Marshal Cohen

Chief Industry Advisor – Retail · The NPD Group, Inc. · company speakers →

Marshal Cohen is a nationally known expert on consumer behavior and the retail industry. He has followed retail trends for more than 30 years at NPD and as the head of leading fashion and apparel manufacturers as well as major retailers. Cohen is the author of two books, Why Customers Do What They Do (2006) and Buy Me! How to Get Customers to Choose Your Products and Ignore the Rest (2010). A regular contributor to many major media outlets, Cohen is frequently quoted in publications like The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and Women’s Wear Daily. Additionally, he appears on various television news programs including “Today,” “Good Morning America,” “CBS Sunday Morning,” and has been a regular guest on Bloomberg TV and Radio. He is also a sought-after speaker at key industry events such as MAGIC, The Fairchild CEO Summits, The National Retail Federation’s (NRF) Annual Convention and The American Apparel and Footwear Association’s (AAFA) Annual Executive Summit. Recently, Cohen was the only industry expert who appeared in the documentary, “God Save my Shoes,” (godsavemyshoes.com) produced by Caid Productions. Since joining NPD in 1999, Cohen has held a variety of positions analyzing and interpreting NPD’s uniquely combined consumer and point-of-sale tracking services for the apparel, footwear, accessories and sports industries. His career began in the training program at Bloomingdale’s, where he worked his way up to merchandise manager. From there, he became president of WilliWear and subsequently president of Stanley Blacker. He was also founder, owner and president of Motive Marketing Group. In addition to his duties at NPD, Cohen is currently a member of several boards of directors and was recently appointed to the Cotton Board and American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA). He is also a guest professor at North Carolina State University, School of Textiles. There he is introducing students and faculty to techniques for analyzing and applying data. Cohen has been a guest lecturer at the Wharton School of Business, the Fashion Institute of Technology and Savannah College of Art and Design. He has also been twice named to the Footwear News Power 100 list.

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