Observed Signal · Jul 7, 2026 · Market Signal · Source: REI Co-op · Impact: 3/5
How to Pace an Ultramarathon Runner with Lisa Jhung
Trail runner and writer Lisa Jhung has paced ultramarathon runners for over 25 years, helping athletes through demanding miles to the finish.
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Connected Companies & Entities
1 Entity mappedRelated Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
SoHo retail remains resilient despite closures
SoHo continues to thrive as a premier retail destination in New York City, with record low availability rates and high rents, while other corridors like Times Square struggle with vacancies. The neighborhood's unique mix of luxury and mass brands, historical charm, and experiential appeal attract shoppers and retailers alike. Despite recent closures like REI and Bliss Spa, new tenants like OpenAI have moved in, and the area's organic, diverse ownership structure contributes to its resilience. Industry experts point to SoHo's sense of place and depth of experience as key differentiators. Retail rents on Prince Street remain high at $1,408 per square foot, second only to Fifth Avenue. SoHo also leads in trophy retail transactions, underscoring its importance for brand awareness and marketing.
Boll & Branch outlines its AI-generated advertising strategy
Boll & Branch, known for premium bedding, is gradually integrating generative AI into its marketing, creating 'playbook pillars' to guide the use of AI for campaign images and copy. Chief Creative Officer Kristen Deyco leads this initiative, emphasizing a careful, values-driven approach. The brand distinguishes between where AI enhances creativity and where it may conflict with brand authenticity, citing industry examples like Coca-Cola's bold AI embrace and REI's backlash-driven retreat. The podcast episode explores the company's framework for AI use, the criteria for when AI-generated creative is appropriate, and best practices for accelerating the creative process without compromising consumer trust.
AI Has a Hospitality Problem Money Can't Fix
The article argues that massive investment in AI (models and infrastructure) has not solved the human-centered aspects of service: empathy, trust, curiosity and recovery. Drawing lessons from hospitality and retail (e.g., Ritz-Carlton, Warby Parker, REI, Chewy), the author contends that LLMs and chat interfaces often deliver confident but impersonal answers, over-refuse harmless requests, and lack mechanisms for earning trust. The piece cites academic work on overconfidence and over-refusal in models and suggests the competitive edge for AI will shift from raw model intelligence to experience design that treats users as individuals and prioritizes trust and service recovery.
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