one year ago (see Dow Jones below & the “Real Reason” – Amazon).

2.        “You are blowing this whole Amazon thing way out of proportion” – Look Ahead – Within 10 years Amazon will be the #2 retailer in America next to Walmart from their current #17 position unless they are stopped now.

3.         “We don’t believe your Pro Formas can be achieved” – Prospective client only see our Plan ‘A’ – We achieved Plan ‘C’ (a MUCH larger plan) with one of America’s largest retailers, and we can prove it.

4.       “We want to be on the leading edge, not the bleeding edge” – What about the fact that Amazon already has you on the bleeding edge (see below).

5.        “The bar has been set for next-day delivery” – What about Amazon’s “Same-Day” delivery, significantly up from their previous “Next-Day” and 3 to 10 days.

6.       “Nobody needs things in 30 to 60 minutes” – Amazing.  Our research proves consumers prefer service in 30-60 minutes (83%) Vs. Same-Day (33%).  What else do you think can beat Amazon’s “Same-Day” service ? AND why are they offering it ?

7.       “We’ve been in this business for years and don’t need anything new” – What about your customers who are now at Amazon – they wanted something new. (see below)

8.       “What if it doesn’t work for us” – What about the decline of your sales, profits and share value over the last five years ?  Try it in ONE benchmark city.

9.       “This is so new, I could lose my job if I OK it” – What about your job (and résumé) if your company follows BB&C ?  Trying it in one benchmark city gives you huge rewards with minor risk.

10.   “We had other problems like this before but our senior executives always came through” – What about your responsibility to suggest/recommend/implement “turn-around” change ?

11.   “We’re introducing new features into our website, like a complementary marketplace to offset Amazon” – What about Amazon’s 15 year head start ? Copying Amazon will not stop them from depleting your in-store sales, quite the opposite.

12.    “We’re installing our own Rapid Delivery system” – When you consider added staffing to cover your considerable PEAK & VALLEY order periods, it’s cheaper and more efficient to hire local couriers.  (Webvan; Borders & McDonald’s amongst many, tried DIY and failed.)

The Grand Finale:  “What makes you think you are the only solution to our problems” – Please see ‘Our Credentials’ below.  Offsetting the drain on your sales by your biggest marketplace problems (Amazon, eBay & Walmart) with new growth sales, free cash flow and higher profits by implementing a proven system they can’t duplicate will have a tendency to mitigate your other lesser internal problems.

When your Innovative Industry Executive Champion objectively looks line-by-line at: (1) our detailed SuperCyberCenter ‘Before & After’ P&L statements; (2) Earnings Analysis;  (3) 18-month ramp-up per store;  and (4) 3 to 12 months capital payback period; they will quickly confirm our claim – and want to at least try it in one benchmark city.

Assuming you are open to something new, we are the only realistic “game-changing” solution to The Amazon Retail Apocalypse (shown graphically below).

As far as The Four Horsemen go, behind them are good people, but they need your Executive help to get on track with the current problem below.

These Other Four Horsemen (Action, Courage, Vision, Boldness) Can Easily Beat AMAZON – as long as they know:

1.       There is an INDUSTRY-WIDE problem – that is relatively new, but growing quickly.

2.       Their job is not at risk for “trying” a new significant “game-changing” solution.

3.       AND they will be rewarded for their extra efforts.  Win-Win – not Lose-Lose.

Thanks,

Gail

Gail Nichols

Vice Chair

www.TheNowMall.com

Get Amazon Out Of Your Stores – While You Still Can

Get Amazon Permanently Out Of Your Stores – Once And For All.

An Incredibly Difficult Task – Particularly In The Hard Hit ‘Mass Merchant’ Industry.

Even More Difficult:  Quickly Getting Back The Customers You Lost. 

Here’s The PROVEN Industry-Changing Solution:

Summary of the Problem with Amazon:  (see it graphically  below)

5 years ago, when we forewarned retail executives about Amazon and the Internet’s future negative impact on their store sales, nobody paid any attention.  They said, “Losing a few store sales to the internet is not going to hurt us.”  

Today, seeing consumers with smartphones comparison shopping in-store with their staff’s help, then buying from Amazon while their store sales stagnate, retail executives are now highly concerned because nothing is stopping Amazon from increasingly devastating their stores at will.  Amazon had an unrestrained 10 years to gain unstoppable traction while nobody cared.  (see 6 Reasons Why Amazon is Nearly Impossible to Beat – a bellwether warning). 

Then, 1.5 years BEFORE the recession, your stores began significantly losing customers to Amazon’s unrelenting growth that continues on rising unabated, recently crushing ‘Big Box’ stores such as Borders, Circuit City and Blockbuster, with more casualties to come, and causing your share value to suffer (see actual example below at -94.68%) while Amazon’s increased an incredible 604.62% in the same time period. This widening gap will not reverse any time within at least the next 10 years.  (See the Conclusion in the above-mentioned bellwether warning article)

A few aggressive retail senior executives have recognized the full extent of this problem, and importantly what’s yet to come.  Some are fighting back (e.g.  Sears, Best Buy) to improve customer loyalty with in-store pick-up and faster service from their stores (e.g. same-day couriers) but @ 3X cost, ¼ revenue and lower profits.  Some have tried their own in-house next-day delivery like Webvan, OfficeMax, Borders & Walmart by saying: “The Bar Is Set At Next-Day Delivery”.   This is ‘70’s thinking that Amazon has now matched and beaten, especially price-wise.  

More recently, a few retailers have attempted  to copy Amazon’s Marketplace with complementary third party sellers.  However, none have succeeded simply because Amazon is so far ahead in every conceivable way, particularly in technology, branding, customer loyalty and unimaginable traffic counts.  Unfortunately, such well-intentioned marketplace copies don’t have a chance of “game-changing” success.  However, this effort is a clear indication of the seriousness of this yet unsolved Amazon challenge.  (Details in Item 2 in the above-mentioned bellwether warning article)

Copying Amazon’s Marketplace might increase your online sales 5% to 15% but this won’t stop Amazon’s progress, let alone bring your existing in-store customers back.  To stop Amazon (and now others), a powerful game-changing / industry-changing solution is urgently required.   Two confirming articles: Harvard Business School and Computerworld.

Here’s Your PROVEN “Industry-Changing” Solution To Permanently Stop Amazon and Bring Your Customers Back:

The Ultimate Shopping Convenience^® is Your Decisive Competitive Advantage

“Physical stores can compete with Amazon by emphasizing (1)  instant gratification, (2) unique shopping experiences, and (3) customized customer support.”  See  “Thinking About The Future” – third topic heading

Overview of this Decade’s TWO Biggest Retail Innovations:

1.       SuperCyberCenter^© (SCC):  a HYBRID online “Marketplace” with Third Party Sellers similar to Amazon and eBay.

A ‘Hybrid’ because we add a patented upgrade – we include “LOCAL”  physical stores; restaurants; pharmacies, grocers & retailers with unique fashion and/or time-sensitive commodities as Third Party Sellers.  Not available on Amazon (or anywhere else).  Take The Leadership Position In Your Industry.

This is an astoundingly lucrative new Third Party Seller profit source enabling you to dramatically increase your in-store sales from LOCAL cross-marketing and our EVERGREEN Free Cash Flow “War Chest” program.  This locally-focused Neighborhood initiative is a strategy that Amazon, without local stores, simply cannot EVER match.

2.       ROOF (Rapid Online Order Fulfillment^©): a HYBRID FedEx/UPS for your local stores AND your SCC Third Party Stores.

A ‘Hybrid’ because we add our 100% Turnkey LOCAL In-Store Shopping + Rapid Delivery … both usually within 30 to 60 Minutes 24 / 7 / 365 using our proprietary and excellent Shared Workforce.  No single store, no matter how large, can do this without Third Party Stores co-operating in sharing a “much” larger driver pool to cover your volatile Peaks & Valley periods; it takes an entire neighborhood in scope and years of experience doing it (similar to Amazon’s 10 year lead).

This enables you to earn substantial income from your increased in-store sales & profits reclaimed from Amazon (and other local competitors) due to Rapid Delivery (30 to 60 minutes – 24 / 7 / 365) instead of same-day, next-day, and up to 10 day more expensive FedEx/UPS delivery.  THEN ADD new ‘EVERGREEN’ Free Cash Flow from all ROOF rapid fulfillment orders through your Third Party Seller stores.  Again, nobody else can match this, it’s “The Last Mile Of The Internet^®” literally.

Delivered prices of your products via ROOF can be the same or less than in-store and are more profitable than if delivered by UPS / FedEx since store staff do not assemble or package ROOF orders PLUS we pay before we leave the store – ROOF is 100% turnkey.  Plus, we also sponsor Free Delivery (unlike FedEx and UPS).  You also save the significant cost of the 20% to 30% returned online orders shipped by USPS, UPS or FedEx.  Our in-store discount coupons are FAR less expensive, easier to use and faster to update than regular online daily deal sites like Groupon, and can be added or changed at any time without some else’s approval – a huge ADDITIONAL selling point for your Third Party Stores.

Bonuses:

A.      There are 600± neighboring Third Party Stores around each of your stores = cross-marketing and shared rapid in-store shopping & delivery workforce which destroys Amazon’s basic marketing tool of next-day to 10 day delivery.

B.      The above programs (SCC + ROOF) are available on an exclusive industry and area basis – so you can immediately recover your market share from your local competitors as well as from Amazon.

As the only major game-changing / industry-changing solution in sight, we enable you to regain your 2007 market value with a proven HYBRID online LOCAL marketplace with EVERYTHING: Delivered In A Flash®  24 / 7 / 365 that nobody else can even closely match – including FedEx, UPS, Amazon or your local competitors.

Initial ramp-up capital cost payback is 9 to 12 months on our conservative “Plan A”; or 6 to 9 months on our less conservative Plan B (full marketing plan); and immediate (2 to 3 months) on our aggressive Plan C (which we have already done for one of the World’s largest US retailers and can validate from their statistics in detail). 

And remember, as results of your initial benchmark city roll forward, this increases the speed and payback time, Internal Rate Of Return (IRR) of ongoing ramp-up in the next cities.  Based on a very high Internal Rate Of Return, this puts this project to the top of your investment list and allows rapid national & international rollout with very little invested capital beyond the initial benchmark cities.

We look forward to helping you achieve your future success in returning your stores and profits to your previous high growth rate.

A Graphic Look At The Problem:

A Graphic Look At The Solution:

A Graphic Look At Our Track Record of Achievements:

Thank you,

Gail

Gail Nichols

Vice Chair

www.TheNowMall.com