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Imagine that you pull up to a skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan. You step out of the car and walk into the lobby, where the staff greets you by name and ushers you to an elevator. Upstairs, another staff member brings you coffee just the way you like it, minutes after you arrive. A barber is on hand to give you a fresh shave before an important Zoom call, and afterwards, you drop by a caviar tasting thats happening in the shared lounge. Amid an interior of travertine, green marble, and glass, a dedicated hospitality team and concierge service wants to make sure clients dont waste time with the little frictions of everyday life. This sanctuary might sound like one of Manhattans luxury members-only clubs, but in fact, its a new kind of coworking space that caters to the 1% of workers. Industrious Reserve is a high-end coworking space meant for CEOs and business leaders. Its supposed to give the prestige of Park Avenue and the quiet luxury of a private club, according to marketing materials. Its designed for leaders with all-remote teams, or with home offices in other cities, who will now have a place to hold court. What we observe in our business is that people want a private club experience, but they also want their own office, says Industrious President Anna Squires Levine, whose firm was recently bought by real estate services giant CBRE. Just this morning, I had a private equity executive tell me this is the product Ive been waiting for. I do not want to sign my own 10-year lease. Why would I do that? Then I have to build it and manage it and figure out the Wi-Fi for 10 years. I want somewhere I can show up and feel like a boss. [Photo: Industrious Reserve] The first location of Industrious Reserve, a high-end coworking space meant for CEOs and business leaders, will open soon inside the fifth and sixth floors of Manhattans Lever House, a famous modernist skyscraper. Reserve access starts at $7,000 a month per person, $9,500 if it includes one of the 44 private office suites (monthly membership costs for other Industrious locations in New York City vary between $399 and $1,700.) The new corner office The Reserve offering represents a significant departure from the classic corner office layout for corporate leadership, a design for status and hierarchy that reached its apex shortly after the International-Style Lever House opened in 1952. As much as its a story of service firms finding new ways to cater to increasingly wealthy clienteleafter all, theres no shortage of private club space or budget for high-end office amenitiesit also speaks to the changing role of a modern CEO and their workspace. [Photo: Industrious Reserve] Corporate leadership needs to showcase accessibility, transparency and cultural presence, says Todd Heiser, principal and co-managing director of Genslers Chicago office. But that doesnt mean having the face of the company operate out of the lunchroom, or like many famous tech leaders, flipping open a laptop and sitting with the rank-and-file. What Heiser says leaders desire nowand Reserve seeks to provideis a place to work in close collaboration with the trusted team that makes a modern business function, almost like a capitalist situation room. [Photo: Industrious Reserve] In a world that requires lightning-fast decision-making, CEOs want proximity; they want to be able to assemble the executive team in minutes and work in a space that fosters faster alignment. Heiser pointed to Logan Roys office on Succession or Rebeccas office on Ted Lasso as examples of leadership spaces that were both characters in their own right and typically open for rapid-fire meetings with advisers. One real-world example, the new HQ for Hyatt, includes space for leadership to quickly huddle, assemble, and lead team meetings outside of a stiff boardroom. The Capitalist Situation Room In the 1950s, office designers, influenced by notions of hierarchy and congruence theory, laid out workspaces to cleanly delineate hierarchy. Meanwhile, with todays more open plan and collaborative design, the workplace power dynamic is dramatically demonstrated by access, says Heiser. It helps that shrinking office footprints also means axing luxurious private offices. Gensler found one in five workers today doesnt have assigned seating, though execs do tend to have a reserved spot in most offices. As opposed to the classic corner officelong a symbol of hierarchy and corporate powerthis new functional layout thats emerging more post-pandemic displays the leadership style of todays LinkedIn CEO. Employees read leadership spaces like cultural text, says Heiser. The layout, the openness, the adjacency all tell people what the organization values. It actually comes clearly from the top. [Photo: Industrious Reserve] Reserve, in both its name and lofty privacy, communicates exclusivityits a considerable expense to joinbut it also gets described as the type of space where a leader can collaborate with a team. Levine spoke about the design, by the in-house team at Industrious, as a fusion of physical, technological, and experiential, trying to create a turnkey experience for execs while also creating a sort of townhouse on Park Avenue vibe. The feeling of intimacy should be akin to a secret, top-floor, light-filled brownstone in the middle of New York, says Levine. [Photo: Industrious Reserve] What sets Reserve apart, argues Levine, is the dichotomy; leaders can enjoy an intimate private office to meet with advisers, offering that connection to their top staff, as well as a semi-public spacemembers and guests only in the clubfor socializing for larger gatherings. Its a space for using time impactfully, being in the bunker with trusted advisers, and being the best version of yourself. Compared to the gigantic floorplates of modern high-rises, the Lever House is slim and elegant; in the afternoon, the sunlight from the window hits the middle of the floor. [Photo: Industrious Reserve] So far, membership interest has come from private equity firms, venture firms, hedge funds, and high-end retail and fashion shops. Levine says its either firms with big headquarters elsewhere who want a Manhattan outpost, or smaller, super distributed teams seeking a central meeting place. Levine expects the small handful of drop-in memberships and private offices to be snapped up well before the space opens in the spring, and Industrious plans further expansions of the concept in pinnacle cities such as Singapore, Tokyo, and Berlin. It takes a very special building and a very special landlord partner to make it happen, says Levine. We like to be thoughtful and methodical about the way that we expand so we know we can do it with a high degree of execution.
Category:
E-Commerce
Saks Global, owner of luxury retail chains Saks 5th Avenue and Neiman Marcus, has announced the closure of most of its discount outlet stores, Saks Off 5th and Last Call. The store closures come weeks after Saks Global announced that it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Heres what you need to know about the store closures, including a full list of the locations being shuttered. Whats happened? Yesterday, Saks Global said it would close a majority of its discount outlet stores. While Sak Global is best known for its high-end luxury department store chains, Saks 5th Avenue and Neiman Marcus, the company owns several other retailers, including Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Off 5th, Last Call, and Horchow. The company has now announced that two of these retailers will be hit by store closings. The first is Saks Off 5th, the companys outlet store chain, which sells discounted apparel and accessories for shoppers on a budget. The company also announced that it will close all its Last Call stores. Last Call is the discount outlet chain originally owned by Neiman Marcus, which Saks Global acquired for around $2.7 billion in 2024. Why are Saks Off 5th and Last Call stores closing? Saks Global is closing these locations as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy process, which the company filed for earlier this month. The goal of the bankruptcy is to strengthen the foundation of our business and position it for the future, Saks Global CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck stated earlier this month. Over the past several years, the company now known as Saks Global has become saddled with debt, driven by factors affecting many retailers, including reduced sales, declining foot traffic, increased online competition, and inflationary pressures. But the companys debt problems also increased significantly after it acquired competitor Neiman Marcus in 2024. This weeks announcement of store closures doesnt come out of the blue. Earlier this month, when Saks Global announced it was filing for bankruptcy, the company said it was evaluating its operational footprint to invest resources where it has the greatest long-term potential. That evaluation has now led to the closure of a majority of its Saks Off 5th and all of its Last Call stores. Saks Global now says the store closures are the result of a thorough review of its off-price business. Which Last Call stores are closing? Saks Global has confirmed that all of its remaining Last Call stores will close. This encompasses five locations in three states. Those locations are: California Desert Hills Premium Outlets (Cabazon, CA) The Outlets at Orange (Orange, CA) Florida Sawgrass Mills (Sunrise, FL) Texas Grapevine Mills (Grapevine, TX) San Marcos Premium Outlets (San Marcos, TX) Which Saks Off 5th stores are closing? Unlike its Last Call stores, Saks Global will not shutter all of its Saks Off 5th stores. However, the majority of the stores will be closing. The company says that 12 Saks Off 5th locations will remain open, while the other 57 locations will close. Those 57 locations are spread across 18 states. Here is the full list of Saks Off 5th stores that are closing: Arizona Glendale, AZ Phoenix, AZ Scottsdale, AZ Tucson, AZ California Cabazon, CA Camarillo, CA Costa Mesa, CA Livermore, CA Beverly Connect, Los Angeles (West), CA Milpitas, CA Palm Desert, CA Petaluma, CA Ontario, CA San Diego, CA Woodland Hills, CA Conneticuit Clinton, CT Stamford High Ridge (Stamford), CT Florida Destin, FL Ellenton (Tampa), FL Tampa (Lutz), FL Naples Park Shore (Naples), FL Orlando, FL Orlando (Vineland), FL Georgia Atlanta (Woodstock), GA North Atlanta (Woodstock), GA Hawaii Ala Moana (Honolulu, HI) Hawaii (Honolulu, HI) Illinois Aurora Chicago (Aurora), IL State Street (Chicago), IL Northbrook, IL Rosemont, IL Massachutses Boston (Somerville), MA Wrentham, MA Maryland Clarksburg, MD Arundel (Hanover), MD Minnisota Eagan, MN Navada Las Vegas N (Las Vegas), NV Las Vegas S (Las Vegas), NV New Hampshire Merrimack, NH New Jersey Bridgewater, NJ Elizabeth, NJ Shrewsbury, NJ New York Deer Park, NY Eastchester, NY Greenburgh, NY Riverhead, NY North Carolina Charlotte, NC Mebane, NC Ohio Columbus, OH South Carolina Hilton Head (Bluffton), SC Charleston, SC Texas Cypress, TX Dallas Park (Dallas), TX Grand Prairie, TX Katy, TX San Antonio, TX Sugarland, TX In addition to the above Saks Off 5th closing locations, Saks Global also announced that the retailer’s website, Saksoff5th.com, “is winding down operations. When do closing sales begin? Saks Global says Saksoff5th.com online closing sales will begin today, Friday, January 30. Physical store closing sales will begin on Saturday, January 31. The company says that gift cards to these physical retail stores will continu to be accepted, but only until Saturday, February 14th. Gift cards for saksoff5th.com will only be accepted until Friday, February 13th. All merchandise purchased during the closing sales is non-returnable or exchangeable.
Category:
E-Commerce
President Donald Trump said he plans to announce his choice for chairman of the Federal Reserve on Friday morning, a long-awaited decision that could set up a showdown on whether the U.S. central bank preserves its independence from the White House and electoral politics.For the past year, the president has aggressively attacked Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term as the head of the U.S. central bank ends in May. Trump maintains that Powell should cut the Fed’s benchmark interest rates more drastically to fuel faster economic growth, while the Fed chair has taken a far more judicious approach in the wake of Trump’s tariffs because inflation is already elevated.“I’ll be announcing the Fed chair tomorrow morning,” Trump told reporters Thursday night as he went into a screening of the documentary “Melania” about his wife. “It’s going to be, somebody that is very respected, somebody that’s known to everybody in the financial world. And I think it’s going to be a very good choice. I hope so.”Trump stayed relatively cryptic about his pick. His search was led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent with four known finalists: Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor; Christopher Waller, a current Fed governor; Rick Rieder, an executive with the financial firm BlackRock; and Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council. Trump previously suggested Hassett was the frontrunner, only to recently say that he wanted him to remain in his current post.Trump did say on Thursday night that “a lot of people think that this is somebody that could have been there a few years ago,” fueling speculation that he had chosen Warsh, who was a finalist in the 2017 search for Fed chair that led to Powell’s selection.Tensions between Trump and the central bank had been steadily mounting as the president used the renovation costs of the Fed’s headquarters to further lambaste Powell, a campaign that resulted in the Fed getting subpoenas from the Justice Department earlier this month. The Fed chair took the rare step of issuing a video statement in which he said, “The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president.”Trump has long teased his Fed choice while saying his nominee would slash interest rates that influence the supply of money in the U.S. economy, the rate of inflation and the stability of the job market.On the cusp of Trump’s announcement, Powell might have the ability to block him in an effort to ensure the Fed preserves its credibility by staying away from political considerations.While his term as chair ends in roughly three months, Powell’s term on the Fed’s board of governors runs through 2028 and he could choose to remain in that post, likely blocking Trump’s ability to have his nominees control the majority of the seats on the board. Of the seven Fed governors, former President Joe Biden picked three of them in addition to renominating Powell to a second term as chair.If Powell stays on the board, he could also create a small procedural hurdle for Trump’s ability to nominate someone new to the board. This would mean Trump would either have to choose an existing board member as chair or replace Stephen Miran, who is on leave from his job as chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers to fill a term as governor that technically ends on Saturday. If Trump chooses to replace Miran, he could name someone new to the board.At a Wednesday news conference, Powell declined to say whether he would leave the board. But he did offer some advice to any successor about balancing the need for independent judgment with public accountability.“Don’t get pulled into elected politics don’t do it,” Powell said. “Another is, that our window into democratic accountability is Congress. And it’s not a passive burden for us to go to Congress and talk to people. It’s an affirmative regular obligation.” Josh Boak and Darlene Superville, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
Hello, and welcome back to Fast Companys Plugged In. When Amazon announced this week that its shutting down Amazon Go, its 8-year-old chain of cashierless convenience stores, the news did not come as a shocker. Almost two years ago, the company shuttered all its Go stores in San Francisco, along with some locations in New York and Seattle. Another round of closures came in 2024. Now its going from a few stores to no stores, a footnote given that the same day brought the news that Amazon is laying off 16,000 people across the company. Having shopped at the Amazon Go near my San Francisco office almost 200 times, I counted myself as a fan. Even back then, though, it felt like the company either didnt understand what it had created or had already lost interest. The piece I wrote when the San Francisco stores closed felt like an obituary, even though other locations remained in business. I said at the time that regardless of what happened to Amazon Go, I hoped startups would pursue the goal of freeing us from the drudgery of waiting in line to pay for stuff. One I mentioned in that piece, Grabango, folded the following year. Reportedly, the expense and complexity of equipping stores with its technologywhich, like Go, involved a bevy of cameras using AI to keep track of shoppers and the products theyd plucked from shelvesplayed a part in its demise. I should note that cashierless retail is not entirely dead. Amazon is still working on the Just Walk Out technology that powered the Go stores, which it makes available to other retailers. Some of its Whole Food Market stores continue to offer a variant of the tech in the form of smart shopping carts called Dash Carts, which it recently upgraded. Startups that remain in the game include Zippin, whose Go-like technology is widely used at sporting and concert venues, and Mashgin, which eliminates the need to configure an entire store with cameras by having shoppers place items on a tray for AI-assisted checkout. The one place Ive encountered checkout-free shopping lately is at airports, where Ive bought items using both Amazons and Mashgins platforms. My experiences were positive. Lets be honest, though: It isnt tough to improve on airport retail in its traditional form. Cashierless checkout surviving for niche applications would be a dramatic reversal from the days when the first Amazon Go stores opened and I wondered whether human-dependent checkout was on its way to becoming as quaint as sales transactions involving someone eyeballing price tags on items and laboriously punching keys on a cash register. Maybe it will someday. But surely not in this decade, and I wouldnt bet on the one after that. Why is that? Along with the cost of the tech, theres the question of how well it works at all. In 2023, The Informations Theo Wayt reported that Amazon had 1,000 people in India reviewing transactions from its stores, and that 70% of sales required a human in the loop. That made it sound like the main thing the company had achieved was to remote-control the checkout process rather than eliminate it. It was also a reminder that shopping in Amazon Go stores involved being monitored by cameras, giving the whole process a Big Brother vibe. Amazon disputed details of Wayts report. And the fact that considerable human labor was required to train the Just Walk Out AI doesnt mean it would be so forever. Still, the more you know about how technology of this sort works, the more daunting it soundsespecially in the context of retail, a business that has traditionally been resistant to experimentation and long-term thinking. Back when I was popping into my neighborhood Amazon Go several times a week, I thought of what it was doing as being centered on making my life slightly better. Ultimately, though, retail technology is not about direct customer satisfaction. Its about increasing sales. Making shoppers happier is only one way to accomplish that, and probably not the easiest one. In 2018, my colleague Sean Captain wrote about Standard Cognition, which had opened a 1,900-foot demo cashierless shop in San Francisco and had plans to help retailers take thousands of stores cashierless in just a couple of years. That didnt happen. Now known as Standard AI, the company has pivoted away from grab-and-go toward using cameras to understand what shoppers actually see and respond to, its website says. Our proprietary models continuously track awareness, engagement, and conversion to prove media impact, refine promotions, and optimize performance across every in-store placement. Standard AI is not performing facial recognition or otherwise associating this data with specific identifiable individuals. But even in anonymized form, the idea of being monitored as I shop for the purpose of maximizing sales makes me wince. The companys sitewith close-up imagery of shoppers contemplating products, overlaid with stats Standard has collected about themdoesnt help. (Yes, I am aware that club cards have long tied shoppers to purchases, and that online shopping has always been a minefield when it comes to merchants spying on customers.) Much has changed since Amazon Go was a novelty. AI is now everywhere in our lives, and the list of areas where its impact is potentially transformative is almost literally endless. I still like the concept of grab-and-go shopping. For now, however, it seems most useful as a case study in why technology that workskinda, in certain circumstancescan fall so short of working as a real-world business. Youve been reading Plugged In, Fast Companys weekly tech newsletter from me, global technology editor Harry McCracken. If a friend or colleague forwarded this edition to youor if you’re reading it on fastcompany.comyou can check out previous issues and sign up to get it yourself every Friday morning. I love hearing from you: Ping me at hmccracken@fastcompany.com with your feedback and ideas for future newsletters. I’m also on Bluesky,
Category:
E-Commerce
From the outside, it looks like a generational standoff. Baby boomers are retiring earlier than expected, frustrated by workplace change, technology shifts, and growing tension with younger colleagues. At the same time, Gen Z talks openly about quitting jobs that feel misaligned or draining. Many leaders interpret this as a clash of values. Older workers cannot adapt. Younger workers lack commitment. The data tells a more complicated story. New research from Clari and Salesloft, conducted in partnership with Workplace Intelligence, surveyed 2,000 U.S. sellers and sales leaders across industries. The study found that 19% of baby boomers are planning to retire early because they are tired of dealing with Gen Z at work. At the same time, 28% of Gen Z respondents said they are actively searching for a role where they will not have to interact with baby boomers as much. The cost of that friction is not abstract. The research estimates that generational conflict is costing organizations roughly $56 billion each year in lost productivity, driven by miscommunication, burnout, and uneven adoption of new technologies like AI. On its own, that data suggests a workplace pulling itself apart. But another study complicates the narrative. Research from Southeastern Oklahoma State University, based on a survey of 1,000 employees, found that 71% of Gen Z workers are staying in a job or career longer than they want simply because they do not know how to leave. Nearly half say they are actively transitioning toward something new, while 68% report that their employer has no idea they are planning a change. Taken together, these findings reveal something leaders often miss. Baby boomers are leaving because they can. Gen Z is staying because they do not know how not to. This is not a motivation problem. It is a clarity problem. A shifting environment For many boomers, the workplace they are navigating today barely resembles the one they mastered. AI tools, shifting communication norms, and changing definitions of productivity have disrupted identities built on decades of experience and institutional knowledge. When those changes arrive without context or support, frustration grows. Early retirement becomes less about age and more about opting out of an environment that no longer feels coherent. Gen Z is facing the opposite challenge. They entered a workforce defined by constant change, but very little guidance. Career paths are opaque. Loyalty feels risky. Advice is often abstract. While they are often labeled as eager to quit, the reality is that many are stuck in roles they have already outgrown, unsure how to move on without harming their future. AI has intensified this divide rather than resolving it. For example, the same Clari and Salesloft research found that 39% of Gen Z would rather be managed by AI than by a baby boomer, while 25% of boomers say they would prefer working with AI over a Gen Z colleague. This preference is less about technology being superior and more about predictability. In environments where expectations feel unclear or inconsistent, AI can appear easier to work with than people. The leadership factor That is where leadership enters the equation. Engaged empathy is not about lowering standards or avoiding difficult conversations. It is about understanding how different generations experience the same systems and responding with clear, actionable communication. Without that effort, organizations allow frustration to turn into disengagement. For Gen Z, engaged empathy shows up as explicit career navigation. Not platitudes about growth, but concrete conversations about skills, timelines, and options. Many young employees are not afraid of hard work. They are afraid of making irreversible mistakes in a system that rarely explains the rules. For baby boomers, engaged empathy means recognizing that resistance to new tools is often rooted in identity, not stubbornness. When experience feels discounted rather than translated, trust erodes. Leaders who intentionally connect new technologies to existing strengths reduce defensiveness and preserve institutional wisdom. However, none of this works without clarity. High-performing organizations do not assume alignment across generations. They create it. They explain what success looks like now, how it is measured, and how employees at different stages can contribute and grow. They introduce AI as a shared resource rather than a silent evaluator. Boomers retiring early and Gen Z wanting to quit are not signs that work is fundamentally broken. They are signals that employees are responding rationally to unclear systems and inconsistent leadership. The solution is not fewer generations in the workplace. It is leaders willing to practice engaged empathy and communicate clearly enough that fewer people feel the need to escape in the first place.
Category:
E-Commerce