Ryan’s Journal: A Tale of Two Cities (Companies)
by Ryan Pew
This week I was reading a post about the top companies to work for. The usual were on the list, Alphabet, Facebook, Salesforce and others. Amazon topped the list for a variety of reasons.
In the news as well is the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy that Toys R Us is filing. As I dug deeper, I also learned that Amazon is considering buying up some of the prime locations that will now be vacant, so they can move further into brick and mortar retail.
I found it pretty amazing that for all the news about retail being a dying segment it’s not actually the case. Instead, we are seeing a right sizing and elimination of poor performers across industries. Amazon is willing to move into direct retail in a way that Toys R Us or others never did. In my mind there are a lot of factors that go into it, but one thing is sure, the culture of a company will determine its outcome.
Now I’m not here to dissect what failed at Toys R Us; in fact I have fond memories of it as a child. As an adult, I was less than overwhelmed when I stopped in and I am not that heartbroken that they are closing.
From an economist’s standpoint I applaud the invisible hand working. However I also realize that decisions made years ago, such as a leveraged buyout, made Toys R Us susceptible to market failure.
What lesson can we pull from these two somewhat unrelated events?
On one hand, you have a top ranked company that wants to move further into brick and mortar retail. On the other hand, you have a major player leaving and many others struggling.
Is our future one where we have only a few spots to shop, Walmart, Amazon and perhaps Target? In that same breath do we also have three competing delivery systems now that Target acquired Shipt?
It probably won’t be that simple, but it does make one think how can we make a positive impact in our own industries.
Are we innovating? Are we looking at the needs of our customers and anticipating the future? Are we digesting data in ways not currently mainstream? These all can lead to greater returns and profits.
Now we just have to execute.
Image credit: drivebysh00ter
