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Name That Stadium
Stadium and arena naming rights has become a big income producer for professional sports teams and there’s no shortage of businesses willing to pony up the dollars necessary to gain…
Teen Market Not Recession Proof
It’s been a bit of retailing wisdom in the past that parents will cut back on purchasing for themselves before they curtail buying for their kids during economic downturns. But…
Wanted: More Personalization in Gift Cards
According to a new survey from the National Research Network, the perception that gift cards are impersonal is the top inhibitor for consumers purchasing gift cards, with nearly half of…
Mars Raises Bar on Nutritional Content
Filled confectionery bars from Mars Snackfood UK are being re-launched and positioned with new recipes and nutritional information featured on their packaging. What do you think of Mars’ push…
Social Networking Sites Attracting Boomers
According to survey from The NPD Group, social networking sites used by teenagers and young adults are increasingly being adopted by baby boomers. What’s the likelihood that traditionally youth-oriented sites…
SCDigest: Perfect Order Achievement Still Elusive in Consumer Goods-to-Retail Supply Chain
The Perfect Order has been around for a long time, but a new study shows that many challenges remain in the quest for “perfection” in the consumer goods-to-retail supply chain…
Stores Change with the Season
Sears Holdings has something new in store for Halloween. The owner of Sears and Kmart is testing a new seasonal store concept called Totally Ghoul in 10 locations in the…
Penn Traffic Turns Buying Over to C&S
The definition of what constitutes a self-distributing chain may need some tweaking as the relationship between Penn Traffic and C&S Wholesale Grocers illustrates. Last year, C&S began buying general merchandise…
The Future of the Regional Mall
Regional shopping malls, the stars of retail real estate in the eighties, have long been losing share since the arrival of supercenters and power centers. And with the economic downturn,…
Amazon Ready to Finally Launch Wine Business
Back in March, a Financial Times article reported that Amazon.com was getting ready to enter into the wine business. The move was being made despite numerous regulatory obstacles that complicate…
The Ups and Downs of Going Outside for Talent
Bringing executives in from the outside has become increasingly common in an era when lifetime employment with a single business is a rarity. Making the move can be a challenge…
BrainTrust Query: Can Workforce Management Systems Bring Qualitative as Well as Quantitative Benefits?
In its Wednesday, Sept. 10 edition, The Wall Street Journal reported on the increased use of workforce management (WFM) systems by retailers. The article takes an interesting perspective of the…
Indiaretailing.com: An idea can change a brand’s life
Virtually within hours of earning a bronze medal in the Olympics, Vijender Kumar had been roped in by sportswear brand Adidas as its ambassador. Besides Mr. Vijender, Adidas is looking…
Marshall Field’s Loyalists (Still) Want Chain Brought Back
It’s been two years and for many in Chicago and elsewhere in the Midwest it still hurts that Macy’s put its name over stores that once flew under the Marshall…
Walgreens Seeks to Overturn S.F. Cigarette Ban
As one of the top pharmacies in the U.S., Walgreens is often identified by consumers with promoting better health, which makes the chain’s decision to fight San Francisco’s ban on…
Retailers Helping Drive Green Building Movement
A growing number of brokerage and investment management firms have developed “green” standards that are becoming essential elements in the decision to purchase existing properties or build new ones, according…
Gurus Chasing Geniuses
Apple has its geniuses. Now, Microsoft has its gurus; a group of customer service representatives the company plans to send to major retailers such as Best Buy (which has its…
CPGmatters: Heinz Optimizes Assortments Using Virtual Shopping Platform
Heinz wanted to simplify its planogram in stores. Three kinds of packaging often confused the consumer and resulted in increased production costs for Heinz. For solutions, the company turned to…
Employee WOM as a Marketing Tool
In an article written for Advertising Age, Pete Blackshaw, EVP of Nielsen Online Digital Strategic Services, contends that employee word of mouth can serve as a primary advertising tool for…
Employees Want to Do More to Help Companies Go Green
Separate surveys in the U.S. and U.K. about the views of employees towards their own, and their employers’, green activities have been reported on GreenBiz.com. In both cases, workers believed…
GHQ: Rough seas
The roster of major companies filing for bankruptcy over the past year reads like a who’s who list of corporate America. Supermarket chains have been noticeably absent from that list…
