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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Junk Food Commercials Banned
A new law in the United Kingdom has placed a ban on commercials promoting junk foods until after nine o’clock at night, reports The Press Association. The British Health Secretary,…
Toys R Us Following Good Book’s Advice
The Christmas season is supposed to be about giving and doing unto others as you would have then done unto you. Well, it appears as though Toys R Us is…
Wanted: Overqualified Workers
While many retailers are hiring so-called unskilled labor to fill job openings, Books-A-Million attracts and hires workers with degrees and business experience often held by executives at other concerns. Is…
Dollars Shift to Loyalty
Writing for Incentives magazine, Leo Jakobson states that TiVo is accelerating the shift of marketing dollars away from traditional mass-market advertising and toward more targeted methods of reaching potential buyers,…
McD’s CEO’s Health Raises Succession Questions
McDonald’s chief executive Charlie Bell’s continuing battle with colon cancer has raised questions about the company’s plans should he not be able to continue in the job. A report in…
A Blockbuster of a Deal or a Last Gasp?
Blockbuster has proposed a $1 billion takeover bid for rival Hollywood Video that the company sees as a means to gain a competitive advantage in the home entertainment market but…
More Contactless Payment Solutions On the Near Horizon
Until you are forced to watch it, you would never believe the contortions people go through to pay for a simple order with cash. Paying with a wave of a…
Santa Caught in L.A. Traffic Jam
Retailers and manufacturers are trying to find a way around what could turn out to be this Christmas season’s nightmare — products stuck in containers and sitting on ships at…
Toy Manufacturers Choose Sides
Toy manufacturers are rallying to Toys ‘R’ Us’ side this holiday season with exclusive deals and advertising support because, as one anonymous company executive told The Wall Street Journal, “Toys…
Does Your Retail Brand Habla Español?
At a time when there are close to 40 million Hispanics in the U.S., most of whom are most comfortable speaking and being spoken to in Spanish, some retailers are…
Amazon Puts Theatrics Into Selling
Amazon.com previewed its newest selling tool yesterday, Amazon Theater, with an exclusive short film, Portrait, featuring a performance by Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting and other films). What do you…
Retailers Try to Push Up Holiday Sales
Every year, retailers begin merchandising for the holiday season earlier than before and, every year, more and more shoppers seem to wait until the very last moment to do their…
Wal-Mart Targets Categories for Domination
Wal-Mart has Toys “R” Us thinking about getting out of the toy business altogether, and more than a few failed retailers in the category have gone by the wayside, cursing…
Target Cast in Grinch Role
The Salvation Army’s national community relations secretary, Major George Hood, said the charity may lose as much in $9 million in contributions this holiday season after being banned from setting…
Kmart Rewards Customers with New Card
Kmart announced the introduction of a new credit card, Kmart Rewards, which gives shoppers cash discounts on goods purchased in its stores or on Kmart.com. How effective are incentive credit…
Vornado Stake Raises Sears Speculation
Vornado Realty Trust didn’t buy a 4.3 stake in Sears because it likes the retailer’s sales prospects. That’s the central theme running through a Chicago Sun-Times article speculating on the…
Meijer’s Reason for Being
Hank Meijer, cochairman and chief executive officer of Meijer Inc., says there is a fundamental difference between his company and archrival, Wal-Mart. “Food for them,” he told the Detroit…
Fast Feeders Jump on Fresh Fruit Bandwagon
Fast food restaurants, including McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and others, are now serving up fruit sides, cups and salads all aimed at giving consumers healthier menu options and driving sales…
Effective Promotions Consider the Shopper’s Perspective
In an article in Target Marketing, co-authors Arthur Einstein and Mark Klein make the case that, when marketing, the customer information that matters most is not demographic or psychographic but…
Kmart Goes Cheap Chic Route
Having gone down the road of attempting to compete with Wal-Mart on price that ended with it in bankruptcy court, Kmart now appears to have set its sights on the…
The Cult of Wegmans
An opinion piece appearing in the Ithaca Journal puts forth the theory that Wegmans Food Market is a cult. How else reasons the author, Jennie Daley, could the “reverence and…
