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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Hand Wipes: The New Differentiator
Consumer products manufacturers have built giant businesses helping Americans to keep the microscopic baddies at bay with hand sanitizers, and now retailers and restaurants are looking to help keep customers…
Chain Store Age: Finding Us Where We Play
Many echo boomers are attracted to the different networking sites available on line, which act as social playgrounds where registered users can interact with friends, share interests and express themselves…
Wal-Mart Wants Vendors to Get in Synch
Wal-Mart wants to use data to move products through the supply chain more quickly than previously achieved. That’s why it strongly urged (i.e. required) manufacturers taking part in its radio…
Home Depot Board/CEO Agree He Should Leave
Bob Nardelli is now the former chairman, president and chief executive officer of Home Depot. Mr. Nardelli and the company’s board of directors mutually agreed he should resign with a…
GHQ Cover Story: Independent Streak
Don’t call them independents. Today’s family-owned grocers prefer a new, more comprehensive description. Now, they’re “lifestyle centers,” as opposed to plain old grocery stores. What do you see as the…
Recreating Bloomingdale’s
Four years ago, Bloomingdale’s was firmly positioned in the great middle of department store retailing. That was a position Michael Gould, chairman and CEO of Bloomingdale’s, found untenable and so…
Omega-3 Inside
The year 2007 may go down as the year omega-3 fatty acids were added to just about everything. The substance has been shown to cut the risk of heart disease…
FDA is Okay with Cloned Meat
The report was long (678 pages) but, in the end, the Food and Drug Administration’s findings were easily summed up in a single sentence: Meat and milk from cloned animals…
Sweetbay Holding Its Own
Shelley Broader, president and CEO of Sweetbay, has a favorite piece of advice she likes to share. “Don’t focus on your competition. Focus on your customers. It’s only by focusing…
Weight Loss Adds Up to Niche for Rite Aid
Last September, Rite Aid announced a deal to open in-store medical clinics run by Lindora Medical Clinics. The twist in this case, however, was that consumers visiting the clinics would…
Retailers Look in Stores for RFID ROI
Chantal Polsonetti, vice president of manufacturing advisory services for Arc Advisory Group, said manufacturers are not looking to reap major benefits from radio frequency identification (RFID) moving product from the…
Online Merchants Graded for Service
It comes as little to no surprise that another study has found that consumers are usually quite happy with their experience doing business online. More surprising is that a number…
Is Product Level Data Accurate Enough to Manage Categories?
Smooth functioning of category management execution depends on accurate, timely information of all types. Without it, the seamless flow of goods onto mass-market retail shelves runs the risk of being…
That’s Eatertainment!
Parents – be aware of what your kids are watching on television. It might turn out that what they see influences them to cook. According to an Associated…
Supermarket to Sell More Expensive Apples
Tesco is looking to produce greater sales with a new Apple (Computer) Zone department in 12 stores, according to The Sunday Times. The initial test site dedicated 120-foot area…
Competition Deals with $4 Generics
When Wal-Mart announced its $4 generic prescription program, some moved quickly to match it (Target), others claimed to have a better option (Kmart’s 90-day program) and yet others (CVS) were…
BrainTrust Advice 2006: ‘Told You So, Delhaize’
Delhaize America knows one-size does not fit all. That much is clear when looking at what is happening at its Food Lion business where three distinct formats – Food Lion,…
Sean John is in the Dog House
Sean John, P. Diddy, Mr. Coombs, whatever the name, the clothing label marketed by the rap music impresario is taking some heat now that it has been discovered that the…
HD Looks to Build While Housing Collapses
Home Depot expected new home construction to be off this year, maybe five to seven percent. Instead, the DIY retail giant watched as the market has fallen harder and faster…
Competitors Feeding Safeway’s Bottom Line
How good is this? A business you own develops a product that is sold by a competitor and you make money off it. Talk about sweet. That very scenario…
Get Your Christmas Bagels Here
Gingerbread lattes, peppermint mochas, eggnog shakes and candy cane bagels are just some of the treats being served up by eateries for the season – and the bottom line effect…
