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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
NY Launches Comparative Pricing Site For Rx
New York’s Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer, wants consumers to be able to get the lowest price possible when buying prescription medicines. That’s why his office launched www.NYAGRx.org, an interactive Web…
Trader Joe’s Bags Supplier
Trader Joe’s is being praised by the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) for its decision to stop buying bags from Weyerhaeuser, a company the environmental groups calls “the number one destroyer…
Study: Trans Fats Debate Shaped Online
A new research report contends “online word-of-mouth” has increased the pressure felt by manufacturers and restaurants over the use of trans fats in various foods. The firm that released the…
Grocery Options Galore
A funny thing happened on the way to the grocery store. Consumers discovered they could find the very same items they planned to buy at the supermarket for sale at…
Pharmacy Mistakes Costs Consumers and Retailers
A study by Auburn University estimates 51 million prescriptions filled by pharmacies every year contain an error. Of those, three million could harm patients. Two recent cases in the news…
Blogging Takes Word Of Mouth To New Level
It used to be that if a consumer was not happy with a product they bought or the service they received at a retailer, restaurant or other business, they could…
Making Email Marketing Work For Customers
Personalization and relevance seem to be key ingredients in having your email make it through the increasing clutter of worthless messages. At the eTail 2004 East Conference, HomeDepot.com, Art.com and…
Retail Community Joins America Prepared Campaign
The National Retail Federation (NRF), a representative of the retail community, announced today it was joining with The America Prepared Campaign (APC), to help promote National Preparedness Month in September…
Judge Tells Amazon and Toys ‘R’ Us To Play Nice
New Jersey State Superior Court Judge Margaret McVeigh has had enough of the squabbling going on between Amazon.com and Toys “R” Us. In a hearing yesterday, the judge ordered the…
If The Clothes Fit, Buy ‘Em
Store-based retailers have attempted to address this consumer problem by offering fitting and tailoring services on-premises. Although custom-fit services are generally associated with more upscale retail establishments, at least one…
Target RFID Test to Start in Texas
Target has told suppliers participating in its radio frequency identification technology (RFID) test that it will begin the project at a DC and 10 stores in Texas in the Dallas/Ft…
Wal-Mart To Perform Background Checks
Hailing itself for an act of leadership, Wal-Mart announced it would require all new store associates in the Midwest to undergo background checks for consideration in hiring. The chain intends…
Toys R’nt Us For Much Longer
Soon, to borrow a sentiment from a dead former President of the United States, Wal-Mart may not have Toys “R” Us to kick around any longer. Yesterday, the nation’s second…
Blockbuster Undercuts Netflix Online
Netflix, the online DVD rental business, has done a good job of cutting into Blockbuster’s video rentals, so Blockbuster has decided to offer an online rental service of its own,…
Kmart Keeps Kutting
Yesterday was not a good day for Kmart or its headquarters staff. First, the company announced that Home Depot would be scaling back the number of stores it was buying…
NAFTA Revisited
It’s been ten years since NAFTA went into effect. Few of us were speaking about U.S. Latinos at the time, at least not as part of the NAFTA debate. But…
Clothes Making Political Statements
The current race for the White House is shaping up to be one of the most contentious and divisive in the modern era. That’s just fine with clothing designers and…
7-Eleven Tries To Fit In
7-Eleven has decided that if it wants to open another 41 stores in Boston over the next three years that it is just going to have to work on fitting…
US Retailer Targets UK Acquisition
Although it has steadfastly denied any plans for expanding outside the U.S. for years, a report out of the UK says Target “is eyeing British retailers with a view to…
Natural Grocer Sows Its Oats In Supermarket
Last week’s announcement that Wild Oats Markets was testing a “store-within-a-store” concept inside Stop & Shop brings together two grocery competitors, albeit in the natural foods niche, under a single…
What It Takes To Lead
Leadership is a significant factor in the business world, although it may sometimes appear in short supply. What then does it take to be an effective leader? Intelligence is one…
