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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
E-Tail Sales Up 51 Percent, Margins At 21 Percent
A survey of online retailers, The State of Retailing Online7.0, conducted by Shop.org and Forrester Research, discovered that sales for the group jumped 51 percent last year and the channel…
Wal-Mart Says Subsidies Worth The Investment
A report by the nonprofit group, Good Jobs First of Washington, showing Wal-Mart received roughly $1 billion in taxpayer subsidies over the past 10 years to open stores and distribution…
A-B and Miller Trade Jabs
There’s a battle brewing in the beer category as Anheuser-Busch and Miller Brewing trade jabs in a public advertising and public relations contest of one-upmanship each hopes will result in…
World Takes On Obesity Fight
The World Health Organization, the United Nations’ health agency, has agreed on a plan to combat obesity across the globe, reports Reuters. Related to Friday’s discussion on personal responsibility for…
Marketing Based on Customer Data Increases Sales and Loyalty
Canon recently built a customer database compiled from its dealer network in efforts to create targeted marketing campaigns executed based on this new, more cohesive knowledge bank. What other companies…
Unions Make Stand Against Wal-Mart In Michigan
The Teamsters, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), Service Employees International and Hotel and Restaurant Employees International are joining together in Michigan to launch a publicity campaign they hope will…
What You Eat: Nobody’s Business But Your Own
Radley Balko, a policy analyst with the Cato Insitute, thinks its time we collectively ‘just said no’ to the push to tackle the nation’s weight problems through legislation or the…
Kmart Seeks Coolness Through Association
Kmart wants to be cool. That’s right. You heard it here. Kmart wants to be cool.That’s why the retailer hooked up with The WB network on an exclusive deal that…
Higher Co-Pays May Not Save Money
A new study by the RAND Corporation suggests that companies may wind up spending the same if not more on health care costs when they require employees to pick up…
Indy Health Food Store Dies
Imagine a twist on the David and Goliath tale from The Bible. In the new version, David’s slingshot misses Goliath leaving him unharmed. Unfortunately, it ricochets and fells the boy…
UFCW President Bashes You Know Who
When it comes to Wal-Mart’s prices, it’s not unusual to hear a retailer say something such as “they’re selling it for cheaper than I can buy it.” What are your…
CEO Talks The Talk and Walks The Walk
Best Buy’s chief executive, Brad Anderson, has taken a highly unusual action. What is your reaction to his turning over stock options with a value up to $7.5 million to…
Best Buy Transformation Starts At The Bottom
Steven Roorda, an analyst with American Express, says Best Buy is going in a distinctly different direction than any of its main competitors. “There’s nobody in the category that’s doing…
Ethnic Assortment and Merchandising Still Present Significant Challenges
When it comes to retail, people develop relationships with people, not supermarket brands. And yet, in chain service departments, where ethnic consumers typically connect with store personnel and where relationships…
Sears Tries To Cut Its Way To Profitability
The chairman and chief executive officer of Sears, Alan Lacy, has sent an email to headquarters personnel advising them to find ways to reduce expenses as the company continues to…
L.L. Bean Sues Over Pop-Ups On Its Site
L.L. Bean has filed a lawsuit for trademark infringement against Nordstrom, J.C. Penney, Atkins and Gevalia alleging pop-up ads for those companies appeared when consumers visited the retailer’s web site…
Working For A Living (Not!) In Grocery Industry
Supermarket employees in the UK are paid substantially less than the average worker, according to research from the GMB union. Are supermarkets here in the U.S. and elsewhere paying enough…
Gap Steps Up To Protect Workers
Last week’s release of a 40-page report by Gap Inc. on the working conditions in factories that produce clothes and accessories for sale in the retailer’s Gap, Old Navy and…
Target Ramping Up New Prototype Store
Target said last week it was planning to ramp up the introduction of its newest prototype store, dubbed P2004. The format increases the role of food to drive store traffic…
How 19,000 Beats Tens of Millions
Using 19,000 ACNielsen Homescan panelists as their guide, marketers are getting strong results through Consumer Direct, a joint venture between Yahoo! and ACNielsen. Are initiatives like Consumer Direct simply a…
Sears Does Better Alone
Sears’ chief executive officer, Alan Lacy, said the chain is accelerating its plans to add stand-alone Sears Grand and Great Indoors stores. Is the future of Sears in stand-alone stores?…
