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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Indy Hardware Stores Find Service Aces Big Box Test
The operators of independently owned Ace Hardware stores have discovered that, every time a new Home Depot or Lowe’s opens up in their market, it means lost business — for…
Shoppers Appreciate Extra Attention
Marianne Wilson writes in Chain Store Age about two retailers who are getting their messages through the clutter. Both Boscov’s department stores and Easy Spirit shoe stores reinforce direct mail…
Sears Doesn’t Repeat Lands’ End Mistakes Online
As Sandra Guy’s report in the Chicago Sun-Times so aptly puts it, “Sears Roebuck and Co. goofed its rollout of Lands’ End apparel in Sears stores.” It doesn’t, however, plan…
Real Claims Market Share But Not Profits
RealNetworks says its loss-leader strategy helped it double its market share in the downloadable music category. The company sold singles at 49 cents a piece during a three-week sale, which…
Online Research Drives In-Store Sales
Barnes & Noble chief executive, Steve Riggio, is a big believer in multichannel retailing for no other reason than it drives sales in his company’s bookstores. Mr. Riggio told analysts…
Albertsons’ Rx Marketing Called Deceptive
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC), a San Diego-based consumer advocacy group, has filed a lawsuit against Albertsons accusing the company of “violating the privacy rights of thousands of its customers by…
Home Depot Takes Manhattan
A piece in The New York Times says you can, “Call it the kinder, gentler Home Depot. But it’s still a hardware store on steroids.” What it is, New Yorkers…
Wal-Mart’s Scott Cites Challenges
Wal-Mart’s chief executive, Lee Scott, said the company is facing a challenging business environment as rising fuel costs and politics are weighing heavily on the minds and pocketbooks of the…
Safeway’s Burd Looks To Differentiate
Safeway’s chairman, president and chief executive officer, Steve Burd told analysts at Prudential’s Back-to-School Consumer Conference yesterday that to be successful the grocer would need to find a way to…
Seniors Offer Marketing Opportunities and Challenges
Americans, as a whole, are getting older and so, it turns out, are our counterparts in Europe. And as here, European marketers are beginning to test various types of advertising…
Rite Aid’s Business Not Made To Mail-Order
Rite Aid’s feel-good turnaround story took a pause yesterday when the chain announced it expected to miss its full-year revenue and profit expectations. The chain said performance was off due…
Office Supply Retailers Vie For Supremacy
The three leading office supply retailers in the U.S. began their early years staking out their territory in their respective home markets. Staples set up shop in the Northeast; Office…
UFCW Stares, Chains Not Blinking
Members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local 7 in Colorado unanimously rejected a two-tier wage proposal from Safeway similar to the one agreed to by union…
McD’s Wants Sit Down Business
There’s a reason those plastic chairs are so uncomfortable. Fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s are looking to get people in, serve them, and move them right back out the…
Combining Gift and Loyalty Cards
In the September issue of Integrated Solutions for Retailers magazine, Matt Pillar covers the benefits of plastic gift cards beyond simply replacing paper gift certificates. As Matt points out, gift…
Pepsico’s Shortcut to a Healthier Life
Pepsico has placed an emphasis on offering healthier products and now it wants to make it easier for consumers to identify those items with green “Smart Spot” stickers. The consumer…
Work Stinks
Has work got you feeling a little burned out? Are you working on tighter deadlines and putting in longer hours? Do your family and friends need to look at photos…
Former Canadian Rx Importer Goes Domestic
David Peoples, co-founder of Rx Depot, ran afoul of federal authorities last year over the importation of prescription medicines from Canada and his business was forced to close. Now he…
Gay Groups Not Happy About Home Depot’s Pet Insurance
Understanding that most Americans view their dogs and cats as members of the family, the do-it-yourself retailer began offering pet health insurance as an employee benefit in June. Kim Mills,…
Wal-Mart Changes Everything
According to the historian Nelson Lichtenstein, a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Wal-Mart is the “business template” for the modern economy. “In each historical epoch a prototypical…
The Multi-million Dollar Question: What’s Your Low-carb Strategy?
A new report from Information Resources Inc. (IRI) says it is too early to write-off low-carb dieting as just another fad. Sales of naturally low-carb foods and beverages remain strong…
