How Brands and Retailers Can Compete in the Age of Amazon

“The reality is Amazon is what it is, and if you think you can beat it at its game, then you’re fooling yourself.” That was the message from Rick Muscat, a principal with the footwear company Deer Stags, at a panel discussion at the FN Platform trade show in Las Vegas today. Muscat, along with Birkenstock USA president David Kahan, Famous Footwear president Rick Ausick and Shoe Parlor co-owner Jason Rogowsky, discussed the impact that Amazon.com is having on retailers and brands, in a conversation with Susquehanna Financial analyst Sam Poser. Muscat, whose roughly 80-year-old family business counts Amazon among its vendors, added that for retailers, the idea isn’t to compete on a level with the Internet marketplace but to create a different value proposition. “The question is, how do you communicate with the consumer in a way that means something to them,” he said. Kahan echoed that same sentiment. “Don’t give consumers a reason to go to Amazon,” he said. “A lot of retailers have taken their consumers for granted. And instead you should be wrapping yourselves around them with emails and marketing.” He pointed to Famous Footwear’s successful messaging strategies, which are built around data analysis. “Famous is a data-gathering organization,” said Kahan. “Make

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