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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Bangs and Fizzles as Season Opens
Retailers got off to an uneven start to the holiday selling season last week as some malls, stores and Web sites reported heavy traffic and free spending shoppers while others,…
Turkey Takeout Biz is Booming
Perhaps you are among the culinary-challenged. Maybe you just don’t have enough hours in the day. You might even just want someone else to do it. No matter what group…
Engaged Organizations Key to Customer Service
A study from the Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement at Northwestern University, The Impact of Employee Attitudes on Market Response and Financial Performance, says there is a direct…
Retailers Look for Early Start, Better Margins
It’s just a couple of days from the retailing tradition known as Black Friday. This year, as with those that preceded it, brings a host of new promotions and incentives…
Drucker Discusses What It Takes to Lead
Management and leadership guru Peter Drucker has picked up a few things in his 95 years on the planet. Recently he spoke with Forbes and offered insights on effective leadership…
Bell Steps Down as McD’s Chief
Just seven months ago, McDonald’s unexpectedly lost its then chief executive, Jim Cantalupo, when he died from a heart attack. Today, they are dealing with another loss. Charlie Bell has…
Wal-Mart Won’t Fight Unions in China
Wal-Mart maintains its employees do not need to be represented by any union. While there’s no indication the company has changed its position on the topic, the reality of doing…
Geniuses Behind Apple Stores’ Growth
Computer problems often mean a trip to a store, waiting in a long line to drop-off a machine, plunking down a deposit to have someone look at it and then…
Location Critical to Online Success
The term ‘location, location, location’ is taking on a whole new meaning online as retailers look to drive sales by making their products available for consumers, not only on their…
Roger Wilco: Embracing New Business Models
An interview in Wired magazine with Jeff Tweedy of Wilco focuses on the band making its albums and other music available online for free. The article highlights the contrast between…
Nike’s Knight Passes Swoosh to New Leader
As a former track star at the University of Oregon and co-founder of Nike, Phil Knight knows something about competition and relay races. Mr. Knight’s career has been dedicated to…
Wal-Mart Knucklehead Facing Jail
As those who saw the recent CNBC documentary know, the company’s chief executive, Lee Scott, calls associates who stray from the retailer’s rules of conduct: knuckleheads. Mr. Scott doesn’t…
Scare is Real, Mad Cow or Not
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investigating a possible case of an animal infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, AKA BSE or mad cow’s disease. Is the American food supply…
GOP Doesn’t See Anything Cool in Labeling Law
The Republicans, with the elections giving them greater control of the House and Senate, aren’t waiting for the next session of Congress to begin pushing their agenda for change. A…
Only Edward Lampert Knows
Now that the deal many have been waiting for since Edward Lampert took control of Kmart has actually happened, the big question on the minds of most retail industry insiders…
IT Simplicity: A ‘Move in the Opposite Direction’
In a recent survey, Economist Magazine portrayed the “Next Big Wave” of technology, not as RFID or some other radically new hardware capability, but rather the simplification of how we…
Starbucks Fills Up Recycled Paper Cups
Starbucks plans to use coffee cups with 10 percent recycled material in a step the company hopes will win it points with its environmentally concerned customers. Is Starbucks commitment to…
Jewel Keeps it Kosher
When the Jewel-Osco store in the Chicago suburb of Evanston decided to install an all kosher food section, they made sure they did it right. Despite Jewel’s best efforts, the…
No Big Surprise: Kmart and Sears to Merge
It’s not as though the announced merger agreement between Kmart Holding Corporation (Edward Lampert) and Sears, Roebuck and Co. (Edward Lampert) is going to come as any great shock to…
Sears Multicultural Makeover Ready for Holidays
The first 97 units in Sears’ test of its multicultural store layout targeting specific ethnic groups (African-American, Hispanic and Asian) will be ready for the holiday shopping season, reports USA…
RFID: The 70 Percent Solution
The recent move by the Food and Drug Administration and pharmacy manufacturers to reduce counterfeiting and tampering with prescription medicines using radio frequency identification (RFID) should only be viewed as…
