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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Amazon Puts Theatrics Into Selling
Amazon.com previewed its newest selling tool yesterday, Amazon Theater, with an exclusive short film, Portrait, featuring a performance by Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting and other films). What do you…
Retailers Try to Push Up Holiday Sales
Every year, retailers begin merchandising for the holiday season earlier than before and, every year, more and more shoppers seem to wait until the very last moment to do their…
Wal-Mart Targets Categories for Domination
Wal-Mart has Toys “R” Us thinking about getting out of the toy business altogether, and more than a few failed retailers in the category have gone by the wayside, cursing…
Target Cast in Grinch Role
The Salvation Army’s national community relations secretary, Major George Hood, said the charity may lose as much in $9 million in contributions this holiday season after being banned from setting…
Kmart Rewards Customers with New Card
Kmart announced the introduction of a new credit card, Kmart Rewards, which gives shoppers cash discounts on goods purchased in its stores or on Kmart.com. How effective are incentive credit…
Vornado Stake Raises Sears Speculation
Vornado Realty Trust didn’t buy a 4.3 stake in Sears because it likes the retailer’s sales prospects. That’s the central theme running through a Chicago Sun-Times article speculating on the…
Meijer’s Reason for Being
Hank Meijer, cochairman and chief executive officer of Meijer Inc., says there is a fundamental difference between his company and archrival, Wal-Mart. “Food for them,” he told the Detroit…
Fast Feeders Jump on Fresh Fruit Bandwagon
Fast food restaurants, including McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and others, are now serving up fruit sides, cups and salads all aimed at giving consumers healthier menu options and driving sales…
Effective Promotions Consider the Shopper’s Perspective
In an article in Target Marketing, co-authors Arthur Einstein and Mark Klein make the case that, when marketing, the customer information that matters most is not demographic or psychographic but…
Kmart Goes Cheap Chic Route
Having gone down the road of attempting to compete with Wal-Mart on price that ended with it in bankruptcy court, Kmart now appears to have set its sights on the…
The Cult of Wegmans
An opinion piece appearing in the Ithaca Journal puts forth the theory that Wegmans Food Market is a cult. How else reasons the author, Jennie Daley, could the “reverence and…
PL Buyer Editorial: Oldsmobiles & SKU Rationalizaton
In his Warren’s Wanderings editorial in the October 2004 PL Buyer magazine, Warren Thayer, related a story of a recent car shopping trip. “So one day I saw a brand…
Costco’s Home Store Test – Unit Two
Costco opened its second Costco Home store in Tempe, Ariz. last Friday and customers were lined up outside waiting for the doors to open. What will be the keys to…
Giant Eagle Cuts Prices to Head Off Competition
Giant Eagle is cutting prices, as Wal-Mart, limited assortment grocers and dollar store competitors continue to open new stores in the grocer’s home market. Do you agree with Giant Eagle’s…
Bush to Opponents: ‘I will need your support’
Four years after winning his first election victory for President of the United States, in part because of his message that he would help unite the country, George W. Bush…
Wal-Mart $17.36, Blockbuster $17.49, Netflix $17.99
A price war has broken out in the online DVD rental business and the winner, at least in the short term, are consumers who get to keep a few extra…
Stop & Shop’s Shopping Buddy Pilot Moves Forward
Stop & Shop has decided to roll out a system of intelligent shopping carts developed and marketed by Cuesol and IBM in three stores where it has been conducting a…
GHQ Cover Story 11/04: Private Label’s New Edge
Retailers seeking the Holy Grail of differentiation need look no further than their store brand offerings, according to private label industry executives. Are retailers using their store brands to create…
Whole Foods Looks For Organic Growth with Clothes
Whole Foods Markets will begin selling a line of organic fiber clothing and home bedding products in a new store in Austin, Tex. beginning in February. The marketer of the…
Record Turnout at Polls May Mean Slow Sales Day
Many are predicting that voters will turn out in record numbers for today’s presidential election and, while many retailers have done their utmost to achieve this goal (see RW -…
Retailers Get Out the Vote
With many calling today’s Presidential election the most important of their lifetime, employers, unions and associations connected with the retailing industry have stepped up efforts to get out the vote…
