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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Nordstrom Adjusts to New Realities
According to a Dow Jones Newswire report, Mike Koppel, chief financial officer of Nordstrom Koppel told attendees of a Bank of America Merrill Lynch consumer conference that his company was…
How Big Are Those Price Cuts?
Trumpets blaring out price cuts rarely say how much those prices have been cut. The number of items costing less per store is advertised in total, not item by item…
Platt Retail Institute: It’s Time for Retailers to Transform Their Stores
The rapid growth of e-commerce sales, heightened consumer expectations for self-service, increased consumer time and budget constraints, and new web-based, pervasive and analytical capabilities portend that now is the time…
Retailers Seek Rent Cuts
Sleepy’s: the Mattress Professionals recently sent out a letter to its 700 landlords across the East Coast requesting a whopping 25 percent reduction in its rent payments. Should all…
Grocer Sees Discounts Driving Online Auto Sales
Back in 2002, RetailWire published a story on traditional car dealerships in Europe potentially seeing profits drop by as much as 40 percent by 2010 because new formats including supermarkets…
Retail TouchPoints: Taggle Brings Mobile Bids to Brick & Mortar Stores
Taggle is a new concept designed to allow consumers in a brick-and-mortar retail store to bid on items in a no-hassle way via the mobile device. What do you think…
Pass the Two Bucks
Danny Cottrell is the owner and pharmacist at the Medical Center Pharmacy in Brewton, Ala. According to an Associated Press report, Mr. Cottrell wanted to launch a stimulus plan of…
FTC and Whole Foods Settle: For What?
In a poll conducted by RetailWire in June 2007, 80 percent of respondents said they believed the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was wrong in trying to block the merger of…
BrainTrust Query: Can recently laid-off retail associates still work in the industry effectively?
As retailers look to cut overhead and maintain profitability during recessionary times, underperforming stores and divisions are being shuttered without hesitation. How should hiring managers and recruiters deal with the…
Target’s Grocery Problems
According to an article in Pioneer Press of St. Paul, MN, Target is losing market share to Wal-Mart partly due to its weak position in groceries. The core problems are…
Survival Strategy: Cutting Store Days
After decades of being open seven days a week, Portland-based retailer Kitchen Kaboodle is closing its doors on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in order to survive the downturn. What do…
RSR Research: Marketing Metrics in the Age of Social Media
Ironically, just as the technology and the infrastructure is approaching “reasonable” for in-store implementations, something is happening online: the results of online marketing are becoming more difficult to measure. What…
RFID Put on Display at Walgreens
In light of the recent report and discussion here on Procter & Gamble’s decision to pull out of a radio frequency identification (RFID) program at Walmart, it seemed fair to…
Americans Warm to the Snuggie
The ’70s had the Pet Rock. So far in the 21st century, it’s the Snuggie. According to USA Today, the Snuggie – basically an oversized blanket with sleeves – went…
Loblaw’s Unusual Approach to Jobs in Tough Times
While many stores are looking for ways to reduce the numbers of their full-timers to save dollars on wages and benefits and others are laying off workers to get ahead…
Cablevision to Target Commercials by Household
According to a New York Times report, Cablevision will soon be able to “route ads” to selected homes based on a variety of predetermined criteria. Will the type of targeting…
Some Kids Play the Old-Fashioned Way
The arguments for and against video games and games consoles are still raging. But for some children (and their parents), old-fashioned toys such as Lego are still popular. Sales in…
CPGmatters: Philips Breaks Wares Out of the Box to Communicate with ‘Product-Demos’
Today, it’s assumed that consumers are increasingly driven by price alone — that everything else falls short of the importance of discounting and being in stock on shelves. But Netherlands-based…
Big G Goes Retro to Sell Cereal at Target
General Mills has gone retro with its cereal boxes in an exclusive month-long promotion with Target. Boxes of Big G’s best-selling cereals sport designs taken from the cereal maker’s…
Green Store Opens on the Bowery
Joining a bunch of others popping up across the country, the first green store has opened for business in Manhattan. Green Depot aims to be a one-stop shopping destination for…
Perspectives on Wal-Mart’s RFID Timeline
The recent news that Procter & Gamble was ending its successful test of putting EPC/RFID tags on promotional displays going to Wal-Mart with the implied issue being Wal-Mart’s inability to…
