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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
China Ain’t So Cheap Anymore
Sourcing from China has become a lot more expensive, and seems to have caught some U.S. importers off guard. For some U.S. companies, the changes are squeezing margins, forcing price…
Walgreens Rolls Out Clothing Line
It’s no surprise that Walgreens would be looking to build sales and profits with a greater emphasis on private label. It’s clear to see how store brand versions of popular…
Translating Retail Success Across National Borders
Boasting 273 stores attracting some 583 million customers each year, IKEA still needs to be aware of what people think and feel. Both The Independent and The Daily Telegraph in…
Marketers Don’t Get Social Networks
Social networks are all about relationship building. Yet marketers are continuing to use mainstream advertising ploys – including hammering home messages – in targeting the medium rather than just having…
R&FF Retailer: 9 things Whole Foods Does Well… And 9 Ways Whole Foods Could Improve
While Whole Foods clearly does plenty right, like any retailer, there are a few areas it might improve. That’s especially true if it plans (as it says) to grow its…
PLBuyer: Regional Retailing
A solid private label program often plays a critical role in the regional retailer’s strategy – and its ability to meet its consumers’ needs. Even more importantly, such a program…
Beoir Go Bragh
Far be it for us to suggest that Diageo, the owner of Guinness, is engaged in marketing shenanigans with a petition drive that seeks to make St. Patrick’s a national…
Retail TouchPoints: Retailers Counting on Conversion Analysis to Drive Store Metrics
With physical expansion slowing, many retailers are taking a harder look at the performance metrics of their existing locations. Forward-looking retailers such as Virgin Megastores, Marks & Spencer, and Crabtree…
Food Shortages Dictate Changes All Around
As consumers all over the world start seeing changes in their every day food bills, retailers, manufacturers, farmers, government officials and the media are all wondering what can and should…
Grocers at Risk
David Orgel, editor-in-chief of Supermarket News, suggested in an editorial earlier this week that a number of formats that in the past have been considered comparatively minor threats to traditional…
Martha Looks to Life After Kmart
It seems pretty clear based on current circumstances that Martha Stewart and Kmart will be splitsville when the contract between the two parties expires in January 2010. But, where will…
Target Looking to Sell Half of Credit Card Biz
It might seem odd timing that Target would attempt to sell half of its credit card business while the country is in the middle of a credit crunch, but according…
RSR Research: IT Spending – In Spite or Because of Economic Uncertainty?
Last week, a well-known analyst firm warned companies to start now to cut back on IT spending in the face of what looks like rocky economic times. While it’s certainly…
Furs Hit the Runways. Are Store Racks Next?
Many luxury retailers would prefer to avoid the headaches that come with selling coats and other apparel made of real fur. That general sense of reluctance did not stop designers…
Test Explores RFID’s Ability to Fight Shoplifters
New research from the University of Arkansas’ RFID Research Center shows that radio frequency identification technology has a potential role to play in theft deterrence in the apparel and footwear…
CSD: Five Steps to Build a Winning Corporate Culture
Some leadership teams attempt to create culture by acting as wordsmiths, spending untold hours carefully crafting vision, mission and values statements. That’s unfortunate, because in the end culture is not…
Consumers Want Service for Private Details
A new poll from Harris Interactive, commissioned by Chordiant Software, finds that consumers, to varying degrees, believe it’s important that companies have information about their buying habits and other personal…
Nielsen: Celebrity Drives Wine Sales
With established lines from film director Francis Ford Coppola, former NFL coach Mike Ditka and professional golfer Greg Norman recently joined by new releases from Martha Stewart and Paul Newman,…
Dollar General CEO Discusses Future Direction
Richard Dreiling, the new chief executive officer at Dollar General, recently spoke with The Tennessean about the company he joined two months ago and what it will take to drive…
Kmart Looks to Rx/OTC Combo to Trump $4 Generics
Kmart is intent on further differentiating from the competition by offering consumers who fill a prescription at one of its pharmacies the option of buying 10 popular over-the-counter (OTC) private…
New Product Messages Not Getting Through
According to a new survey, only 23 percent of 1,000 American consumers could recall a new product introduced in 2007. Joan Holleran, editor of New Product magazine, one of the…
