All posts by : enVista Marketing

We are living through the most dynamic transportation environment in recent memory. The parcel carriers, in particular, are in a state of flux, with large shifts in service offerings, strategic alliances, and rate logic. Change is the byword of the day. This shifting environment means both opportunity and risk, depending on shippers’ ability to develop and implement strategies in response to this change. However, change doesn’t just happen. You, as a transportation leader, are responsible for driving it. Whether it’s in your title or job description or not, you own at least some of the responsibility, and the more ownership you take, the more valuable you will be to your organizational leadership.

After several years of downward spiraling sales, the last few quarters have seen Express slowly clawing its way back toward profitability, thanks in part to new CEO Tim Baxter. Its third-quarter earnings, released Thursday, showed $488 million in sales, down from $515 million in the same quarter last year. Still, that beat estimates and second-quarter earnings.

As Five Below expands, it is straying from the traditional playbook of a discount chain. Last year, the chain — which, as the name suggests, carries items that sell for under $5 — opened a 10,800 square-foot flagship store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Next year, it will experiment with adding video game lounges to some of its stores, and in October invested in an e-sports startup called Nerd Street Games. That is set to complement a new section Five Below started testing in October in select stores, to carry more electronics that sell for under $10. And it is spending more on television ads and influencer marketing in the lead up to the holidays in order to raise brand awareness.

Following a test, Five Below has made the decision to start selling some products for more than $5. The higher prices address rising costs and offer the opportunity to stock costlier items at “extreme value” in the home and tech categories.

Dia&Co made a name for itself in the plus-size fashion market through its five-product subscription box, similar to services provided by FabFitFun, Stitch Fix and others. But starting Friday, the company is introducing both a direct e-commerce model and a hybrid that splits the difference between control and curation.

UPS announced its 2020 general rate increase (GRI) on November 18, 2019. The announced rate increase is 4.9% on Ground and Air services, and it will go into effect on December 29, 2019. Along with the increases on the transportation charges, most accessorials will go up, some new accessorials will be added, and the DAS and EAS ZIP Code list will change.