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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Toys and Babies ‘R’ Us
Over the past year, Toys ‘R’ Us has experimented with a store that combines its successful Babies ‘R’ Us formula with elements of its struggling toy store business under a…
Burt’s Bees Faces Future as Clorox Brand
Burt’s Bees CEO John Replogle believes the company’s sale to Clorox makes a lot of sense. While Burt’s Bees will become part of a CPG powerhouse’s brand portfolio once the…
Added Extras May Not Add Up
Most food manufacturers and retailers know they must choose their words carefully when making health claims. But there has as yet been little or no explicit link between saying that…
Packing Pink
Gander Mountain, the outdoor lifestyle retailer, is looking to encourage women to take up firearms with a new line of pink pistols and rifles. The company said it made the…
Consumers Shop Later, Retailers Promote Earlier for Holidays
A survey by Consumer Reports shows that consumers plan to start shopping later for the holidays this year than in the past. At the same time, retailers including Wal-Mart, Toys…
Cross-Breeding: A Novel Look at Line Extensions
While overextending a brand across categories is often seen as a universal ‘no no’, two marketing professors believe companies should be actively seeking to extend brands into dissimilar or even…
Retailers Want Online Auction Info to Fight Crime
Retail theft rings have done a great deal of damage to retail stores and while many steps have been taken by merchants and law enforcement agencies to combat this crime,…
The Right Approach to In-Store Marketing
As a piece on Forbes.com points out, marketers are directing a greater amount of dollars to in-store advertising vehicles in an effort to more effectively influence consumer purchasing patterns. What…
Indiaretailing.com: Mixed reaction as India opens retail market to foreign investors
There was mixed reaction from retailers to finance minister P Chidambaram’s announcement that India will open up its $330 billion retail market to foreign investors. Do you think India’s…
Sam’s Tests Home Delivery of Groceries
Sam’s Club is looking to expand a test of home and small business deliveries by adding shelf-stable foods and grocery non-foods, according to the Financial Times. What do you make…
Tailoring Ads to Aging Boomers
While past generations were known for entrenched habits, frugality and sedentary lifestyles, today’s consumers in their 60s, 70s and 80s are showing a willingness to travel, dine out and adopt…
Europe’s Food Halls Coming to America
Although it is 300 years since Fortnum & Mason first opened in London, the notion of a food hall is far from dated, in England at least. The store recently…
Macy’s Moves Closer to Exclusive Brand Goal
Last week’s announcement that Macy’s will become the exclusive retailer of Tommy Hilfiger sportswear beginning next fall is another step in the chain’s strategy of differentiating by selling brands exclusive…
P&G Launches Online Soap Opera
Procter & Gamble, which introduced soap operas to radio and then television, is trying the same strategy online with a new show viewers can watch on their PCs and cell…
How Much Packaging Do We Really Need?
A headline grabbing report from the Local Government Association (LGA), claiming that up to 40 percent of packaging used by supermarkets cannot be recycled, has provoked vociferous explanations and defense…
Big Bottomed Mannequins Make the Retail World Go Round
The move away from “size zero” models on runways and in ads has made its way to the retail sales floor. According to a U.K. mannequin supplier, Displaysense, an increasing…
United Supermarkets CEO: We’re Here to Serve
Dan Sanders, chief executive of United Supermarkets, has a best-selling book on his hands. He also has a big problem with what he sees as the misguided priorities of many…
R&FF Retailer: ‘I Wanted to Puke’
Writing stories using only outside sources is becoming more common in these days of spin control, says Warren Thayer. “‘I wanted to puke when I read your story about us,’…
P&G Goes Against Tide with Laundry-Free Store
The folks that bring us Tide are engaged in a single-store test with a host of laundry products that do their job (with one exception) sans the washer and dryer…
Consumers Becoming Jaded to Online Reviews
A survey done by the public relations firm Burson-Marsteller has found that consumers are increasingly distrustful of product reviews they find online. How widespread do you believe the skepticism over…
BrainTrust Query: Can RFID replace good supervision?
Individual managers must be able to spot and correct errors and, hopefully, prevent their future occurrence through a combination of training, encouragement and discipline. Wal-Mart recently announced that one of…
