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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Group Threatens to Break Wal-Mart Over Gay Western
It is not the only retailer selling or renting Brokeback Mountain, but it is the largest and, as a result, Wal-Mart has been singled out by a conservative Christian organization…
Fingers Need to Point in New Direction
With regard to the March 29 Wall Street Journal article entitled ¿Cerveza, Sí o No?, BrainTrust Panelist Terry Soto agrees there ought to be regulatory control and corporate policies that…
Penney and Kohl’s Compete
J.C. Penney Co. is aggressively looking to expand its free-standing stores in an effort to take back business lost to Kohl’s in past years, reports The Business Journal of Milwaukee…
Tesco Faces Challenges Before First Store is Opened
It has yet to open its first convenience store in the U.S. and already Tesco is under fire for the decision. According to a report from The Mail, Safeway…
An Ear for Loyalty
Radio cooking shows are gaining fans. “It’s not like TV, where there’s a celebrity chef and you feel like you could never get through to them,” said Talma Guy who…
Finding the Right Fit for Women and Retailers
New standardized sizing systems might make it easier to find the right fit for women looking to buy clothes off the rack but that may not suit retailers, reports The…
Wal-Mart’s Urban Male Initiative
In its continuing bid to be cool, Wal-Mart has announced the launch of the new Exsto line of clothing targeted to young urban males or others who simply want to…
Target’s Tactics Called Heavy Handed
Suppliers to Target say the retailer, which has traditionally been known for partnering with manufacturers, is now using reverse auctions and strong arm negotiating tactics to do business, reports AdAge.com…
Ahold Looks for Answers
Royal Ahold said yesterday that it was going to abandon its financial targets for the year in light of the weak performance of its U.S. supermarket business. Ahold plans to…
The Meat of the Matter
A new study released by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and American Meat Institute (AMI), The Power of Meat: An In-Depth Look at Meat Through the Shoppers’ Eyes, finds that…
Best Buy Looking to Cut Costs
Best Buy is looking to cut expenses to the tune of $300 million by the end of this fiscal year marking what a Minneapolis Star Tribune article refers to as…
Influencing Purchases at the Shelf
With traditional forms of media becoming less effective in generating store traffic and sales, retailers are increasingly looking to their own shelves as a means to influence consumer purchasing. Do…
Differences in Value Perception
The results of the Vertis Customer Focus 2006: Grocery Study reveal different consumer preferences for different types of loyalty program rewards. Some adults (49 percent) prefer an immediate discount on…
Where’s The Bling?
A new report released by Packaged Facts called The U.S. Urban Youth Market estimates that urban youth consumers number nearly 24 million people with a spending power of about $500…
Wal-Mart Remix
Wal-Mart’s stated goal for the remix program is to improve the in-stock position at the stores. But, in order to carry products at more DC’s without increasing on-hand inventories, Wal-Mart…
Neiman Marcus Goes Online for Maternity Sales
Neiman Marcus is discovering the joys of motherhood online. The luxury retailer doesn’t have maternity shops in its stores but it identified a market opportunity and added one to its…
Culture Change Part of Penney’s Plan to Succeed
Mike Ullman, CEO of J.C. Penney, walked into an extremely formal corporate culture when he joined the department store chain. Mr. Ullman came to the conclusion early on that…
Missha Takes Low Cost Approach to Cosmetics
Missha is out to convince American consumers that they needn’t pay a lot for top quality cosmetics and beauty care products. An article in The Village Voice equates the Korean…
Wegmans Sets the Standard
It’s hard, perhaps even impossible, to find anyone in the U.S. grocery business who doesn’t view Wegmans as one of the top supermarket chains in the industry today. The reason…
Department Stores Doing Big Business
The people who work at chains such as Macy’s, J.C. Penney, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Boscov’s would like everyone to know that, despite rumors to the contrary, the department store…
Immigration Debate Heats Up
President Bush wants Congress to pass a law that would allow foreigners to work temporarily in the U.S. and then require them to return to their home country once the…
