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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Rebates May Come Back to Bite Retailers
A new consent order announced on March 11 by the Federal Trade Commission says retailers may be held responsible if manufacturers do not honor rebate programs. Should retailers be responsible…
Breaking the Code and Confidence
On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported the breaking of a popular encryption technique used by many Internet applications to ensure data integrity. ChoicePoint, the personal data aggregator, and DSW,…
What Can a Dead Armadillo Teach Retailers?
As America’s self-proclaimed #1 populist, former two-time Texas Agriculture Commissioner, author and radio personality Jim Hightower has said, “There’s nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and…
Going, Going, Sold for $5.7 Billion
The New York Times is reporting that a group including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Bain Capital Partners and Vornado Realty Trust have agreed on a deal to buy Toys ‘R’ Us…
Home Depot Calls Division Presidents Home
The world’s largest do-it-yourself retailer, Home Depot, announced it is moving its Southern, Northern and Western divisional presidents to the company’s Atlanta, Ga. Headquarters. According to a company press release,…
Reality Free TV
Have some advertisers gone too far in presenting a vision of America as a multicultural rainbow that is a far cry from reality? Maybe so, says a recent AP article,…
What the CEO Knew or Should Have Known
The conviction of former WorldCom chief executive Bernard J. Ebbers by a federal jury in New York on charges of fraud and conspiracy appears to take the “I didn’t know”…
Price Isn’t Everything
In the December 2004 Harvard Business Review, Darrell Rigby and Dan Haas of Bain & Company’s Global Retail practice discuss how some retailers are Outsmarting Wal-Mart. According to the…
The Future Calls for Letting Go
As Dan Quayle the famous philosopher, orator and spelling bee contender once said, “The future will be better tomorrow.” According to a report on the Xtreme Retail 23 (XR23) Web…
Retailers Paying Employees to Rob Them
Retailers hire teens transitioning from the schoolyard to the workforce believing this will keep costs low and profits high. The troubling reality of this practice is it often means businesses…
Returns Leave Retailers Between Rock and Hard Place
Customer returns are definitely a pain in the bottom line. Most returns are legitimate and retailers gladly accept them, but a large number are fraudulent and, based on the most…
Consumers Eat Their Cake and Salad, Too
According to an article in The Hartman Group’s Hartbeat e-newsletter, “balance has become one of the dominant consumer ideologies of the early 21st century.” It is also, according to the…
Office Depot Offers Grande Loyalty, Hold the Discount
Office Depot’s “Web Café” is an innovative marketing program that identifies and satisfies an unmet customer need. The program consists of online seminars available to anyone, not just members of…
Sweetbay Off to Good Start
In a conference call with analysts, the Delhaize Group said it was encouraged by the early performance of its Sweetbay stores in Florida. Has Delhaize found a winner with the…
Illinois Video Game Ban Goes Up for Vote
The Illinois state House civil law committee gave its approval for a bill to go to the floor for a vote that would fine stores up to $5,000 for selling…
Who’s In Your Wallet?
Forget about “What’s in your wallet?” With all the recent announcements that hackers have broken into company files to steal the personal information of what could be millions of consumers,…
Ahold Stocks Up On Staples
Ahold’s Stop & Shop and Giant-Landover supermarkets are getting ready to go back-to-school. The supermarket chain announced a deal to put office supply areas under the Staples brand in…
Chapter 2: Oracle Bids for Retek
Last week SAP offered to buy Retek for $8.50 per share. Now Oracle has stepped in to defend its turf and has upped the bid to $9.00 per share after…
‘Attention Kmart – Check That – Sears’ Shoppers’
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Kmart Holding Corp. said it plans to convert 400 Kmart stores to Sears’ locations over the next several years. The retailer…
Whole Foods Puts On a Show
Whole Foods’ wants its shoppers happy and spending their money — make that really happy and spending a lot of money. “The grocery equivalent of Disney World for food junkies,”…
Keeping it Real; Jewish Style
What do you call a line of clothing and jewelry aimed at today’s Jewish youth market? How about KewlJu? That’s the idea of entrepreneur Larry Broome. He was inspired by…
