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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Hot Food Trends: Part 4 – Mission Accomplished
It’s been a long-held belief that consumers go to food stores looking for a set of products. To help stimulate that activity and build market basket size, retailers have used…
Wal-Mart Not Acting Very Pro-Family, Say Groups
The announcement this week that Wal-Mart is joining the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce’s corporate advisory council has groups such as the American Family Association and the Family…
J.C. Penney Stands Alone
J.C. Penney continues to roll out off-mall standalone stores and the latest area to get one of these single-level units is a suburb outside of Chicago. Traditional mall-based stores are…
Rite Aid Buying Brooks, Eckerd from Jean Coutu
Rite Aid is about to get a whole lot larger. The company announced an agreement to purchase the Eckerd and Brooks drugstore chains from the Jean Coutu group for $3.4…
BrainTrust Query: Are we seeing a diminishing need for trust in retailing?
A recent survey of online retailers showed that they are improving when it comes to earning the respect of their customers, but that they haven’t done as well when it…
Aldi Cuts Costs, Adds Markets
With locations in roughly half of the states in the U.S., Aldi has a lot of room to grow. The limited assortment chain is looking to add another state to…
Hot Food Trends: Part 3 – A Matter of Experience
Food brands were king back in the 1950s and 1960s and, while still important, consumers are much more focused on what Jarrett Paschal, Ph. D. calls “food experiences.” According to…
DIY Giants Seek Ways to Build Business
Home Depot and Lowe’s want consumers to know they are there to help them handle even the most difficult do-it-yourself projects. With signs the housing market is softening and taking…
Gas Putting the Brakes on Upscale Consumer Purchases
According to a Wall Street Journal article, retailers such as Starbucks, Whole Food, Williams-Sonoma and Panera Bread Co. have turned in disappointing sales numbers and “the chief culprit is gasoline…
Hot Food Trends: Part 2 – It’s a Small Food World After All
American consumers have always loved to have choices and they’ve never had more than they do today as a world of food comes right to their door. A particularly interesting…
BrainTrust Query: Will Wal-Mart’s Appointment of an ‘In-Store Agency of Record’ Spark a New Trend?
Last week, Wal-Mart stores appointed agency Saatchi & Saatchi X agency of record for their shopper, in-store and associate communications. The agency will direct all in-store media used to reach…
Wal-Mart Grows Organically, Responsibly
Wal-Mart’s announcement and subsequent ad campaign touting its organic product offerings certainly has gotten the attention of other retailers, manufacturers, industry organizations. To date, those in organic products retailing have…
New Day at RadioShack
Julian Day, the former Kmart and Sears exec, hired last month to turn around the struggling RadioShack chain, said goodbye to Claire Babrowski, the former interim CEO and president and…
Hot Food Trends: Part 1 – Fresh Presents Challenges to Center Store
Consumers equate fresh with quality and, as such, a trend is developing that will see a gradual replacement of processed and packaged items with “fresh counterparts,” according to Jarrett Paschel,…
Wal-Mart Advocate Puts Foot in Mouth, Then Resigns
It appears as though Wal-Mart needed to do a deeper background check on Andrew Young. While his resume may have looked impressive, what recently came out of Mr. Young’s mouth…
Judge Drops Gavel on Tobacco Companies
U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler has found tobacco companies guilty of racketeering and has banned the use of terms such as light, low tar, ultra light or mild on packages…
More of the Same at Sears, Except…
While the words of industry analysts are eerily similar to what has been said of Sears Holdings before, the latest financial report came with an interesting switch. Sears Holdings is…
Consumers Factor Shipping Into Cost Comparisons
In a study conducted by ForSee Results, more than one-third of consumers said free shipping was the most influential factor in their decision where to shop online. Retailers from Amazon.com…
Will It Be a Merry (or Not) Christmas for Retail?
Many analysts view the retail industry as being fundamentally strong and see little indication consumers will drastically reign in spending during the upcoming holiday season. Still, there are worrisome signs…
BrainTrust Query: Will the Sustainability movement be successful in changing the retail business?
Sustainability is all about delivering superior business solutions – ones that are economically, socially and ecologically positive – and the primary proponents are representative of the entire packaging value chain…
Companies Offshore Medical Care
All businesses have a similar complaint. The cost of health care is becoming increasingly burdensome to companies faced with so many other cost and competitive pressures. To help it keep…
