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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Field’s Shoppers, Sales People Want to Kick the Computer
Reports in the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune say Field’s has encountered problems in its furniture department where computer errors has led angry shoppers to cancel undelivered orders. Are the…
Chinese Chicken Strips – Roasting in Retail Ethnography
From The Wall Street Journal: “On a recent evening stroll, James Rice, a vice president at Tyson Foods and the head of its China operations, wandered into a narrow alley,…
Consumers Pay More for Clear Consciences and New Duds
According to Sweatshop Watch, a sweatshop “is a workplace that violates the law and where workers are subject to: Extreme exploitation, poor working conditions, arbitrary discipline, or fear and intimidation…
Price Versus the iPod
Yahoo is launching a new online music service. The Internet giant is banking that a low $6.99 monthly subscription fee ($4.99 with a yearly contract) and a million song library…
Latin American Presidents Pitch CAFTA
Presidents from the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua are in the nation’s capital today at the request of the Bush administration to help persuade lawmakers…
A&P Calls Retreat an Advance
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. has just come off what chairman and chief executive Christian Haub calls its “best quarterly performance in almost three years.” So, what better…
Saks Fires Executives Over Improper Collections
The issue of “markdown money” has been getting increased attention in retailing circles and the business press lately as vendors and regulators begin to more openly question the practice. An…
White Stupidity on Display in Tennessee
The La Lupita Mexican store in the central Tennessee town of Marysville may have had the initials “WP”, standing for white power, scrawled in graffiti on it this weekend in…
Dazzling Them with Demos
Warehouse clubs such as Costco do it. Niche grocers such as Trader Joe’s do, too. Upscale merchants such as Marshall Field’s definitely do it, and not just with perfume. What…
Pepsi Competes Against Itself
It’s a common practice for retailers and restaurants serving immigrant populations or consumers who just want to eat “authentic” foods to import the versions of popular international brands manufactured in…
Daily Dose of Loyalty
Wyeth Consumer Healthcare’s Centrum multi-vitamin brand has launched Centrum “Pledge for Life.” The program gets customers to enroll and pledge to take a Centrum a day. Why are manufacturers doing…
Free Comic Books – One Day Only
Call them comic books or graphic novels. Whichever name you prefer, you and consumers across the country can pick one up for free tomorrow in stores participating in the fourth…
GHQ Cover Story 05/05: Lund Stands Tall
Grocery Headquarters magazine has named Lund Food Holdings, operator of Lunds and Byerly’s, as its retailer of the year. Russell T. “Tres” Lund III, doesn’t think there’s any secret to…
Family Leave Law Tweaks Considered
No one, publicly at least, is calling for the federal family leave law to be scrapped, but business owners and regulators believe some changes are needed to make it work…
Sam’s $560,000 Pendant: Will Anyone Buy It?
Whether the idea is to send a message that it can offer merchandise on par with the more upscale Costco, simply draw attention to its new line of colored diamonds…
Wash Your Hands, Please
At retail, it’s clear that employees need to wash their hands, especially those involved in food handling, preparation, and serving. But, besides “Employees must wash hands before leaving restroom” signs,…
Mom and Pop Go to the Mall
Big box stores are not the only new type of tenants taking space in malls around the country. According to a report in the Detroit News, many small retailers lured…
A Business to Die-For
Costco thinks there’s money to be made in dying. Go to the warehouse club’s Web site and scroll down the product categories for sale listings until you come to the…
The Skinny on Obesity Discrimination at Retail
Recent research suggests that the oft-used expression may need to be amended to: “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you. They just might not realize…
Nike Says No Thanks to Sears
Nike has decided to pull its products from Sears in what many believe is the manufacturer’s move to prevent its branded products winding up in Kmart stores. What do you…
Krispy Kreme Plan Filled With Holes
It was a scene that played out over and over again. A new Krispy Kreme would open to great fanfare and big crowds. But, what happened after the television cameras…
