Assortment and activation are driving demand in retail, says Dana Telsey
December 22, 2025 • 3m 53s
Andrew Ross Sorkin (Anchor)
00:00.150
retailers
bracing
for
the
final
few
shopping
days
before
christmas
joining
us
now
with
her
top
picks
in
the
sector
heading
into
twenty
twenty
six
dana
telsey
telsey
advisory
groups
chief
research
officer
and
CEO
good
morning
to
you
we
always
love
getting
a
pulse
check
from
you
Andrew Ross Sorkin (Anchor)
00:14.230
about
what
is
actually
happening
out
there
since
you
often
are
walking
i
imagine
even
this
past
weekend
through
the
stores
seeing
what's
happening
so
what
is
happening
Dana Telsey (Chief Research Officer and CEO)
00:23.910
happy
holidays
andrew
thank
you
for
having
me
what
is
happening
you
basically
had
a
super
saturday
which
is
definitely
a
pretty
good
saturday
very
good
traffic
you
need
it
in
order
to
make
the
season
it
seems
like
that
three
and
a
half
four
percent
sales
growth
is
pretty
much
Dana Telsey (Chief Research Officer and CEO)
00:38.710
baked
in
and
what's
happening
consumers
are
buying
they're
watching
the
prices
carefully
and
overall
it's
assortment
and
its
activation
that's
driving
demand
you
need
to
get
it
right
now
and
that
buy
online
pick
up
in
store
is
really
critical
in
order
to
have
the
goods
for
for
Dana Telsey (Chief Research Officer and CEO)
00:55.070
their
recipients
and
their
Andrew Ross Sorkin (Anchor)
00:56.430
family
for
thursday
who
who
impressed
you
so
far
and
who
did
you
walk
into
and
see
just
not
enough
people
there
Dana Telsey (Chief Research Officer and CEO)
01:04.950
i
think
a
couple
things
i
think
who
impressed
me
i
mean
victoria's
secret
is
crowded
you're
continuing
to
see
hollister
very
crowded
and
packed
you
look
at
urban
outfitters
particularly
in
free
people
and
it's
very
strong
and
steve
madden
it's
cold
out
so
people
are
wearing
tall
Dana Telsey (Chief Research Officer and CEO)
01:21.430
boots
out
there
that's
who's
impressing
me
you
still
need
more
and
also
the
the
off
prices
like
TJ
maxx
you
still
need
more
traffic
at
some
of
the
women
's
apparel
retailers
there's
definitely
work
to
be
done
but
overall
when
you
think
about
twenty
six
it's
assortment
and
Dana Telsey (Chief Research Officer and CEO)
01:37.870
activation
that's
going
to
drive
appreciation
given
the
world
cup
the
olympics
and
america
two
fifty
that's
coming
up
Andrew Ross Sorkin (Anchor)
01:46.350
OK
tell
me
about
department
stores
you
by
the
way
you
walking
into
any
nike
stores
we've
been
talking
about
nike
all
last
week
for
example
yeah
Dana Telsey (Chief Research Officer and CEO)
01:52.990
i
walked
into
nike
i
saw
the
nike
skims
i
saw
some
of
the
new
products
out
there
you're
definitely
seeing
better
traffic
in
nike
than
when
you
had
just
six
months
ago
i
was
in
macy's
i
even
met
santa
claus
went
to
the
parade
for
the
first
time
macy's
has
more
new
brands
the
Dana Telsey (Chief Research Officer and CEO)
02:09.710
newness
of
brands
that
they
have
both
in
bloomingdale
's
and
macy's
makes
them
the
winner
for
department
stores
twenty
six
Andrew Ross Sorkin (Anchor)
02:18.030
OK
who
would
you
not
touch
right
now
at
all
who
was
super
disappointing
Dana Telsey (Chief Research Officer and CEO)
02:23.190
i
think
you
have
concerns
out
there
certainly
about
some
of
the
women
's
apparel
retailers
i
think
you
have
concerns
out
there
of
the
you
need
the
tommy
bahamas
to
improve
out
there
you
need
the
towards
to
improve
out
there
some
of
the
retailers
that
didn't
adapt
that
didn't
put
Dana Telsey (Chief Research Officer and CEO)
02:39.430
in
advertising
they're
really
struggling
right
now
and
you
got
to
watch
that
you
look
at
lulu
look
what
has
happened
with
lulu
they
need
the
newness
also
because
activewear
needs
to
be
reinvigorated
Andrew Ross Sorkin (Anchor)
02:52.870
but
is
there
any
party
that
looks
at
lulu
and
where
the
stock
is
trading
right
now
and
says
that's
a
buy
that
that
there's
an
opportunity
to
fix
that
and
if
they
do
you
that
that'll
be
success
or
do
you
think
the
execution
risk
is
just
too
high
Dana Telsey (Chief Research Officer and CEO)
03:04.590
i
think
they
can
fix
it
i
mean
i
think
those
names
of
like
jane
nielsen
who's
been
bandied
about
she's
super
capable
i
think
that
would
be
a
win
for
the
company
i
think
they
need
to
enhance
the
product
i
think
you
have
more
new
product
personnel
there
now
that
should
give
it
Dana Telsey (Chief Research Officer and CEO)
03:19.710
some
interest
and
you
know
what
you
have
to
continue
to
get
younger
consumers
and
so
the
membership
signups
that
they
get
think
you
got
to
track
those
membership
signups
and
it
shows
the
inflection
point
of
the
brand
over
time
Andrew Ross Sorkin (Anchor)
03:32.150
and
then
final
question
you
remember
years
ago
we
said
electronics
were
the
new
fashion
and
there
was
this
moment
where
people
didn't
want
to
buy
clothes
they
just
wanted
to
buy
electronics
has
that
completely
shifted
his
fashion
now
fashion
again
Dana Telsey (Chief Research Officer and CEO)
03:43.990
fashion
is
fashion
and
you
know
why
because
we've
gone
way
past
the
pandemic
and
people
are
going
out
again
they're
going
to
events
they
want
to
wear
something
new
that's
changed
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