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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
BrainTrust Query: Will the Death of Spanish Bring About the Demise of Hispanic Marketing?
In the words of Benjamin Franklin, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.” And a recently released study has demonstrated that, in the…
PL Buyer Cover Story: On Target?
The nation’s No. 2 discount chain is splashing famous designers – alongside the bull’s eye – on television and in print ads to build its cheap-chic image and set it…
Retail’s Believe It or Not: Part 1
You know what they say about real life being stranger than fiction. Traveling around to retail stores over the last several months has provided George Anderson with a number of…
E. Coli Scares Consumers into Shopping Differently
First it was spinach and now lettuce. Media reports of people coming down ill and in some cases dying from produce carrying E. coli bacteria has many consumers on edge…
R&FF Retailer: Asian Invasion or Evasion?
From popular chains like P.F. Chang’s and Panda Express to the mom and pop take-out joints popping up in towns across America, Asian restaurants are almost as ubiquitous as McDonald’s…
Retailers Go Vertical Route
Big box retailers such as Wal-Mart, Costco, Publix and The Home Depot are all looking up, literally. According to a report in the Miami Herald, big box operators…
Shoppers Find Something Different Inside Sears
Sears Holdings is looking to give consumers a reason to lounge around its stores. According to a Brandweek report, the company is opening internet lounges in 42 stores by the…
BrainTrust Query: What will the respective roles of marketers, agencies and merchandisers be in the new in-store media movement?
As marketing and agency camps are focused on creating brands and executing them at all touchpoints, it’s obvious that they have a role in the “last mile” of the brand…
Gap Line to Fight AIDS in Africa
Gap Inc. has some entertainment heavyweights backing the rollout of its new, limited (PRODUCT) RED collection of clothing and accessories that will see half of all sales going to The…
Creating a Healthy Bottom Line
Seventy-four percent of workers in the U.S. say cookies, cake and/or candy are served as company meetings and other functions. Sixty-three percent say vending machines in their offices are mostly…
Eating Cheap Means Eating Out for Many
Many Americans have come to the conclusion that it is cheaper or at least no more expensive to eat out than stay at home and prepare a meal themselves. While…
Loiterers Told Where to Go
Loiterers hanging outside a store are a good way to drive away customers and no retailer wants that. Now, there are various methods for dealing with those who do not…
GHQ: Headache Remedy
Pharmacy is a major growth sector for supermarkets and — if executed well — it can compensate for the center store sales being lost to alternative formats. It is also…
E-tailers Start Christmas Marketing Early
By all accounts, this is going to be another good holiday selling season for online retailers. C A new study conducted by BizRate Research for Shopzilla and Shop.org found that…
Wal-Mart’s Blue State Spinmeister
There really is nothing about Leslie Dach to suggest he is a Wal-Mart kind of guy. The former Democratic party honcho and current executive vice president of governmental relations…
What Resources Can Make the GM/HBC Shopping Experience Better?
The unfortunate reality is that too few retailers invest in the single most important asset within their retail operation – their people. Effective training must go beyond the basics, particularly…
What’s the Buzz on Word-of-Mouth Advertising?
Most marketers these days seem to believe that word-of-mouth advertising is better than traditional media but that it is harder to do and there are pitfalls. At the recent GMA…
New Owner Buys, Looks to Build Lord & Taylor
Richard Baker, president of NRDC Equity Partners, knows many are expecting the group to begin selling off Lord & Taylor’s real estate, now that the deal with Federated Department Stores…
Study Backs Blue Laws
Remember when stores were closed on Sundays? According to a new medical research study, closing stores on Sunday or at least restricting the sale of alcohol on that day makes…
The Uniform Makes the Associate
Is it true that the uniform makes the man (or woman) working in the retail store? It appears as though Wal-Mart thinks so. According to a report in The…
Jewel Seeks to Build an Advantage
Jewel is undertaking its most aggressive new store expansion in the Chicagoland market in years, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. The chain is looking to build at least 12 new…
