In March, I had the pleasure of attending Crain’s Power Breakfast, themed “Women Who Mean Business.” We heard from great panelists and speakers who shared their stories and tips for succeeding in business. One of the key takeaways from the event was this: Retail is evolving, and you need to be ready (and willing) to change.
We’re a quarter of the way through 2025 already, and the world has changed a lot in just the past 90 days. With ever-changing tariffs impacting different parts of the retail industry day-to-day, we’re in an unstable economic environment. Improvements and technology advancements with AI are enabling retailers to streamline their systems, dive deeper into their data, and automate manual tasks that bog down their workforce. With rapid change happening across so many business areas, it’s critical that your marketing and communications are evolving too.
The fact of the matter is this: the way we marketed 20 years ago doesn’t work anymore. The way we marketed 10 years ago isn’t as effective as it used to be. It’s never too late to evolve your strategy and try something new – but you have to be willing to try.
Plants need repotting.
Computers need software updates.
Strategies need to evolve.
Initiating significant change in your strategy can be intimidating, but letting your business die a slow, sad death because you aren’t willing to make a change or take a chance? That’s much worse.
As Bill mentioned in his “A Season of Change” article, MRA is evolving right alongside our members. For about 40 years, the current MRA logo has remained the same. We’re thrilled to unveil a new look later this year that more accurately reflects who we are and who we serve. We are redefining what it means to be a Michigan retailer, and we can’t wait to share more of this evolution.
Vic Veda
VP, Communications, Michigan Retailers Association
