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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Wal-Mart Under Attack
Union organizers, trial attorneys, former employees, historic preservations, documentary makers and some elected officials are among the many who would love to see the world’s largest retailer stumble, if not…
It Takes Two to Make a Merger
The year 2004 may not go down as the most active merger and acquisition year in U.S. retail history but consolidation was clearly on the minds of many as Kmart/Sears,…
Home Depot Brings Appliance Biz Online
Home Depot is pleased with the response its gotten from consumers looking to buy washers, dryers, refrigerators, stoves and other household appliances in its stores and now it’s going to…
Retail 2004: Boring It Was Not
With just a few days left before the calendar flips over for a new year, George Anderson presents this recap of some of the prominent stories and issues that affected…
We Don’t Talk Anymore
Sociologists and others are concerned that the modern reliance on technology-based self-service is eroding people’s ability to communicate with one another. Others say less idle chatter and unpleasant experiences with…
Loyalty and Learning
Student-teacher Georgina Smith was passing her local Clean Rite Laundromat and saw lots of children running around, playing videogames, or just doing nothing at all. Seeing an opportunity in the…
Integrative Pharmacies Fill Need
According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, companies such as California-based Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy and Elephant Pharmacy as well Ritzman Natural Health Pharmacy out of Akron, Ohio, are…
Price Cuts Killed The Video Store
Blockbuster just cut the monthly fee for its online video rental service and one competitor thinks that is one of the best presents he and his company could have ever…
The Spirit of Sales Excuses: Past, Present and Future
The scene opens with a white, male chairman, chief executive and president of a very large retail chain, sleeping alone in bed on Christmas Eve. A noise outside his bedroom…
Retailers Told to Put Christ in Christmas
A group based in California called the Committee to Save Merry Christmas thinks retailers have gone too far in their concerns about making non-Christians feel uncomfortable this time of year…
HHS Task Force: Rx Imports Not Now, Probably Not Ever
People living in the U.S. who travel to Canada to buy prescription medicines at pharmacies there are probably safe but a new Health and Human Services Department task force says…
Analyst: Vendors Not Putting $ Where Their RFID Is
An analyst claims the vendors participating in Wal-Mart’s radio frequency identification (RFID) technology program are spending and doing the bare minimum to keep their largest customer happy. Do you believe…
Is Niche Retailing Becoming More Proactive?
“Facts About Store Development 2004,” an FMI study featured in Progressive Grocer, shows that while in 2003 new store construction was slow, it was driven by target market-focused stores. To…
Big G Gets Into Weight Loss Biz
The Wall Street Journal reports that what started out a year ago as an in-house initiative to help General Mills’ employees lose weight is turning into a consumer marketing initiative…
Consumers Aware, Not Comfortable With RFID
Survey results from BIGresearch and Artafact LLC show that a growing number of consumers are now aware of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology but that doesn’t mean they’re more comfortable…
Attention Shoppers: Where Are You?
Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue (to borrow from McDonald’s) have been “lovin’ it” this holiday season as upscale shoppers have been spending freely, but, with less than a week…
The Next Big Thing: Self-heating Coffee
There’s a new coffee in town, actually just at Kroger for the moment, and it is being hailed as the next big thing in coffee drinking. It’s the Wolfgang Puck…
‘Store Next Door’ Alternative to Big Boxes
After a redesign, AmeriStop’s 110 FoodMart stores will be 3,400 square feet. That’s big by convenience store standards but far smaller than the average big box store the company says…
Loyalty Means Improving Redemptions
DM News reports on declines in email response rates based on data collected by New York ad technology firm DoubleClick. Doubleclick attributed the lower response rates to consumer fatigue brought…
Two Americas Get Ready for Christmas
This year’s holiday sales season is a study in contrasts. By all accounts, retailers selling luxury goods to their upscale customer base are doing extremely well. Those stores that rely…
Execution Keeps Customers Coming Back
A new study conducted by Harris Interactive and commissioned by StorePerform Technologies found that the typical adult in the U.S. will make a trip to a store at least eight…
