Periodically, when I come across an article that would be appropriate for weekend reading, I realize that the topic had been staring me in the face. This week is an extreme case as Knitty City, the store profiled in this article, is 0.1 miles from my apartment, and I walk past it many times a week. It is, as the article describes, always jammed with customers, both female and male.
The store’s success reflects many trends, notably a desire for small communities (like book clubs, which continue to grow rapidly in number), and participation in knitting, for which statistics are unavailable but anecdotally definitely seems to be growing. The many knitters in my life sometimes buy their materials online, but prefer to see and touch them before they purchase. And while there are innumerable YouTubes on knitting, in-person advice and instruction is often very helpful.
Is Knitty City’s model replicable? Probably not, especially since the dedication of the late founder’s family is crucial to the store’s success. Still, all retailers can learn from the tactics that have enabled Knitty City to be both a destination (there are “maps of the United States the world mounted on a wall, with hundreds of pins in them marking places customers have come from to visit Knitty City”) and a “community hub and haven.”
Late last year, veteran tech reporter Jason Del Ray started a newsletter, The Aisle, to which I quickly subscribed as part of my ongoing effort to stay informed and not let democracy die in darkness. It’s been consistently excellent. The Aisle’s piece yesterday, on the shuttering of Amazon Go (scroll down to after the PayPal piece), includes an interview with one of Amazon Go’s inventors, Gianna Puerini. Though the piece is brief, it has something for everyone.
Many readers of Weekend Reading may particularly enjoy this quote from Puerini:
“Now that I’m out, I realize the benefit of talking to a cashier and connecting with people from the community. It’s easier to recognize that when you’re not in the middle of it.”
There’s certainly fodder for the highly popular sport of Amazon-bashing. But, and this is a big but, the bashers tend to grossly underestimate Amazon. To wit:
“Still, a version of the Just Walk Out technology that Puerini helped create lives on as Amazon-licensed technology in hundreds of time-sensitive venues, such as airports and sports stadiums, where saving even a minute or two can be enough.”
Here’s a link to the article – if you can’t access it, please let me know, as The Aisle is set up so that subscribers can forward articles.
Finally, I was really sad to hear of the passing of Joe Ellis, who without a doubt was one of the greatest retail analysts of all time. He was at Goldman Sachs from 1970 to 1999, where he covered, with enormous insight, the rise of many of the America’s great retailers and mentored many analysts, including legendary retail investor Steve Mandel.
He was also a director at Coach at the time of its IPO and was likely a significant contributor to the company’s success. I didn’t have the privilege of knowing Joe well, but everyone I know who knew him confirmed my impression that he was a truly great guy, a mensch.
Here’s what veteran analyst Matt Fassler, who was another one of Joe’s proteges, posted about him on LinkedIn:
“Joe was a dominant presence on Wall Street for many years. He appreciated the accolades but loved the work more. He went to market with enthusiasm, rigor and originality. He was an authority, and, as an analyst, had every tool. He had a front-row seat, and a prominent role, as some of today’s most successful enterprises first accessed the capital markets.”
Faye Landes advises emerging consumer companies, including footwear, apparel and accessories brands, on-line retailers, and fitness concepts on general strategy, hiring, scaling and fundraising. Faye’s work is informed by her career as an analyst at Cowen & Company and Consumer Edge Research as well as her time as a guest lecturer at Princeton’s undergraduate course in entrepreneurship. To join her Weekend Reading mailing list, sign up at faye@landesadvisors.com.
