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I wonder if this is a short-term strategy to force commercial property rents further down, and re-enter when they hit a feasible low. In India, GAP apparently

I wonder if this is a short-term strategy to force commercial property rents further down, and re-enter when they hit a feasible low. In India, GAP apparently uses their retail stores in an omnichannel strategy to "warehouse" products closer to customers in an attempt to provide next-day delivery. [1] [1] https://yourstory.com/2021/06/fashion-brands-omnichannel-flipkart-amazon-unicommerce/ https://yourstory.com/2021/06/fashion-brands-omnichannel-fli... (paywalled, use reader-mode)

dageshi 5y ago
You might need to do that in India, in the UK it's so small relatively speaking that a couple of distribution centers in the right places can probably serve the entire country.
- OJFord 5y ago
  Or just stick it in the post / hand over to courier.
- detritus 5y ago
  We already have oodles of those - you can see them off major motorway arteries and intersections. I think this is more about last-mile fulfillment.
WesleyHale 5y ago
> In India, GAP apparently uses their retail stores in an omnichannel strategy to "warehouse" products closer to customers in an attempt to provide next-day delivery. I believe this is the eventual move a lot of brick and mortar stores are going to make to compete with Amazon. I've been told by a Best Buy manager their end goal is to turn a majority of their stores into fulfilment centers.
- detritus 5y ago
  This is what Sainsbury's appear to be doing - consolidating some of their Argos branches with larger Sainsburys stores and added general fulfillment centres. Not sure if this is across the country, but it was interesting to see the apparently-quick turnaround during Lockdown at some local stores here.
bgeeek 5y ago
I wondered if they were just looking at how Uniqlo operate. Here in the UK, Uniqlo only have stores in London. You can find one or two other cities - Oxford, Manchester, but that's it. For anywhere else you have to shop online.

dageshi 5y ago

You might need to do that in India, in the UK it's so small relatively speaking that a couple of distribution centers in the right places can probably serve the entire country.

OJFord 5y ago
Or just stick it in the post / hand over to courier.
detritus 5y ago
We already have oodles of those - you can see them off major motorway arteries and intersections. I think this is more about last-mile fulfillment.

WesleyHale 5y ago

> In India, GAP apparently uses their retail stores in an omnichannel strategy to "warehouse" products closer to customers in an attempt to provide next-day delivery. I believe this is the eventual move a lot of brick and mortar stores are going to make to compete with Amazon. I've been told by a Best Buy manager their end goal is to turn a majority of their stores into fulfilment centers.

detritus 5y ago
This is what Sainsbury's appear to be doing - consolidating some of their Argos branches with larger Sainsburys stores and added general fulfillment centres. Not sure if this is across the country, but it was interesting to see the apparently-quick turnaround during Lockdown at some local stores here.

bgeeek 5y ago

I wondered if they were just looking at how Uniqlo operate. Here in the UK, Uniqlo only have stores in London. You can find one or two other cities - Oxford, Manchester, but that's it. For anywhere else you have to shop online.