A SAMPLING of my recent commentary on RetailWire:

• Can aesthetics cure our throw-away society?

  

  It took a while for our consumer culture to become dependent upon disposable packaging and I suspect is will take decades (and a passing of generations) to shift to one based on reusable packaging. Cleaning and reusing "aesthetic" packages has an environmental cost too -- beginning with...

• Move over plant-based meat, lab-grown meat is coming

  

  Let's stipulate that "lab-grown" is not the terminology the branding experts would recommend. Would "cultured meat" go over better?...

• Will store closures worsen in 2020?

  

  I believe we've seen recent data indicating that about half as many new U.S. retail stores have opened in the past year as have closed -- so 4,000+. But store counts present an imperfect picture. What about the data on square-footage added or lost? Statista said we had 23.5 square feet of reta...

• Amazon, Kroger, Walgreens and Walmart earn perfect scores for LGBTQ policies

  

  National retail companies like Kroger, Walmart, Amazon, Walgreens, and Macy's had better embrace the full spectrum of potential employees and customers or risk alienating large segments of the population. This begins as enlightened self-interest, of course, but the effect can be self-propagating,...

• Is a ‘hassle cost’ justified in resolving customer service issues?

  

  The cold hard facts are that if even a small percentage of problems and returns are never resolved, the savings can benefit the bottom line. So in the short run, frustrating customers can pay off. As Peter observes, this is not uncommon in the healthcare insurance industry. I've also encountered ...

• Best Buy CEO faces alleged misconduct probe

  

  Nothing cleanses like sunlight. So BBY's investigation into Ms. Barry's and Mr. Sanft's past behavior seems like a prudent course of action. Like some others here, I'd prefer to keep corporate interests out of the personal lives of employees to the extent possible. But appearances matter too, ...

• What does it take to create a risk-taking, innovating retail culture?

  

  I'm a big believer in employee empowerment. But this is not merely a matter of corporate philosophy. It is made possible by thoughtful management decisions that put the best possible tools, training and trust in the hands of people on the front lines. Every customer-facing team member should b...