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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Is Security Failing Retail Shoppers?
The recruiting, quality and training of guards in malls has come under scrutiny after it was alleged that security personnel fled at the first hint of danger in this week’s…
Sam’s to Court Women Shoppers
Sam’s Club has always set its niche as the small business owner. That is about to change. Greg Spragg, executive vice president of merchandising and replenishment for Sam’s Club, told…
Connecting with Pre-Shoppers and Following Through In-Store
There are obviously lots of reasons why retailers lose sales and a survey discussed by Pat Conroy of Deloitte & Touche offers some insights that might help retailers do…
GHQ Cover Story: Native Wisdom
Bashas’ Family of Stores in Arizona is celebrating its 75th anniversary of surviving as the likes of Wal-Mart, Kroger, Safeway, Costco, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and Walgreens have opened stores…
Aldi: Small Stores and Big Growth
The stores are small, typically, not much bigger than a convenience store. The selection of foods and some non-foods is limited, mostly private label, but the prices are enough to…
CEO Returning to Chicago Home
Robert Mariano knows Chicago. In the late 1990’s, he ran Dominick’s Finer Foods. Then Safeway bought Dominick’s and started a period where it steadily lost market share. Mr. Mariano, for…
BrainTrust Query: Funny or homophobic? Do advertisers need sensitivity training?
Super Bowl Madness used to apply to the game of football and the craziness of watching a good football game. These days, some feel it’s a more apt term for…
Penney Aspires to Grab Share from Macy’s
Mike Ullman thinks his company is in a good position to take market share away from Macy’s. The chairman and CEO of J.C. Penney believes his company has built a…
Home Depot May Be Reversing Course
When Home Depot began acquiring businesses that sold directly to contractors, home builders and other business customers, then CEO Bob Nardelli saw the creation of a new business unit (HD…
BrainTrust Query: Is the power of the Merchant taking a front seat to Marketing?
Last week, DM News reported the surprising development that the interim head of Home Depot Direct, Steve Skinner, will be reporting in to the merchandising division rather than directly to…
Wal-Mart’s Still About Pricing
Wal-Mart’s naming of John Fleming to a new post as chief merchandising officer isn’t the only recent manifestation of company’s interest in going beyond price competition. Other developments include a…
Circuit City Seeks Spark
Performance is off, stores are closing and executives are being shown the door at Circuit City. Analysts contacted by The Buffalo News have said the consumer electronics retailer has simply…
Stater Bros. Plants Roots to Grow
Staters Bros. has achieved remarkable success in recent years due to competitors imploding and by the company keeping focused on its own workers and customers. Now, the company has decided…
Penney CEO Fixed What Might Have Broken
When Mike Ullman took over as chairman and chief executive at J.C. Penney in 2005, he was faced with an unusual situation and challenge. Although it had rebounded, the mood…
U.K. Women Pounce on New Fashions
In English-speak, clobber refers to clothes, particularly those that are good quality and/or conspicuous. “Clobbered,” according to Cassell’s Dictionary of Slang, therefore means “well dressed.” Of course it also means…
‘Best Baggers’ Instruct and Inspire
At the recent National Grocers Association (N.G.A.) convention in Las Vegas, Brian Bay of Macey’s (Utah) won the first annual “International Best Bagger Championship,” edging out Joanne Edwards of Longo’s…
Immigrants Create Jobs, Could Create More
The real job creators in major cities such as New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston and many others are immigrant entrepreneurs that are bringing foods and other products from their…
Weight-Loss Drug That Works to Go OTC
Imagine if a product that was scientifically proven to work was suddenly available for everyone to buy? That is the scenario that will begin to play out in stores as…
Opposites Attracted to Healthcare Coalition
Wal-Mart and labor unions are on the opposite side of most issues but recently the two antagonists have found some common ground. In a remarkable event that took place yesterday,…
Kohl’s Moves Fast on Elle Deal
Elle is the largest fashion magazine brand in the world and it has nearly five million readers in the U.S. Soon, it will also have its own exclusive line of…
Macy’s Goes with Smaller Lineup, Other Changes
Recently, Bloomingdale’s announced it was looking to expand, but would do so with smaller format stores than it has built in the past. Now, the larger of the Federated Department…
