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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Retailers, CPG Cos. Make List for Promoting Females
The NAFE reports that leading 30 companies for executive women in its polling share common best practices, including: conducting employee surveys to determine satisfaction with advancement opportunities; reviewing compensation data…
Penney Goes Online to Get Younger Shoppers
It’s not your mother’s J.C. Penney anymore. That’s what the department store chain wants the 50 percent of American households that have not shopped at its stores over the past…
Self-Checkout Benefits Retailers and Consumers
Consumers who use self-checkouts like it because of their perception that they are moving through the checkout faster than going through a lane manned by a cashier. Retailers like self-checkouts…
Wal-Mart Gets Doubly Serious About Organics
Wal-Mart is out to clear up the perception that you need to be rich to be able to afford organic products and, to do that, it plans to double the…
GHQ Cover Story 3/06: Whole Health Education
Grocery stores can be excused for feeling a little squeezed these days. With discounters taking vitamin and supplement sales from them on one side and natural food stores grabbing a…
Starbucks Serves Up Hot Breakfast
Turnabout is fair play. Others, from convenience stores to Dunkin’ Donuts to McDonald’s, are gunning for Starbucks’ coffee business, so why shouldn’t it try to grab some of the hot…
Is a ‘For Sale’ Sign in Wendy’s Future?
Now that two separate fund management firms that own 10 percent of Wendy’s International Inc.’s stock have convinced the company’s management to spin off Tim Hortons and explore a sale…
Are You Focusing on Hispanic Market Metrics that Management Cares About?
When it comes to Hispanic marketing, many companies struggle to answer the question of how to measure their Hispanic initiatives. It is typically regarded and treated differently than measuring performance…
Overstock Chairman Chooses Son Over Company
The chairman of Overstock.com, John “Jack” Byrne, says that, if he steps down from his post after the annual shareholders’ meeting this April, it will be because he’d rather keep…
Retailer Seeks End to Public Financing
Like other retailers, the outdoor lifestyle chain Gander Mountain has benefited from public subsidies when it’s come to building its stores. That, its CEO Mark Baker has concluded, is just…
Judge Grants Divorce in Amazon/Toys R Us Case
Like most unions, it started out with a sense of unity and optimism but, as oftentimes happens, the marriage between Amazon.com and Toys R Us was not meant to be…
Grocers Distance Themselves from Red Meat
Grocery chains selling it are going to stop and those not selling it are not going to start. That was the reaction by a number of major supermarkets to reports…
Coke Rewards Loyal Consumers
Coca-Cola wants to keep its loyal customers loyal and the beverage manufacturer has launched the largest rewards program in its history to help it achieve just that. The new program,…
New Online Grocer Takes Natural Path
A new online grocery service in Colorado with a focus on organic and natural foods is hoping that emphasis will help it establish a sustainable niche in a market that…
Winn-Dixie Closing 35 More Stores
Winn-Dixie has concluded that it will need to sell or close another 35 store locations as part of its reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In a released statement…
Chinese Consumers Gang Up on Retailers
An article in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal describes how retailers in China are being swamped by consumer gangs in search of better prices. Chinese consumers have caught on quickly…
European Chains Changing Sourcing Rules
To stay ahead in the fashion retailing business today requires speed. You simply can’t wait months for a new line to come in when it’s hot because, by the time…
I, Robot Retailer
It’s a brave new world. According to a San Francisco Business Times article, Safeway and Macy’s West are testing futuristic vending machines that sell high-priced gadgets delivered to consumers via…
BK Looks to IPO, Continued Turnaround
Burger King has made slow and steady improvement over the past couple of years under Greg Brenneman. The company, according to Thomson Financial, is now looking to raise up…
Time to Sell More Toys at Target
Target is looking to make its mark in the specialty toy market with a new in-store boutique the chain has dubbed “Time to Play!”. According to a company release, the…
Are Gap Execs Fleeing a Sinking Ship?
The company says its just the normal comings and going of people on various career paths, but the timing of recent departures and poor financial results raises the question of…
