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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Patrons Check Selves Out at Legal Sea Foods
Legal Sea Foods believes it may have the answer to the wait for the check after dining–it basically comes down to letting its patrons take care of the check without…
BrainTrust Query: Can ‘The Secret’ Help your Business?
If you’re asking “What secret?” you’ve been away on a safari far too long. The book is outselling Harry Potter. Oprah is absolutely fawning over both the book and the…
Franchisees Key to 7-Eleven’s Plans
The nation’s largest convenience store operator is looking to get out of running its own stores and turn them over to franchisees instead. 7-Eleven Inc. has targeted 2013 as the…
Costco ‘Raises’ the Bar on Wages
Continuing to put its employees needs over investors, Costco Wholesale Corp. last week announced plans to increase wages for its hourly service workers in its U.S. stores. Do you…
Eminent Domain Works for Retailers
A bill before Utah’s governor would make it possible for communities to use eminent domain to take property away from owners in designated blighted areas so the land may be…
Wal-Mart Grades Suppliers on Packaging Math
Wal-Mart has released the initial results of its Packaging Scorecard, a program developed to gauge the progress vendors are making in reducing packaging waste and assisting in the protection of…
KKR Knows the Value of a Dollar Store
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) is in the dollar store business. The firm, it was announced yesterday, is the new owner of Dollar General after paying $6.9 billion to…
Is Service Coming Back in Beauty?
As the move to self-service took hold decades ago, beauty consultants became a thing of the past for most retail outlets. However, many merchants – most notably Target, in partnership…
Dove Offers Real Lessons in Marketing
Randall Rothenberg, president-CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, believes there is much for marketers to learn from Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign. In fact, in an article on AdAge.com, Mr. Rothenberg…
Iconix: Licensed to Build Brands
Iconix Brand Group Inc., which last week reached an agreement to acquire the Rocawear urban label for $204 million, is turning the apparel-branding model on its head. Formerly called Candies…
Retail is Ready-To-Eat Restaurant Profits
Are retail meals (ready-to-eat/ready-to-cook meal solutions) becoming an even bigger threat to restaurants and fast-food chains? Technomic announced last week that it planned to launch a research study, Retail Meal…
Retailers Fetching Lots of Doggie Dollars
On March 3rd, Petco held its first-ever Spring Pet Fashion show nationwide. During the event, pets – mostly dogs but a few cats and iguanas as well – scampered down…
Apple Shines in Retail Marketplace
Apple has always been known for its legion of loyal fans – even as everyone else seemed to see Windows as the only operating system in the world. It…
CompUSA: Operating System Crashes
CompUSA, one of the early pioneers of the category killer concept, seems to have bet on the wrong category. The computer superstore, which helped launch the widespread use of business…
Save Mart CEO Does It His Way
“You can’t go wrong doing something that makes you happy.” In a nutshell, that is the personal and business philosophy of Bob Piccinini, CEO of Save Mart. In an interview…
Girls Got Game
Until now, the call of video games has largely been viewed as a guy thing where girls have dabbled from time-to-time but largely gone about pursuing other interests. What is…
Green and the Retail Pot O’ Gold
Come St. Patrick’s Day, revelers are expected to pull out their wallets for a cornucopia of purchases beyond green beer. According to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) 2007 St. Patrick’s…
Lampert Rails Against Frivolous Lawsuits
The new message from Edward Lampert, chairman of Sears Holdings Corporation, in connection with the release of the company’s most recent financial report has much in it that is both…
Wal-Mart Classifies Customers for Growth
Wal-Mart recently renewed its commitment to low prices. But now it’s moved a step further by segmenting the unique value seekers who shop its stores. The goal is to better…
Supermarket U.
Laval University is going to school, literally, on what it takes to make it in the grocery business with plans to open the first “supermarket school” in North America. What…
Watch Commercials, Get Free Cell Minutes
It’s not a new concept. Watch or read a marketer’s message and get something in return. The concept is now being applied by Virgin Mobile in its “Sugar Mama” program…
