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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Save-A-Lot Founder to Step Down
Since 1977 when the first store opened, it has been impossible to bring up Save-A-Lot without mentioning the company’s founder Bill Moran. Now, Mr. Moran is retiring from the…
Retailers Pick Areas in Which to Excel
According to the 2006 AlixPartners Consumer Sentiment Index, when it comes to the key criteria shoppers use in evaluating a retailer (price, product, service, access and overall shopping experience), merchants…
Family Dollar Makes Progress on Several Fronts
Family Dollar Stores said it is pleased with the progress it has made in reducing shrink (and building profits) in its urban stores and finding overseas manufacturers to source its…
Frito Bets You Can’t Just Eat One Healthier Chip
Frito-Lay is betting that consumers won’t be able to eat only one chip now that the company has announced it is going to produce Lay’s and Ruffles cooked in NuSun…
Middle East Conflict: Trade and Retailing
Jordan is one of America’s greatest friends in the volatile Middle East region so it was not unusual that, in 2001, the U.S. signed a free trade agreement with the…
Donuts Alone Do Not Make a Chain Grow
Dunkin’ Donuts, says Nation’s Restaurant News QSR Newsletter, was reborn on April 10th when the fast food chain began the “most significant repositioning” in its 55 year history. The chain…
Spend for Today
The latest results from Bigresearch’s Consumer Intentions and Action Survey suggests that even consumers not familiar with the 1970’s hit Let’s Live for Today by The Grass Roots have taken…
Some Stick to Brick and Mortar
Despite the incredible growth of online sales, many well-known retail names have only limited e-commerce operations or none at all. Are some retailers better off sticking to brick and mortar…
Starbucks Gets an Agent
There’s no doubt about it. Starbucks has definitely gone Hollywood. The coffee chain announced yesterday that it had authorized the Hollywood talent agency, William Morris, to help it identify…
America De-Malled
There are still plenty of the giant indoor malls scattered around the U.S. landscape, but the current trend in large retail development is open-air lifestyle centers. A report by…
The Invasion of the DVD Rental Kiosks
TNR Entertainment Corp. (The New Release), the nation’s largest owner/operator of DVD rental kiosks in grocery outlets, announced yesterday that it had signed an agreement with A&P to place rental…
Opponents Rip RFID Jeans
Those opposed to the use of item-level radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are unhappy with Levi Strauss’s confirmation that the company is doing a single-store test in the U.S. of…
Wal-Mart’s Loyalty Initiative
The goal of Wal-Mart’s shopper segmentation effort is to better understand its shoppers and how they shop Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart believes it can convert skeptics to selectives; selectives into loyalists, and…
Rallies and Walkout Intended to Make Point
Supporters of overhauling the nation’s immigration laws are hopeful of making a very big point today as millions of immigrants (lawful and illegal) are expected to stay away from their…
Gas Prices No Obstacle for Rich Boomers
The largest car retailer in the U.S., AutoNation, Inc., says that the high prices being paid at the pump haven’t done a thing to slow down luxury car sales at…
McDonald’s Public Enemy #1 – Wendy’s
A memo sent to McDonald’s franchisees pretty much says it all. Wendy’s “is the face of the enemy over the next 18 months.” The number one fast food chain sees…
Federated Takes Local Approach in Chicago
It’s true that many, if not most, Chicagoans are upset over Federated Department Stores’ decision to rename Marshall Field’s Macy’s. The retailer, however, wants long-time shoppers of the flagship on…
Kraft Shareholders Vote to Support Gay Games Sponsorship
A proposal calling on Kraft Foods to “disassociate itself” from its sponsorship of the upcoming 2006 Gay Games VII in Chicago along with any other activity supporting the homosexual lifestyle…
Dollar Stores Grow Food Sales
Not every company in the dollar store space is convinced that food sales are the way to go, but the Dollar Tree and Dollar General chains are finding that grocery…
Old is New Again at Clothing Retailers
Retailers such as the Gap have not had much success in recent years getting consumers to buy the latest fashions on display in stores, so now they are launching not…
Toys R Us No Longer in Mood to Play
Considering all the acrimony between the parties, it seems almost surreal that Amazon.com is looking to have its contract reinstated with Toys R Us. Last month it was ruled that…
