With the benchmark 10 year treasury yield recently topping 5.0% for first time in over 16 years, there has been a lot of focus on how higher interest rates impact the general economy.  Some of our readers may remember that 10 year treasury yields above 5% are not unprecedented.  In fact, for the 30 year […]

The first ten months of 2023 have seen big-name retailers, including David’s Bridal, Bed Bath & Beyond, Party City, and Rite Aid, and many small businesses file for bankruptcy protections. In the 12-month period ending June 30, 2023, bankruptcy filings rose 23% year-over-year according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, and Chapter 11 […]

Over the years, several Big Stories with the same title as this one have explored social and political positions taken by consumer companies. In past instances, brands have issued statements and taken actions on salient topics of the day that their leaders believed align with the values of their customers. In times of domestic upheaval […]

Collaborations are nothing new in the world of consumer products. In 2021, innovative ice cream brand (and 2019 presenter at the Consensus Great Brands Show) Van Leeuwen teamed up with Kraft to develop and market the shockingly successful Kraft Macaroni & Cheese French ice cream.  In 2017, luxury stalwart Louis Vuitton’s profit skyrocketed on the […]

We saw the warnings as early as August when retailers started stocking shelves with candy, costumes, decorations, and all things pumpkin-flavored: summer has passed, and it is now officially the Halloween spending season.  As a longtime resident of Salem Massachusetts, one of the top tourist destinations in the U.S. for all things Halloween, I have […]