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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Forever 21 Follows Penney in Dumb T-Shirt Category
A piece on The Washington Post’s website reports on a shirt from Forever 21 that reads: “Allergic To Algebra.” A user on Reddit posted a picture of the shirt with…
BrainTrust Query: Who says Canada is the 51st state? Not retailers.
Why do Canadians love American retailers so much? Simple: because of what they do in America. But when American retailers move north, things change. What do you believe is behind…
StorefrontBacktalk: New Target.com Forgot the Customers
When Target’s development team launched the new Target.com on August 23 after two years of development, it must have felt like a dream come true. But it wasn’t. Do you…
LivingSocial in Deal with Whole Foods
LivingSocial’s new national deal with Whole Foods is the biggest thing to happen to the daily deal site since Amazon.com. Are “big” deals such as those made with Amazon.com and…
Angry Birds Take Off
People love those Angry Birds. There have been 350 million downloads since it launched in 2009. Players, according to a Fortune report, spend 300 million minutes every day playing the…
BrainTrust Query: Why In-Store Implementation Is the Next Frontier
Call it the Paradox of Scale: grocery chains keep getting bigger, but industry profit performance remains stagnant. It’s been a doggedly persistent trend. Why has the consolidation of grocery retail…
Conquering Food Inflation
By all indications, rising food prices are, for the most part, being passed on to consumers. But grocers claim to still be finding ways to provide the value customers are…
Fashion’s Night Out Draw Critics
Marking its third year in the U.S. last Thursday, Fashion’s Night Out drew a horde of people, lots of media attention and not many shoppers. But was the spectacle enough?…
What Did 9/11 Mean for Retail?
It’s been said by numerous politicians and commentators that Sept. 11 changed everything. Maybe it has. Maybe it hasn’t. How did the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 2001 affect the…
Century 21: Retail’s Beacon in Lower Manhattan
Century 21, long viewed as a symbol of resilience for lower Manhattan following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, is looking to expand its downtown flagship. What makes Century 21’s flagship in…
Walmart Brings Back Layaway
Back in 2006, Walmart decided to do away with its layaway program. Fast forward to today as Walmart has announced it is bringing back its layaway program for the upcoming…
Best Buy Launches Its Own Marketplace
Best Buy is following Amazon.com, eBay, Mastercard, Sears, Walmart and others in opening an online marketplace that gives consumers access to products from other merchants in addition to its own…
Dollar General Goes Online
Albeit 16 years after Amazon.com was first launched, Dollar General will finally introduce e-commerce capabilities on its website today in a bid to provide more convenience for consumers. What do…
Safeway Pushes Flu Shots and Food Savings
Walgreens and other drugstore chains may be looking to become bigger players in grocery. In what appears to be a counter-offensive, Safeway is now offering a discount on groceries for…
BrainTrust Query: Will An Apple a Day Grow Sales?
McDonald’s recently announced that it is going to fill its Happy Meal boxes with apple slices and smaller portions of French fries starting in September as part of a bid…
Amazon Testing Tablet-Friendly Website
Amazon.com is currently testing a redesign of its website that has been developed to improve the shopping experience for consumers using Apple’s iPad or Amazon’s own long-awaited tablet device. Do…
Schnucks Bows Out in Memphis
Schnucks was always seen as a long-shot bet when it entered the Memphis market. We now know the gamble didn’t pay off as the chain has sold most of its…
BrainTrust Query: Rise Of The Planet Of The Apps
Four years from now, it is likely that globally there will be close to two billion (yes, billion) smart mobile devices, outselling computers, according to Yankee Group estimates. How will…
Restoration Hardware’s 616-Page Tome
While many retailers are scaling back or outright ditching their direct mail offerings, Restoration Hardware recently sent out its largest-ever catalog — weighing in at three-pounds across 616 pages. Is…
Halloween in August?
While some customers seem to lament the arrival of Christmas promotions in July, is Halloween arriving in August any better? An article on NPR explored the reasons why Halloween costumes,…
The State of Labor in Retailing
Labor Day is almost here and the retail industry’s focus is on sales this weekend and not the original intention of the holiday — to celebrate American labor and its…
