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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Prices Going Up On Oreos, Kraft Mac & Cheese and…
The high cost of energy has not made its full impact apparent on grocery story shelves but that may be about to change. Kraft Foods announced it is increasing prices…
Powerful List of Women
Fortune magazine has released its annual list of the “Most Powerful Women in Business” and, not surprisingly, it includes a number of female executives in retailing. Which women would you…
Organized Crime Gives Retailers That Shrinking Feeling
The Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates that retailers lose as much as $30 billion a year to organized crime rings and now industry businesses are getting organized themselves to stop…
Newspaper Circulation Numbers Drop Again
Only two of the top 20 newspapers in the country saw their weekday circulation numbers increase during the first six months of 2005, according to the Newspaper Association of America…
Executive Moves Continue at Sears Holdings
Lisa Schultz, who helped upgrade the image of Kmart’s fashion line, has been named to a new position, executive vice president, Sears Holdings Apparel Design, to oversee clothing design for…
Retailers Try to Grab Dollars Ahead of Utilities
Retailers are looking to drive holiday sales early before high home energy prices force consumers to put the brakes to spending. Companies began advertising and promoting sale prices and…
Putting an End to Customers’ Cherry Picking Ways
A number of general merchandise retailers have begun altering return policies to address customers they’ve identified as shoppers who return an unusually high number of products to the stores. …
Online Loyalty Through Research
A recently released Consumer Preference Index survey from Prospectiv of Woburn, MA – a provider of customer acquisition, e-mail marketing and data analytics solutions – found that while 89 percent…
Latest Deal Renews Name Game Debate
Contrary to rumors, industry analysts say, the regional department store is not dead. The announcement that Bon-Ton Stores would acquire the Northern department store group of Saks Inc. may not…
Culture Clash or Cash
It’s safe to say that Ralph Waldo Emerson’s observation that “culture, with us, ends in headache” had nothing to do with large retailer merger and acquisition activity. It does,…
Girls with Brains Call for Boycott of A&F
T-shirts with sayings such as, “Who needs a brain when you have these?,” has a group of high school girls calling for a boycott of Abercrombie & Fitch. The teenagers…
IT: The In-house or Outsourced Debate
Many companies are struggling with their IT budgets. Some have literally chosen to give up on all or a portion of IT and turn it over to outside firms. …
Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Others Accused of Selling Illegal Wood
Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Target, Kmart and Macy’s are among the retailers accused by two environmental advocacy groups of stocking products made from illegal and endangered species of wood from…
Winn-Dixie Promotes Customer Service
For the first time in its history, Winn-Dixie has created an executive level position focused solely on customer service. The embattled grocery store chain has promoted Scott Moore from senior…
Wal-Mart Sponsors Debate About Wal-Mart
In another case of exploring uncharted territory, Wal-Mart is bring together a group of noted economists to the nation’s capital to debate whether the company’s impact on the economy as…
Real Estate Sell Off Rumors Follow McD’s
McDonald’s CEO Jim Skinner says the company is not interested in spinning-off any of its real estate holdings but that doesn’t mean that some of its shareholders don’t have a…
The Cards Will Predict Holiday Performance
Retailers will find that their business fate this holiday season is all in the cards, not the Tarot variety, but gift cards. According to Deloitte & Touche, gift cards will…
GHQ Cover Story 11/05: A Bigger Picture
Retailers are increasingly turning to private label goods to differentiate themselves in the market. The success of retailers, including Loblaw’s, Trader Joe’s, Aldi, etc., has helped convince others that, if…
U.S.-Born Latinos Assimilating, Not Yet Assimilated
New research from New American Dimensions concludes: “Today’s young Hispanics may be assimilating, but they certainly have not yet assimilated. Their ethnic identities are strong, and they are looking for…
It’s About Time… Pathmark Offers Shopping Online
Its corporate slogan, “It’s About Time,” might mean Pathmark’s new online shopping service will save consumers what they have too little of. On the other hand, it might also mean…
The Big Bang Vs. Incremental Change Debate
Does it make more sense to implement major change all at once (aka Big Bang) or do it incrementally? Incremental change, say big bangers, is akin to “cutting a dog’s…
