RECENT discussions
Discussions
Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Retail Gaining Ground in Foodservice
A growing number of consumers have figured out that they can get a good meal away from home and it doesn’t have to be at a restaurant. According to research…
Supply Chain Digest: Will Environmental Groups Target Western Companies Over Pollution Issues in Chinese Manufacturing?
For many years, labor and other groups have put pressure on Western companies for using offshore suppliers paying low wages, running alleged “sweatshops,” or otherwise abusing developing nation’s labor standards…
The Same-Store Sales Reporting Debate
Last year when Home Depot chose to stop reporting quarterly same-store sales numbers, the response from the investment community was less than enthusiastic. While analysts look to same-store sales as…
POS Cuts at Retail Hurting Vendors
According to a study from IRI, CPG companies are facing a “merchandising crisis” as retailers have cut back significantly on point-of-sale display space at a time when manufacturers need it…
Valentino Without Valentino
Valentino Garavani’s surprising announcement last week that he plans to leave his namesake design house in January shocked the fashion community and left some speculating about the future of the…
McBosses Are Okay
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and the Instituto de Empresa Business School in Spain pretty much assumed that fast food franchisees were the kinds…
Body Shop Founder Dies, Her Legacy Remains
An article headline on The Independent’s website described Anita Roddick, the founder of the Body Shop chain, as a “capitalist with a conscience.” Dame Anita passed away yesterday from a…
Supervalu Remakes Itself
Supervalu knows it has a problem. Too many consumers are choosing to shop at stores other than those it owns. According to a Star Tribune article, the company has pegged…
The Rush to Exclusivity
Proprietary cosmetic brands are hardly new to the retail industry, but their appearance on retailers’ shelves has blossomed in the past few months as retailers put more and more emphasis…
NFL Accentuates the Positive
Stealing from the playbook of Big Oil and big drug companies, the National Football League last week launched an advertising campaign touting the positive aspects of many of its player’s…
CPGmatters: Study of Hispanic Shopping Behavior to Enhance J&J’s Go-to-Market Strategy
A landmark study of Hispanic shopping behavior will enhance Johnson & Johnson’s go-to-market strategy for health and beauty care (HBC) products. The largest in-store study ever done on the subject…
Consumers Look for ‘Made in the U.S.A.’ Label
A combination of factors including safety issues with imported products, environmental concerns and even economic nationalism are leading more consumers to look for the “Made in the U.S.A.” label on…
GHQ: A Complex Challenge
When industry experts talk about the role brands can play in driving produce sales, almost everyone agrees that retailers are not doing everything they can to leverage and market the…
BrainTrust Query: Will the CBS Acquisition of SignStorey Transform In-store Media?
Yesterday, CBS Corp. announced a definitive agreement to acquire SignStorey Inc., an established digital signage network play that focuses on distributing video programming and advertising content to retail stores. Fetching…
Name Change Not Macy’s Problem
According to a report by the Pioneer Press, Frank Guzzetta, chief executive officer of Macy’s North, is willing to admit the national chain has had rough going, especially when it…
Apple Slashes Price on iPhone
By most accounts, Apple’s iPhone has been a sales success, although not as big a hit as the company was hoping for. That, many venture, is the reason behind Apple’s…
R&FF Retailer – How Hy-Vee Stays Young
Many reasons can be offered for the continued success of Hy-Vee, including its employee ownership, its knack for staying ahead of trends and just good old-fashioned smart marketing. But one…
What Effect Has Consolidation Had on Food Safety?
Has consolidation in the food industry and the emphasis of outsourcing resulted in a situation in which consumers face greater health risks? That is the question posed by The Associated…
Junk Mail Tarnishes Direct Mail
According to a second quarter survey conducted by stopthejunkmail.com and Harman Research Inc., 88 percent of the total respondents agreed they received too much unsolicited mail and approximately 49 percent…
Tesco Refuses to Play Chicken with Asda on Price
For at least as long as Asda has been owned by Wal-Mart, there has been an on-going competition between that chain and Tesco over which would be seen by U.K…
BrainTrust Query: Will Web 2.0 Replace Search Engines?
I am sure we have all done it – entered a term in a search engine and gotten results about everything but the topic we’re interested in researching. Some of…
