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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Fallout Begins With Stewart’s Guilty Verdict
Martha Stewart’s conviction on conspiracy, obstruction of justice and two counts of making false statements about her sale of ImClone stock may land her in jail. It has already hit…
Retailers Try To Plug Leaks, Limit Liability
According to a Washington Post report, some companies have concluded they simply cannot guarantee their system’s security or consumers’ personal information. Some have begun requiring customers to waive their right…
The Talent Search
The recent agreement between the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) and the big three supermarket chains, Albertsons, Kroger and Safeway, is being hailed by supporters of the companies…
Wal-Mart Tries To Fit In
With all the dust being kicked up about Wal-Mart seeking to build stores in some communities, you might think the retail giant was simply running roughshod over local concerns and…
Managing Consumer Demand: Art Becoming Science
As a veteran of the days of the “pile it high” school of merchandising, it’s sometimes hard to realize that retailing is fast becoming more of a science than art,…
Target Thinks Smart Move Is To Dump Cards
Target has decided to phase out its Target Visa smart cards because of lack of interest (use) by consumers. What are your thoughts on Target’s plan to dump its smart…
Office Depot Expands and Some Ask Why
Brian Postol, an analyst with A.G. Edwards & Sons, can’t figure out why Office Depot would be looking to add stores after years of seeing same-store sales decline. What are…
Marketechnics: Figuring Out Next Steps
Attendees to the Food Marketing Institute’s Marketechnics Conference were treated to a good working meeting in San Francisco this week. Is there a trend in the retail technology business toward…
McD’s To Super-Size No More
Soon, customers at McDonald’s won’t have the option to super-size their orders. That’s because the chain announced it will stop selling the extra-large portions in its U.S. restaurants by…
Target Tests Dollar Section
It is one thing to be chic at cheap prices, but can Target still maintain its brand aura if it starts selling goods for a dollar? It is going to…
Wal-Mart Gets Out The Vote
In the peculiar world of California politics, there is nothing elected officials can decide or propose that cannot be overturned by voters in a recall election or rejected by special…
Study: Kids Get Fat and Violent Playing Video Games
A Reuters report says a documentary created for Swedish television, Deadly Game, maintains “Video games can make children fat and, in the case of violent games popular among teenage and…
Are Chains More Competitive?
The recent grocery strike/lockout in Southern California can hardly be called a victory for either side. If there was a winner, most seem to agree it was the grocery chains…
Gibson’s Passion Drives Retail Sales
All the interest generated by Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ has resulted not only in a big box office for the film, but has generated an increase in…
Leader Threatens to Stop Sending U.S. Oil
The price of oil has risen to a post-Iraq war high after President Hugo Chavez Frias of Venezuela threatened to suspend shipments to the United States if it did not…
Metro Nixes RFID Chip in Loyalty Card
The German retailer, Metro Group, is replacing 10,000 loyalty cards it gave to customers with new ones after receiving complaints about radio frequency identification tags embedded in them. Will RFID…
Bruno’s Giving Ground To Supercenters
Bruno’s may be Birmingham, Alabama’s hometown grocery business but that isn’t keeping shoppers from going over to Wal-Mart’s Supercenters to do their shopping.What will the new owner of Bruno’s need…
Old Navy Recruits New Shoppers
No one involved with Old Navy at the beginning could have seen what a hit it was going to become with consumers. They also didn’t see the falloff in business…
Target Gets A Makeover
Target is opening a new prototype store that “will feature expanded, more cohesive departments,” reports the Houston Business Journal. Will a store layout reformat achieve the differentiation and results Target…
Campbell’s Home
Campbell’s mission to reach the highest standards for Growth, Differentiation and Asset Management is now reflected in all of their current initiatives: from innovative product development, to collaborative marketing and…
Where There’s A Corner, There’s A Drugstore
According to a report in the St. Petersburg Times, there seems to be a chain drugstore popping up on the corner of every heavy intersection in the Tampa, Fla. area…
