RECENT discussions
Discussions
Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Is ‘Cool’ the Best Brand Accolade?
Superbrands, which describes itself as an “international organization tasked with identifying best practice in brand management” has just announced the results of its third annual CoolBrands research to come up…
Natural and Organic Beauty Products Going Mainstream
The natural and organic segment of the personal care market is the fastest growing in North American cosmetics and toiletries, increasing at 20 percent per year. This natural and organic…
Supervalu Gets Scammed
Supervalu was the target of an email scam that resulted in the company sending just over $10 million to bank accounts it believed belonged to American Greetings and Frito-Lay. What…
Treating Businesswomen the Way They Shop
Under a new Deloitte & Touche program, associates approach women clients differently than men based on lessons learned from observing women’s shopping behavior. The theory goes: just as women consumers…
BrainTrust Query: Whose Phone is it Anyway?
A recent Wall Street Journal article compared Apple’s latest iPhone software update, which included changes to prevent access to other service providers besides AT&T, to General Motors releasing a car…
Supermarkets Look to Book New Business
It appears that if your are truly interested in selling books in grocery, you need to get them off the shelf and put them on displays where customers can see…
Holiday Price War Gets Early Start
The National Retail Federation is projecting that retailers should expect to battle for every sale they get as a variety of economic conditions cause a wide percentage of the population…
PLBuyer: Beyond National Brand Equivalent
For years, retailers have touted their private label products as “national brand equivalent or better.” But until recently, they’ve been a lot more “national brand equivalent” than “better.” To…
Roundy’s CEO Trash Talking the Competition
Roundy’s is putting its plan to open up to 12 Chicago-area stores in high gear, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. The fact that one planned store will open across the…
Sustainability Central to Packaging Now and in the Future
As retailers institute environmental scorecards and informed consumers make choices based on social responsibility and corporate ethics, the demand for sustainable packaging solutions has become an important concern for business…
Supply Chain Digest: Wal-Mart is Changing Its RFID Tune, Launching a New Set of Pilots
Wal-Mart recently announced three new and very specific RFID initiatives. Consequently, it has aligned itself more clearly and directly where a few leading consumer goods companies, such as Procter &…
Buehler’s Offers Alternative to $4 Generics
Family-owned Buehler’s is taking the $4 generics program offered by Wal-Mart and others and is raising the price to $5. While on the face of this, the company’s announcement of…
Retailers Seek Seamless Transition from Stores to Web
Consumers can order a product online and pick it up in a store. They can order an item online at a kiosk located in a store. Today, retailers are looking…
Wards Comes Back – As a Catalog
A 180-page catalog was recently mailed out bearing the Montgomery Ward name, marking the second year that Direct Marketing Services Inc. (DMSI) has come out with a Ward holiday catalog…
Tops’ Future in Morgan Stanley’s Hands
Prior to last week, Morgan Stanley Private Equity had never ventured into the grocery business. That all changed when the group agreed to buy the Tops Friendly Markets chain from…
India Call Centers Struggle with Western Workload
Staff in call centers in India are struggling with the effects of working for Western businesses. A combination of night shifts, erratic eating patterns and taking the brunt of disgruntled…
RSR Research: Pricing Merchants Right
There’s a business axiom that has been around so long, it’s almost cliche: You get what you measure. And while Retail Paradox recently explored how same-store sales have become an…
Industry Dismisses Report About Lead in Lipstick
John Bailey, executive vice president for science with the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association, said the recent report that a number of leading lipsticks include lead is creating concern where…
Protecting Traditional Dishes
As we celebrate how globalization continues to impact our food with ever-increasing multiculturalism, there is a simultaneous need to celebrate and perpetuate regional and national specialties. As part of British…
The Slow Path to Trade Promotion Collaboration
According to a new survey from DemandTec and Booz Allen Hamilton, both grocers and CPG manufacturers believe collaboration around trade promotions is critical to their business success. At the same…
Store Brands Need to Communicate with Spanish Speakers
A new study from Vertis Communications reveals that English-speaking Hispanics are open to trial of store brands but there remains some reluctance on the part of Spanish speakers. Does the…
