MIKE HAGAN

Why Searches Stall ⏸️ Most executive searches don’t fail. But many quietly lose momentum. And when they do, it’s rarely about candidate quality. At O’Keefe & Partners, we see the same patterns show up: • The role isn’t fully defined • Stakeholders aren’t truly aligned • Compensation doesn’t match the market • The interview process becomes too complex The result? Top candidates disengage. Timelines stretch. Confidence erodes — on both sides. Here’s the reality: Executive search is as much an internal alignment exercise as it is an external market exercise. The highest-performing searches we run have one thing in common: ✔ Clear mandate ✔ Aligned decision-makers ✔ Realistic view of the market When those are in place, everything moves faster — and better. Because the best candidates don’t wait around for ambiguity to get resolved. #ExecutiveSearch #RetainedSearch #LeadershipHiring #TalentStrategy #SalesLeadership #MarketingLeadership #SupplyChainLeadership #OKeefeAndPartners

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Retail Industry Challenges America’s retailers are exhibiting new challenges. Changes in consumer spending habits, rising labor costs, the impact of tariffs are some of the reasons why. As retail sales flatten,  there is increasing pressure on CEOs and heads of retail operations to perform. According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 43 retail CEOs had left their posts between January and September 2025, compared to 24 CEO exits recorded during the same timeframe in 2024.  This includes Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen, Kohl’s CEO Ashley Buchanan and Container Store CEO Satish Malhotra. Target CEO Brian Cornell is likely to step down in early 2026. The trend of CEO shakeup is likely to continue into 2026. What can help the retail industry?  The consumer, especially if sales during the holiday period show real strength. Tariffs are already causing inflation to rise. Christmas merchandise has already become more expensive. Tariffs have caused prices in grocery stores to rise. The recently announced reduction in tariffs on tropical fruits, coffee and meats could ease inflation a bit.  If tariff revenues are used for stimulus checks for households making $100,000 or less, that could also provide a much-needed boost to retail sales and the economy (at the cost of higher inflation). Pradeep Ganguly The Continents States University

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Amazon retail loses money. On purpose. The numbers are stark. → 465B cost of sales and fulfillment → 296B product sales revenue → 169B implied loss without services Retail drives volume. Services drive profit. The engine sits elsewhere. → Advertising and AWS offset losses → Seller fees add high margin revenue → Subscriptions strengthen ecosystem lock in Low prices are strategic. Scale is funded by services. Pure retail cannot compete at that scale. Source: Amazon Services and Profitability by ECDB ♻️ Do you find it interesting? Like the post 💬 Did we miss an angle? Comment below! 📥 Want more insights? Check MarketMaze! Link in my bio #ecommerce #retail #strategy #amazon #marketplaces #profitability #operators #investors

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TARIFF REFUNDS MAY COME — BUT MANY SUPPLIERS ALREADY PAID THE PRICE There’s a lot of discussion right now about retailers potentially receiving tariff refunds following recent rulings. If that happens, it may provide meaningful relief at the top of the supply chain. But for many small and mid-sized suppliers, the financial impact has already been absorbed — and there’s no refund coming. Over the past few years, small businesses have carried a disproportionate share of tariff-related costs. Many paid significant increases month after month, often in the hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. Nationally, small business bankruptcies have risen sharply, and Subchapter V filings have increased as companies struggled with cash flow pressure tied to higher input costs, freight volatility, and shifting sourcing requirements. Meanwhile, many suppliers reworked pricing, shifted production across countries, absorbed margin compression, saw decreased unit volume, and took revenue hits to protect long-term retail relationships and shelf space. Those decisions are already reflected in P&Ls. They don’t unwind if a refund is issued upstream. This isn’t a complaint per se — it’s a reminder of how risk is distributed in a supply chain. Larger organizations often have more tools, leverage, and legal pathways to recover costs. Smaller partners feel the shock immediately, and permanently. What we need now is a consistent, reliable U.S. trade policy so businesses can plan forward with retail partners instead of reacting month to month. Since April, repeated policy shifts have forced constant pivots in sourcing, pricing, and production — adding real cost and complexity for smaller players who are adapting as quickly as possible to their customers’ necessary but ever-changing import strategies.

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