Department stores are doomed, says professor Mark Cohen

There's an old saying: Those who can, do, and those who can't, teach. Mark Cohen is a notable exception. He spent decades as a retail executive everywhere from The Gap to Lazarus to Sears, but since 2006 Cohen has taught retail at Columbia University's Graduate School of Business. Having closely followed retail both from its trenches and the ivory tower of academia, Cohen is uniquely situated to offer perspectives on its past, present and future. In this episode of the podcast, he chats with host Warren Shoulberg about the dim prospects for the American department store, the boundless opportunity afforded by COVID, and the dance between physical retail and e-commerce.  

This episode is sponsored by Square.