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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Stop & Shop Takes New Approach to GM/HBC
Stop & Shop hasn’t made any major adjustments to how it merchandises its general merchandise (GM) and health and beauty care (HBC) department in nearly a quarter of a century,…
GHQ Cover Story 09/05 – Space Quest
Location is still the name of the game in retail. As anyone in the business can tell you, finding the right location to build a store can be as critical…
Macy’s In and Field’s Out in Federated Announcement
Federated Department Stores has a plan and it is heavy on the Macy’s and Bloomingdales and totally Marshall Field’s free. Yesterday, the department store operator announced that it would change…
Online Grocery 2005
Safeway’s decision to roll out its online shopping and home delivery service in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. region is the latest indication that such services are alive and well…
Subtle Differences Important to African-American Women
WSL Strategic Research’s September 2005 PULSE Report says despite the numerous similarities shared by different ethnic groups in terms of where they shop and what they buy, there are also…
Who Gets the Credit This Christmas?
Thirty-five million Americans make the minimum payment on their credit card debt each month. Certainly, Christmas is the key time for increasing that debt. In January 2003, the Office of…
Retailers Fear ‘W’ Coming to Town
Its name starts with ‘W’ and competitors know that when it comes to town, everything changes. Bright expansive stores and a reputation that precedes it means that whenever the chain…
Playing Guess the Buyer – The Albertsons Edition
For those keeping score, Tesco, Carrefour, Delhaize, Wal-Mart and CVS are among the large international and domestic retail chains that have reportedly expressed some interest in acquiring all or part…
HP Practices Tough Loyalty
Last week, Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd warned HP will cut partners it deems not sufficiently loyal to the vendor. “For the people who want to play with us, we are…
Coutu Says Eckerd Will Take a Lot of Work
When Jean Coutu Group took over Brooks drugstores, it took five years to get the newly acquired stores up to spec. It will “only” take three years for the chain…
Consumer Behavior Changing
Some got the wake up call before Hurricane Katrina. Now everyone’s gotten it. Consumers are changing their shopping behaviors and just how they are going about their business is important…
Another Study Finds Methylmercury in Popular Fish
A new study by the environmental groups Oceana and the Mercury Policy Project confirms earlier research that swordfish and tuna steaks sold in U.S. grocery stores have varying, sometimes dangerous,…
Safeway Looks to Mother Nature to Power Gas Stations and Stores
Safeway announced it will buy electricity generated by wind power to provide for the energy needs of its 270 gas stations around the country. The company is purchasing 78 million…
Starbucks Finds Doing the Right Thing is Hard
Starbucks’ Howard Schultz says even companies such as his that are trying to do the right thing by offering healthcare coverage to employees have come to the conclusion they simply…
Should There Be Multicultural Marketing Response in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina?
Over these past two weeks, the struggle to come to grips with the enormity of the human, social and cultural devastation of Hurricane Katrina has lead to confronting the fact…
Walgreens Addresses Skin Care Needs of Women of Color
Walgreens has launched an exclusive line of skin care products specially developed by Beverly Hills cosmetic surgeon Dr. Jan Adams to meet the needs of women of color. What does…
Sturken and Spartan Target Farmer Jack for Acquisition
Meredith Adler, an analyst with Lehman Bros., thinks Spartan Stores will be the next owner of Farmer Jack. The analyst, who said she expects the deal to be made before…
Wall Street Misses the Customer Centricity Point
Wall Street’s reaction to Best Buy’s latest quarterly results was predictable. What many on the street and elsewhere either missed or chose to discount in the consumer electronics chain’s numbers…
Unsaleables Benchmarked
The 2005 Unsaleables Benchmark Report from GMA and FMI has found that manufacturer costs associated with returned product declined last year to 1.06 percent of gross sales. The progress made…
Obese Workers Weigh on Employers’ Competitiveness
Obese employees, those 30 or more pounds overweight, are weighing down their employers with increased health care costs and associated lack of productivity because of time spent away from the…
Big is Beautiful for the Bottom Line
Retailers have discovered bigger may be better, at least in terms of their customer’s physiques, when it comes to generating sales and profits for their business. According to NPD Group,…
