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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Peapod, Drugstore.com and Others Sweat Higher Fuel Prices
The price at the pump has kept going up and e-tailers are caught between the proverbial rock and hard place. If companies pass on costs to customers in the form…
Shopping ‘Where Everybody Knows Your Name’
Ruben Cavazos would make Sam Malone proud. The fictional bar owner on the old Cheers TV program ran a business where patrons liked to go because “everybody knows your name.”…
Loyalty by the Custom Publishing Book
Volkswagen views its vehicle owner’s manuals differently than other automakers, not only striving to make its car manuals more attractive but also more informative than those available from other auto…
Gap’s Pressler Receives Nod for ‘Buck Stops Here’ Award
In an era when retail executives find pretty much everything under and including the sun to blame for business being off, Gap Inc.’s president and chief executive officer contradicted…
Decline in Crop Diversity – Big Problem for Everyone?
According to an article in the International Herald Tribune, crop diversity is declining, and we all have a lot to worry about. Last year, a UN treaty required countries to…
Take the CIO Challenge: Five to Stay Alive
Whether you’re in IT, or need to deal with IT, here’s a good exercise to keep your wits sharp… You’re the new chief information officer at a venerable retailer –…
Non-Pet Food Companies Pursue Pamparing Pet Parents
Attention frozen food category managers: make room for doggie. According to the Chicago Tribune, Dreyer’s is scoring a big hit with its Frosty Paws Frozen Treats for Dogs and it’s…
Why Didn’t Our Hispanic Marketing Campaign Work?
It seems that complaints of less than optimal results from Hispanic marketing efforts surface more and more these days. Retailers seem baffled by failed attempts to gain, satisfy and retain…
Best Buy Builds a Store for Jill…and Buzz, Barry and Ray
Under the directive of chief executive Bradbury H. Anderson, Best Buy is taking a strong initiative to move “Customer Centricity” beyond the realm of marketing buzz phrases. In fact, the…
County Legislators Want Retailers to Pay for Medical Benefits
A bill backed by both Republicans and Democrats in Suffolk County, NY would require businesses that meet certain revenue and square footage requirements to set aside $3 for every hour…
Women Gaining Clout Steadily, But Slowly
The C200 Business Leadership Index, a report that provides a year-to-year benchmark of the progress women are making in influencing U.S. business, calls this year’s numbers “sobering” because, while females…
Educator Consumers Are Chains’ Most Loyal Customers
Don’t look for any members of the NEA union to be calling for a boycott of any of the large office-supply chains anytime soon. Staples, OfficeMax and Office Depot have…
Target Looks to Hit Bull’s-Eye with Food
Target plans to more than double the amount of refrigerated, frozen and shelf-stable foods it carries in its discount stores, reports The Chicago Tribune. Target is looking to fuel its…
Marketers Not Getting African-American Consumers
Tom Joyner’s nationally syndicated radio show, The Tom Joyner Morning Show, reaches more than eight million primarily African-Americans consumers, in 115 markets so he knows a little something about connecting…
Southwest Extends Loyalty
After extensive research and Rapid Rewards Member polling revealed that what flyers wanted were more time to earn credits and no system-wide blackout dates for Award travel, members of Southwest…
Gas Prices Hit Home
Those who track such things will tell you that despite the record high prices consumers are paying at the pump today, when adjusted for inflation, the cost of filling up…
Panel: Former Kmart CEO Not Up to the Job
An arbitration panel has unanimously ruled that Charles Conaway, the former chairman and CEO of Kmart, was not guilty of “fraud, deliberate mismanagement or corporate looting,” as accused in a…
Nordstrom to Fill Mall Anchor Vacuum
Federated Department Stores’ announcement earlier in the month that it would close 68 mall locations is prompting speculation on which stores will move in to fill the vacated locations and…
Pharmacist Beliefs and Consumer Rights Clash Again
Last week, a woman in Rhode Island went to a CVS pharmacy to have a prescription filled for the emergency contraceptive known as Plan B, aka the “morning after pill.”…
The Color of Money
It’s been widely documented that people ascribe traits like intelligence, wealth and happiness based solely on the shade of someone’s skin. A Los Angeles Times article last Sunday describes how…
McD’s Diet Puts Super Size in Reverse
Merab Morgan doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with what’s on McDonald’s menu. Ms. Morgan decided to go on a McD’s-only diet after seeing the documentary Super Size Me. Instead of…
