RECENT discussions
Discussions
Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Customers Are Lovin’ Kiosks
McDonald’s test of kiosk ordering has been a hit with the majority of consumers, according to one McDonald’s franchisee, preferring to place orders in this fashion rather than give them…
‘We’ Are The Key
In a talk at the just-concluded GMA Executive Conference, former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich said he often uses a “pronoun test” to evaluate businesses. When he hears workers saying…
Safeway Sued For Selling Cigarettes To Minors
Safeway says it is being unjustly singled out. The State of California says the retailer has an unacceptably high record of selling cigarettes to minors. What are your thoughts…
‘End Of Brand Positioning As We Know It’
Larry Light, chief marketing officer for McDonald’s, had a startling message for attendees at the AdWatch: Outlook 2004 conference. Mass marketing doesn’t work. What is your reaction to Larry Light’s…
Best Buy In Need of Few More Good Men and Women
Best Buy said it was scaling back its plans to rollout its customer centricity program because the company couldn’t find enough “leadership” and “talent” among its current ranks of employees…
McD’s Asks, What Did He Expect?
The chief executive for McDonald’s Australian business wants everyone to know that Morgan Spurlock’s documentary, Super Size Me, was about gluttony, not the chain’s menu selections. What do you think…
Food Promotion Act Promises To Do No Harm
The House Agriculture Committee chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) said he and Charlie Stenholm (D-TX) know what they don’t want to happen with their new proposal for voluntary country of origin…
Knowing Hispanic Moms
Two market research firms, Packaged Facts and Silver Stork Research, have teamed up to produce a comprehensive, just published report called The U.S. Hispanic Mom Market. The report combines…
GMA Awards Kraft For Work With Safeway
The Grocery Manufacturers of America presented the first Associate Member Council (AMC) CPG Award to Kraft Foods for the company’s innovation and industry collaboration efforts. What is the current state…
Giant and UFCW Want To Zone Wal-Mart Out
Unlikely allies, Giant Food and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) have joined forces to push for an ordinance to ban Wal-Mart from building its Supercenters in Montgomery…
Consumers Say One Thing, Do Another
According to a recent online survey of 4,000 consumers by Deloitte & Touche, consumers are very interested in healthy eating and weight control. They just don’t appear to be very…
The Price Has Got To Be Right
When it comes to deciding where to buy, consumers are saying they’ll only shop if the price is right — especially if your store’s address has a “www” in front…
Retailer Commandment #1: Know Thy Customer
Sam’s began advance selling 50-copy “church packs” of Mel Gibson’s movie last week to religious groups and Wal-Mart’s warehouse club division has already exceeded its own sales expectations. What are…
Too Many Choices Spoil The Shopping
A report out of the UK, The Explosion of Choice: Tyranny or Freedom, concludes consumers are being overwhelmed by the number of product choices available to them in the typical…
For Customer Loyalty, If the Shoe Fits…
A lot of loyalty programs are soft in one critical area; delivering real benefit to shoppers. While not characterized as a loyalty program, Olly Shoes, the retailer Marianne Wilson writes…
The Energy Independence Myth
Exxon Mobil’s chairman, Lee Raymond, wants Americans to know there is no such thing as the United States being energy independent and he wants us to get over it already…
Kmart In Miss. Listens To Its Customers
Steve Howard, the general manager of a Kmart store in Waveland, Miss. would be the first to tell you the idea to have a farmers market in the store’s parking…
Thieves Cashing Out Gift Cards
A report from KOMO 4 News in Seattle says a new form of theft has been discovered where people go to checkout in stores only to find they have no…
Kraft Foods Goes On South Beach Diet
Kraft Foods has inked an agreement to market foods with labels bearing the trademark of the South Beach diet program developed by cardiologist and best-selling author, Dr. Arthur Agatston. What…
Wal-Mart Has Familiar Company In Mexico
It’s been widely repeated in these and other circles that the one company Wal-Mart fears as a competitor is Costco. Could it be the world’s largest retailer may be adding…
Target Sells Fields For $3.24 Billion
Yesterday, Target announced it had reached a deal to sell Marshall Field’s to May Department Stores for $3.24 billion. Nine Mervyn’s stores in the Twin Cities were also included in…
