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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Critics: Three Percent Inspections Not Enough
Critics say the Food and Drug Administration only inspects two to three percent of the produce coming into the country and that’s not nearly enough to safeguard the nation’s food…
Big G Accused of Loading Orders
A former retail customer manager at General Mills, Jeffrey Millard, says the company regularly booked product as sold and delivered even before it was ordered, according to a report in…
Wal-Mart Sues For Market Access
Yesterday, Wal-Mart filed a suit with the Alameda Country Superior Court to overturn a law passed by that county’s Board of Supervisors that prohibits the retailer from building Supercenters there…
Profits Going Down Without Smoke
Restaurant owners in states across the country are concerned that smoking bans may keep patrons away and bring revenues and profits down. Are smoking bans bad for the restaurant and…
Letter: Diverting Reduces Food Safety
Virgil Horton, a self-described former grocery store professional with 30 years experience, claims in a letter to the editor on the GulfLive.com Web site that diverting may pose a food…
Exec Pay Issue Applies To Unions Too
Although his compensation pales in comparison to the chief executives of the grocery chains his members are striking, Rick Icaza, the head of Los Angeles-based Local 770 of the United…
Amazon Retails The Vote
Regulars to Amazon.com are treated to an ever-expanding variety of products to buy and now they can even make a contribution of up to $200 to their favorite presidential candidate,…
Salmon Suits Have Industry Swimming Upstream
Two environmental groups, The Environmental Working Group and the Center for Environmental Health, are filing suit under California’s anti-toxics law against salmon farms, processors, and retailers charging them with selling…
QFC Shows Cards Do More Than Discounts
Proponents of shopper or loyalty cards have often pointed out that they can be used for more than simply offering product discounts. One such use, identifying shoppers who purchased a…
RI Looks At Ties Between Legislators and CVS
Rhode Island’s attorney general, Patrick Lynch, is looking into the relationships between legislators and business after two state senators were forced to resign following allegations of impropriety in their dealings…
Kroger Praised and Pounded
A complimentary story on NashvilleCityPaper.com, on a recently renovated Kroger concept store in South Nashville that boasts a wide selection of products from around the globe, got a critical response…
Pension Fund Wants Strike Settled Now
The largest pension fund in the nation, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (Calpers), is stepping up pressure on Safeway to negotiate and make a deal with grocery workers involved…
Consumer-Direct Wine Shipments Get Support
New York governor George Pataki has proposed legislation that would allow sellers in other states to ship wine directly to consumers in his state and give resident vintners permission to…
Sears Has 200 Ideas To Change Business
Last week at the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) convention in New York, Sears’ chief executive Alan Lacy said the company has “200 ideas on pieces of paper now…things to stop…
Obesity Cost US $75 Billion in 2003
A new study says that almost as much money was spent on obesity-related healthcare in 2003 as it was on illnesses related to tobacco consumption. What impact would obesity being…
USDA Quarantines Two More Herds
The U.S. Agriculture Department quarantined two additional cattle herds in Washington over the weekend as links were found to the cow infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow…
Union Calls For Nationwide Boycott of Safeway
The AFL-CIO called for picketers to take up positions at Safeway-owned stores across the U.S. to pressure the grocery company into dropping its hard line negotiating posture with the United…
Fair Trade Keeps Growing
Wild Oats and Whole Foods are hoping that consumers react as positively to Fair Trade bananas as they have to coffee. According to a USA Today report, Wild Oats Markets…
The Waldorf Experience: No Nights Required
Now, consumers needn’t take a trip to New York to lounge in Waldorf comfort. They can go online to “The Waldorf Collection”. Does the success of sites such as “The…
Consumers Happier With Treatment Online
In 2002, respondents to a Greenfield Online survey gauging consumer satisfaction with their online customer service experiences found serious room for improvement. In 2003, 40 percent told Greenfield their customer…
Tops To Sell Convenience Stores
Top Markets, a division of Ahold, plans to divest itself of 204 convenience stores it owns operating under the Wilson Farms Neighborhood Food Stores, Sugarcreek Stores and Tops Xpress banners…
