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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Target on the ‘Up & Up’ with Private Label
Target believes it is really onto something with its new package redesign for some of its private label items in health and personal care. The retailer has ditched its well-known…
BrainTrust Query: How relevant are continuity promotions during recessionary times?
Last week A&P launched the “Big Red Grocery Giveaway” promotion, a sophisticated continuity program rewarding customers who visit the store frequently throughout the game period. Do continuity promotions still make…
Retail TouchPoints: Charlotte Russe Takes Social Shopping A Step Further with ShopTogether
While many retailers are cultivating a presence on social networking sites, Charlotte Russe is directing customers to their MySpace page for the latest fashion, accessories and even the option to…
JTPP: Risk-Mitigation is All About Finding the Right Partners
We are living in an era of 24-hour a day, as-it-is-happening news that comes streaming to us via the internet, TV and radio, where recalls of lead-tainted toy products and…
The Buckle Bucks the Recession
April marked the 21st consecutive month that The Buckle generated double-digit comparable store gains. The continued outsized performance has many wondering how exactly the mall-based denim chain from Kearney, Nebraska…
Braintrust Query: What’s the content opportunity for brands on Walmart.com and other store websites?
In terms of advertising and content opportunities for brands, Walmart.com’s brand showcases offer “always on” presence and even allows links to corporately-branded websites. What’s the content opportunity for brands on…
Big Girls Do Cry
Once again, a group of consumers with a shared interest have come together in cyberspace and persuaded a retailer to change policy. British women whose preferred bra supplier is Marks…
Most Loyal Customers Aren’t Profitable
The authors of Why Loyalty Matters certainly value customer loyalty. But they also contend that only 20 percent of a firm’s customers are actually profitable and most of a company’s…
Retail Customer Experience: The Financial Discipline of Customer Experience
Despite the growth in commitment to customer experience within organizations, it still results in the current mindset that when tough times hit, customer experience is treated like a “nice to…
Walgreens Store Manager Goes on Local Buying Spree
According to a store manager at a local Crescent City, CA area Walgreens, corporate management has given him some dollars and the green light to pick up locally produced goods…
Topshop Looking to Take More of Manhattan
It could be that “fast fashion” Topshop represents another example where British retailing just doesn’t cut it in the U.S. The retailer claims it is doing quite well, thank you,…
Filene’s Basement Finds a Buyer
While Filene’s Basement filed for bankruptcy last week, the bigger surprise to many was that the legendary Boston upscale off-pricer appears to have avoided liquidation. How should Filene’s Basement be…
IKEA Furniture Gets a Second Life
Consumers from countries around the planet love IKEA’s home furnishings and low prices. Now, it seems that consumers are willing to snatch up secondhand items as well. What do you…
CSD: Sweet Opportunity
If manufacturers, distributors and convenience store retailers would embrace some basic changes in the confectionery category and work more closely together, they could realize a potential profit bonanza, according to…
Other’s Loss is Macy’s Gain
Macy’s has developed a strategy to take advantage of the misfortunes of competitors so it can pick up their customers. Has market share become more important for a chain or…
BrainTrust Query: How are increased border security measures on merchandise shipments affecting U.S. consumers?
Roughly two weeks ago, BrainTrust panelist Jamie Tenser was a passenger in a van traveling south on Rte. 15 toward Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. About 100 kilometers south of the border…
CPGmatters: Coke Activates Brands at Retail With Tests of Video Media
Coca-Cola and Meijer learned tons about harnessing in-store video media for shopper marketing from a test they ran a couple of years ago with Coca-Cola Classic. Now both are expanding…
Nielsen: Dollar Stores Not Just for Low-Income Shoppers Anymore
Obviously, the economy had to play a big part at the Nielsen Consumer 360 Conference this year. And, it did, with one workshop entitled “Rise of the Dollar Channel….” Is…
Consumers Give Lower Marks for Online Service
The level of satisfaction that consumers have with the online retail experience dropped roughly three percent over the past year, according to the Top 100 Online Retail Satisfaction Index by…
Nielsen Offers National Brands Private Label Protection
Writing in Brandweek, Tom Pirovano, director of industry insights, The Nielsen Co., listed ten ways for marketers to protect their brands from private label. Which of his suggestions do you…
Target Revives Dropped Price-Matching Program
Target dropped its price-matching program in 2002. That, as they say, was then because now it looks as though the retailer may be on the verge of bringing it back…
