The retail world--with its razor-thin margins and relentless big bets on fashions, trends and timing--has never been a haven for the faint of heart. More variables are in flux today than ever: traditional segments are breaking down with wealthy consumers patronizing discount stores and lower-end consumers seeking luxury experiences; channel strategy is more complex, as online sales steadily increase and buyers expect more customized service. And, amid worldwide consolidation and the expanding dominance of giant chains, retailers are scoring only one-in-three success rates in acquisitions. In other words, growth is tougher than ever.

The Uncommon Consumer

Tomorrow's consumers will reflect more demographic and psychographic diversity, leading to changing spending patterns and rebellion against standard offerings. One way to prepare is via smart localization strategies, which tailor offerings by related clusters of consumer behavior across local markets and thereby preserve some benefits of scale.

The World Is a Store

Shopping continues to be redefined by the Internet, growth in square footage, home shopping and the emergence of mobile commerce. Consumers have more choices than ever of where and when to shop making it ever more difficult to capture their attention and more critical to deliver a compelling value proposition. By taking a multi-channel approach, some retailers are creating a new breed of highly valued customers who shop more frequently.

Geographic Expansion

Mass retailers are learning how to compete in a fast-shrinking global marketplace. They are rapidly expanding into China, India, Brazil and other fast-growing merging markets, and they are developing new approaches to internationalization-like pan-European strategies--to reflect changing markets. Our research shows that success will go to retailers who not only stake out the best turf in metropolitan areas, but who also develop the right regional expansion strategies.

We help retailers create winning concepts, build targeted offerings for their most attractive customer segments, define the optimal store footprint, design the best multi-channel strategies, improve store operations and layout, expand through M&A or international growth, assure fast and flexible supply chain management, and sourcing, optimize price and promotion strategies, etc.

Vertigo Group has a proven track record in providing retailers with customized advice that works.

• Aviation & Aerospace
• Education
• Financial Services
• Healthcare
• Retail
• Services
• Real Estate
• Technology
• Telecommunications