EP073 - Evercore ISI Softlines Analyst Omar Saad Omar Saad is a Senior Managing Director and heads Evercore ISI's Softlines, Luxury & Dept Stores team. In February 2017, he published a report "Softline Wholesale Channel Must Evolve or Die." (PDF Download). In the report, Omar predicted that one of the most pronounced effects of the digital disruption we are currently living through will be the elimination of middlemen throughout the economy. He views department stores and other retailers of third party products as one form of middlemen (between the product manufacturer and the consumer) that is already being dramatically disrupted and will need to re-invent itself to survive. In the softlines category, he believes this disruption will also effect the products brands dependent on a middleman based supply chain, and it's economic model. As a result he downgraded the status of seven brands he follows. Shortly thereafter, many of those firms reported disappointing earnings and/or predicted significant headwinds in their businesses. In this interview we cover: Why the Middlemen are being eliminated: a) consumers have instant visibility into price, selection, and value across retailers and brands; b) celebrities, fashion bloggers, and YouTubers (not department store buyers) define style and synthesize trends; c) brand building is achieved more through social than traditional media; and d) the new standard of convenience is same-day delivery, not a shopping center with a bunch of stores