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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Aldi Adds Gas to Fuel Future Growth
Aldi, according to reports, has opened three service stations in Austria and it is following its standard script of undercutting the competition on price to capture market share. Is opening…
Sears and Kmart Get Early Start on Christmas
A local consumer electronics chain in the New York metro area used to advertise how insane it was to run a Christmas sale during the heat of summer. Now Sears…
SCDigest: What Does ‘Senior Management Support’ for Supply Chain Projects Really Mean?
Almost universally, presentations mention the need for “senior management support” for supply chain project success. A quick logical conclusion: such support must often be lacking, or else it is pointless…
E-Tail Not What Some Cracked It Up to Be
Back in the dot-com boom, evangelists predicted that online purchases would represent 25 percent of all retail sales by now. In reality, e-tail has yet to reach 10 percent of…
Workers Told Get Checkups or Lose Insurance
It’s become almost universally agreed that prevention is the easiest and least expensive way to stay healthy. Are you in favor of companies mandating certain tests or personal behaviors as…
CSD: The Coffee Battle Brews
Convenience store operators need to focus on meeting consumer demand for a quality cup of coffee as McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks and Caribou Coffee all announced plans to step up…
The Future Holds ‘Better-for-You’ Foods for Consumers
Despite the fact that obesity is reaching epidemic-like levels, research from the NPD Group predicts that the market for “better for you” foods will be among the fastest growing over…
Farmers’ Markets Go Virtual
Consumers want to know what they’re putting in their baskets. But those who enjoy buying products directly from producers don’t always have the time. Or the access to products sold…
BrainTrust Query: Should Vendors Ditch ‘Can-Do’ Attitudes with Retailers?
Vendors have become so conditioned to “can-do” that giving direction feels alien and downright risky. While this has served vendors well over the past decade, is it time for vendors…
Pharmacy for Women Only Opens in Vancouver
A women’s-only pharmacy, Lu’s: A Pharmacy for Women is opening for business in the Downtown Eastside section of Vancouver. What do you think of the potential for women’s-only pharmacies? Are…
Marsh, Meijer to Only Sell Meat Raised in the U.S.A.
Before it became law, opponents of country of origin labeling (COOL) mandates argued that it would drive up costs. But some merchants have decided they’d rather not play the labeling…
CPGmatters: Kraft Foods Scores with ‘Wall-to-Wall’ Strategy
In the low-margin grocery business, every one percent – of anything – counts for a lot. By that measure, Kraft Foods’ new strategy for deploying sales reps in stores has…
Aeropostale Reaches Down to Tweens
Aeropostale has launched a new concept, P.S. from Aeropostale, aimed at the tween market, a demographic that has been a challenge for many retailers. What will define the success of…
SKU Rationalization Reshapes Retail Shelves
In a bid to simplify choices for recession-weary consumers, retailers across channels are trimming SKUs on their shelves. Industry execs and analysts predict that assortments over the next year or…
Retail Customer Experience: Five Underutilized Features of the Modern POS
The retail point-of-sale system has come a long way from its mechanical roots. Today’s POS is a sophisticated tool capable of amassing enormous pools of business intelligence. Which of the…
Best Buy Launches iPhone App
Best Buy is taking steps to leverage the power of mobile marketing, including the creation of a new iPhone application called the “Best Buy Gamers Club.” Will mobile apps for…
BrainTrust Query: The Hawthorne Effect (Maybe) Debunked
In labor productivity studies, it’s called the Hawthorne Effect–the mere act of observing something affects the outcome. Now The Economist reports that a new analysis of the original data casts…
Practicing Random Acts of Retail Kindness
According to a study coming out in the Journal of Marketing, building true loyalty involves not just continually pleasing customers but making them feel “grateful.” What are some ways retailers…
Consumers Abandoning Carts Online
Consumers have always bailed out and abandoned shopping carts online but recent reports are putting numbers to the cost of this problem for websites that fail to close the deal…
Sears Shows a Softer Side
If it had lower prices, Sears might be able to make the case that it’s the retailer looking out for the little guy. The chain offers layaway for the credit…
RSR: Retail’s Cult of Personality – What Happens When Brands and Individuals Get Married?
In a world where where company executives are increasingly making their individual voices heard under the umbrella of their brand, should corporations insist that their execs be more careful about…
