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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
What Would Jesus Sell?
The sale of Christian-themed merchandise of all types has become a huge business and companies are rolling out new products to meet demand. The latest is the new talking Jesus…
Two Networks Are Better Than None
On June 30th, Viacom, the largest owner of cable networks, will launch another gay network – Logo. Significantly, Logo will be advertiser supported and offered as a basic cable channel…
PR Agency Role In Nutrition Guidelines Questioned
The pubic relations agency, Porter Novelli, was hired by the Agriculture Department to design an icon to help consumers better understand the federal government’s new nutritional guidelines. Other clients of…
Marketers to Consumers: Trust Us
It’s not a new concept, but businesses searching for the means of achieving a sustainable competitive advantage are looking to communicate their trustworthiness to customers. Trust related marketing is growing…
Target Wins Perception as Reality Battle
A Crain’s Chicago Business article points out that, on paper, Target doesn’t appear to operate its business much differently than Wal-Mart. If Wal-Mart’s presence is said to drive smaller, local…
Latinos Announce Arrival in English
Jaime Gamboa and Gabriel Grimalt, are two young American men of Latino ancestry who are making it big and they’re letting Los Angeles know with their new magazine, Tu Ciudad…
Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. Shake Up Nutrition Police
If you’re looking for the perfect complement to the 1,420-calorie Monster Burger sold at Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. restaurants, you might want to try one of the company’s new 715-carlorie…
Waiting in Line to be Loyal
Turley Wine Cellars makes really good wine and is known for their outstanding Zinfandel. The majority of wine Turley makes is sold to the customers on their mailing list. How…
Wal-Mart Goes Upscale, Sorta
Wal-Mart is looking to improve its image and, happily, this time it has nothing to do with “setting the record straight” on its employment practices, its impact on local economies,…
The Future of Warehouse Clubs
At the recent Nielsen Consumer 360 Conference, Doug Bennett of ACNielsen forecast a bright future for Club Stores, at least for the near term. Which club company do you think…
2005: The Year of Asian American Media
Last year saw the emergence of a new kind of ethnic television media: one geared toward U.S. born Latinos — exemplified by the rise of cable TV networks that were…
Imitation Greatest Form of Flattery for Kohl’s
Rival department store chains are trying to out-Kohl’s Kohl’s with shopping carts, checkouts at the front-end and racetrack floor layouts to speed consumers as they shop the store. What challenges…
Teens: No Job Wanted
The number of teenagers working part-time jobs has fallen to its lowest level since such statistics started being tracked. According to a report by USA Today, the percentage of kids…
Giant, UFCW Lobby for ‘Wal-Mart’ Health Bill
Call them strange bedfellows, but Ahold’s Giant Food chain and the union that represents its workers, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), are on the same side in supporting…
Sarbanes Oxley: No Accounting for ‘Computer Errors’
Section 404 of the Sarbanes Oxley legislation, which requires management to attest to adequacy of internal controls, will come under discussion in an SEC roundtable scheduled for April 13th. The…
Consumers Gas Up and Go Shopping
The price consumers are paying at the pump has reached record levels, but at least until now, it doesn’t appear to have had a significant impact on retail spending. The…
Dress Coding For Success
With employee dress codes becoming less stringent in order to accommodate personal preferences, companies may risk tarnishing their image, alienating customers and potentially seeing a decrease in sales. In light…
Editorial: Gun Dealers Should Be Held Responsible
An editorial in the Christian Science Monitor says Congress should vote against pending legislation “that would grant broad immunity from liability in civil lawsuits to gun manufacturers and dealers.” Should…
Wal-Mart Hopes to Educate Press
Wal-Mart is hoping that after two days at the company’s first ever media summit that journalists will walk away more educated about the retailer and its way of doing business…
Safeway to Spend $100 Million in Re-branding Effort
Safeway, the nation’s third largest grocery store chain, is launching a $100 million marketing campaign with the slogan “Ingredients for Life” to reposition itself as a more upscale market with…
Castagna Will Try and Turn Mervyn’s Around
With the announcement last week that Vanessa Castagna, the former chief executive of JCPenney’s stores, catalog and Internet businesses, is taking over as chairwoman at Mervyn’s, there is hope the…
