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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Grocery Manufacturers Accused of Food and Fuel Hoax
Mike Bryan, publisher and chief executive officer of Ethanol Producer Magazine, has accused the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) of promoting a hoax on the American public with allegations that corn-based…
The Relentless Email Pursuit of Shoppers
Some consumers may be beginning to rethink their decision to opt-in to various email lists from online merchants as e-tailers are increasing the frequency and forwardness of communications in an…
GHQ: Shopping for Growth
During any crisis, fiscal or otherwise, there is a natural tendency in business to slash budgets and pull in your horns. The real danger is burying your head in the…
Teen Vogue Opens Marketing Pop-Up Store
Teen Vogue is opening a Teen Vogue Haute Spot store at the Mall at Short Hills in New Jersey from Nov. 28 through Dec. 26. The pop-up store will not…
Birds Flock, Fish School, People Tribe
According to Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization, the success of a company depends on its tribes – groups of 20 to 150 people that come…
Retail TouchPoints: Cross-Channel Retailers Realize ‘Need for Speed’ as They Get a Jump On Holiday Promos
The holiday season is shaping up to be a game of high-stakes poker played at high-speed. According to experts observing the situation, the key players may call “all in” at…
Kmart Times Holiday Sales
Kmart won’t have to worry this year about those pesky websites that post Black Friday deals weeks in advance of the official start of the holiday season as the chain…
Pushing Back on Prices
Retailers and wholesalers have been understanding over the past year as costs went up and suppliers sought price increases for their products. But, the combination of cash-strapped consumers, falling fuel…
Retailers Walking the Talk
Retailers on both sides of the Atlantic are standing by their commitments to energy conservation. In the U.K., department store chain Debenhams has signed a deal with energy-providers, Scottish Power,…
7-Eleven Looks to Consolidate Drink Deliveries
The 7-Eleven chain has achieved success by consolidating deliveries from various bakeries to its convenience stores in markets around the U.S. Where do you see opportunities for improvement in the…
Investor Wants Target to Spin Off Real Estate Holdings
Target has said it would seriously consider investor William Ackman’s recommendation to spin off its real estate assets to a newly created and separate company that would then lease those…
SCDigest: FedEx’s Fred Smith Agrees U.S. Needs to Return to a ‘Product Economy’
In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Federal Express founder and CEO Fred Smith crisply summarized how things have become so out of whack in the financial sector…
Sam’s to Offer Hispanics ‘Más’ with New Club
Sam’s Club plans to open a new store that will sell products imported from Mexico to Latino consumers in the U.S. The first Más Club will open in Houston during…
Canadian Chain to Sell Groceries and Tires
When warehouse clubs were getting started in the U.S., people wondered if people would be willing to buy food in the same store where they bought tires. The answer was…
CPGmatters: Philip Morris USA Thrives with Unique Retail Program
One of the boldest and broadest efforts around category management is Insights C3M, a multi-pronged program from Altria’s Philip Morris USA, to communicate directly with 250,000 domestic retailers that sell…
Bad Economy Good for Gun Sales
It’s commonly accepted that some products manage to continue selling well during tough economic times. Now, a Washington Post report identifies a product which also appears to get a boost…
Toys ‘R’ Us Upgrades Website
Toys “R” Us has added new features and functions to its website that the company hopes will translate into improved sales and profits for the Christmas holiday and beyond. With…
CSD: Creating Loyal Customers
Faced with rapidly escalating costs, cutthroat commodity pricing and broader competition, the time is right for convenience stores to adopt more aggressive loyalty marketing programs that will attract new customers…
GHQ: Exterminating a Pesky Problem
The topic of flies, roaches, rats and mice is enough to turn the most stalwart people a bit squeamish. For retailers, however uncomfortable insects and rodents might make them, pest…
Smart Choices Program Aims to Simplify Nutrition Labels
A group of the largest food companies are unveiling a common, easy-to-read nutrition label moved to the front of packaging. It has a prominent green checkmark next to the words…
BrainTrust Query: Should we be expecting deflation or inflation for 2009?
This holiday season, as the retail operations departments are dealing with the (hopefully) holiday rush, the headquarters staff will begin working on the 2009 budgets. Today’s uncertain macroeconomic environment and…
