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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
What Resources Can Make the GM/HBC Shopping Experience Better?
The unfortunate reality is that too few retailers invest in the single most important asset within their retail operation – their people. Effective training must go beyond the basics, particularly…
What’s the Buzz on Word-of-Mouth Advertising?
Most marketers these days seem to believe that word-of-mouth advertising is better than traditional media but that it is harder to do and there are pitfalls. At the recent GMA…
New Owner Buys, Looks to Build Lord & Taylor
Richard Baker, president of NRDC Equity Partners, knows many are expecting the group to begin selling off Lord & Taylor’s real estate, now that the deal with Federated Department Stores…
Study Backs Blue Laws
Remember when stores were closed on Sundays? According to a new medical research study, closing stores on Sunday or at least restricting the sale of alcohol on that day makes…
The Uniform Makes the Associate
Is it true that the uniform makes the man (or woman) working in the retail store? It appears as though Wal-Mart thinks so. According to a report in The…
Jewel Seeks to Build an Advantage
Jewel is undertaking its most aggressive new store expansion in the Chicagoland market in years, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. The chain is looking to build at least 12 new…
Chain Store Age: Store-Level Success Stories
Retailers are integrating IT into business strategies to operate companies more efficiently and to establish a point of differentiation in a very saturated marketplace. By educating store-level associates about how…
BrainTrust Query: Is it possible, and advisable, to establish a set of industry metrics to gauge in-store media effectiveness?
While participating in Ad Week in NYC last week, Laura Davis-Taylor attended the POPAI’s At-Retail Media conference. It was clear that most of the constituents feel that “media” efforts in…
Trans-Fat Ban Called Really Bad Idea
There is a saying that goes, “Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.” A recent piece by New York Times’ columnist John Tierney would suggest he…
How Can Publix Improve?
Publix is recognized as one of the strongest retail grocery chains in the United States. From the outside looking in, it appears as though the employee-owned operation makes all the…
FCC Creates Task Force on Media and Childhood Obesity
The FCC wants to know if TV commercials make kids fat. “Today, children watch two to four hours of television per day and view 40,000 ads per year. And…
Plus Stores Add Up to Huge Increases for H-E-B
It’s not exactly a hard sales figure, but when H-E-B spokesperson Dya Campos was asked by the San Antonio Express-News to compare the difference between the sales of a new…
Biometrics to Change Relationships
John Costello’s new job as president of the biometric payment company Pay By Touch, doesn’t seem as prestigious as his previous posts, but don’t tell that to Mr. Costello. …
Marketers Take A3 Approach
Marketers are looking to take their promotional programs and sales OTT (over the top) with ad campaigns delivered to individual cell phones using text messaging. The medium and…
Waste Management Challenges Retailers, Suppliers and Consumers
The path of good intentions never runs smooth, to recycle an old cliché. As more retailers, suppliers and consumers look for ways to reduce waste, the obstacles in the way…
Leveraging Total-Store Seasonal Events as a Growth Engine
Seasonal merchandising has emerged as a powerful source of growth for mass-market retailers. A recently released GMDC industry report suggests that one way retailers can establish competitive advantage during a…
Politics Play a Part in 7-Eleven’s Decision to Drop Citgo
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called George W. Bush the devil. Now it might be said that 7-Eleven is telling Citgo, a subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-run oil company, that it can…
Housing Becoming a Bigger Concern for Retailers
A weakening housing market is beginning to pinch consumers and retailers alike. Lowe’s reported on Monday that it expects its profit numbers to come in at the low end…
Columnist: No Sense in Ahold/Delhaize Deal
Jay Hancock, a columnist with the Baltimore Sun, doesn’t get it. What about a rumored merger between Ahold and Delhaize makes any sense at all? Even if the…
Retailers Face Seasonal Hiring Crunch and Paperwork
Complicating the search for warm and, preferably, talented bodies who will work cheap during the upcoming holiday season is the controversy surrounding illegal aliens in the U.S. As a…
Lifestyle Approach Goes to the Dogs
It is a common feature of the dog food category. Manufacturers have created products to meet the nutritional needs of dogs based on a number of factors, such as life-stage,…
