Under the leadership of co-director Professor Maxime Cohen, 91吃瓜鈥檚 new retail innovation lab is experimenting with contactless shopping, a rising trend in retail innovation.
By downloading an app, shoppers can use QR codes to unlock store doors and pick up any items they want without having to check out in the store. Cohen joins Global News Morning Montreal to share more.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to reshape consumer preferences in the retail industry, large shopping centres will either pivot or fade into memory.
Charles de Brabant, the executive director of the Bensadoun School of Retail Management, is disappointed with the stagnancy and inefficiency he鈥檚 witnessed in recent years. With the rise of online shopping cutting into their profit margins, large shopping centres must adapt more nimbly to have a shot at survival.
A new wave of sustainability-focused retailers are embracing a package-free retail trend to minimize the environmental impact of shopping for groceries and everyday goods.
Professor Saibal Ray, the academic director of the Bensadoun School of Retail Management, applauds the innovative attempts to avoid packaging while pointing out the difficulty of implementation.
In recent months, property firms behind prominent shopping malls across North America have taken Hudson鈥檚 Bay Co. (HBC) to court to claim unpaid rent totaling millions of dollars. While industry analysts question the financial security of the Canadian icon, recently taken private following a months-long process, key HBC executives cite the landlords鈥� unwillingness to absorb the share the costs of the pandemic as the primary reason for the dispute.
Quebec will receive only half of the expected Pfizer-BioNtech vaccines by February 8th聽due to strategy adjustments made by production facilities in Europe. Accelerated vaccine deliveries are planned for February and March to address the shortfall. The shortage will mainly affect elderly patients in long-term care, who were set to receive the second round of the vaccine in mid-March.
Partnering with Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., the new retail innovation lab at 91吃瓜鈥檚 Bensadoun School of Retail Management will enable ground-breaking research and test innovations, including frictionless technologies
Charles de Brabant,聽Executive Director of the Bensadoun School of Retail Management, is optimistic about the future of retail following a horrendous year for most Canadian retailers. Giants like Amazon and Walmart, who account for 20% of the retail market, still generated profits in 2020, but the remaining 80% fared so poorly that they brought overall industry profits down by 93%.
In anticipation of a two-week shutdown of non-essential businesses starting December 25, Quebec retailers are moving Boxing Day sales up a week. According to Charles de Brabant, Executive Director of the Bensadoun School of Retail Management, Boxing Day sales have already lost ground to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, making them less vital but for moving year-end inventory off the shelves.聽聽
The launch of the largest vaccination campaign in history involves the mass production of medical vials constructed out of borosilicate glass.
As social distancing measures remain in replace across Canada, consumers are flocking to buy automated food and drink kiosks for fresh, made-to-order food and beverages with little to no human contact.
Professor Saibal Ray, Academic Director of the Bensadoun School of Retail Management, describes the daunting complexity involved in ramping up the first round of COVID-19 vaccine production. From transportation to coordination, getting the right amount of vaccines to the right place and the right time is no small feat.聽
Only 30 percent of Canada鈥檚 small business are hitting normal sales numbers as the second wave of the pandemic crashes into their bottom line. According to Professor Yu Ma, Academic Director of the Master of Management in Retailing, nothing short of digital transformation will equip these businesses to survive.
The Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal hosted a Strategic Forum of Retail Trade with the goal to highlight how the COVID-19 crisis is shaking up the Quebec retail sector. This forum allowed key players in retail to take stock of the current transformations and consider courses of action to innovate and relaunch the retail trade in a sustainable manner.
Historically, December yields the largest profits for retailers, who are accustomed to ramping up their year-end operations to keep pace with the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping. This December, however, is a different story.
As the recent surge of the COVID-19 pandemic forces businesses across Canada to close their doors once again, retailers must adapt to survive.
The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced thousands of retailers across Canada to shut their doors during the holiday season. Some will never open them again. Anwar White, Program Director, Master of Management in Retailing, puts the struggle that retailers are facing into context and points to a silver lining.
