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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Kroger Praised and Pounded
A complimentary story on NashvilleCityPaper.com, on a recently renovated Kroger concept store in South Nashville that boasts a wide selection of products from around the globe, got a critical response…
Pension Fund Wants Strike Settled Now
The largest pension fund in the nation, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (Calpers), is stepping up pressure on Safeway to negotiate and make a deal with grocery workers involved…
Consumer-Direct Wine Shipments Get Support
New York governor George Pataki has proposed legislation that would allow sellers in other states to ship wine directly to consumers in his state and give resident vintners permission to…
Sears Has 200 Ideas To Change Business
Last week at the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) convention in New York, Sears’ chief executive Alan Lacy said the company has “200 ideas on pieces of paper now…things to stop…
Obesity Cost US $75 Billion in 2003
A new study says that almost as much money was spent on obesity-related healthcare in 2003 as it was on illnesses related to tobacco consumption. What impact would obesity being…
USDA Quarantines Two More Herds
The U.S. Agriculture Department quarantined two additional cattle herds in Washington over the weekend as links were found to the cow infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow…
Union Calls For Nationwide Boycott of Safeway
The AFL-CIO called for picketers to take up positions at Safeway-owned stores across the U.S. to pressure the grocery company into dropping its hard line negotiating posture with the United…
Fair Trade Keeps Growing
Wild Oats and Whole Foods are hoping that consumers react as positively to Fair Trade bananas as they have to coffee. According to a USA Today report, Wild Oats Markets…
The Waldorf Experience: No Nights Required
Now, consumers needn’t take a trip to New York to lounge in Waldorf comfort. They can go online to “The Waldorf Collection”. Does the success of sites such as “The…
Consumers Happier With Treatment Online
In 2002, respondents to a Greenfield Online survey gauging consumer satisfaction with their online customer service experiences found serious room for improvement. In 2003, 40 percent told Greenfield their customer…
Tops To Sell Convenience Stores
Top Markets, a division of Ahold, plans to divest itself of 204 convenience stores it owns operating under the Wilson Farms Neighborhood Food Stores, Sugarcreek Stores and Tops Xpress banners…
Building Employee Loyalty
Sally Rynne, chief executive officer and founder of Health Newsletters Direct Inc., credits the success of her company to “attracting star performers and keeping them.” How can companies put the…
COOL Alternative In The Works
The United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association (UFFVA), National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), National Fisheries Institute (NFI), Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and National Grocers Association…
Whole Foods Gets Fresh & Wild
Whole Foods announced on Friday it will buy Fresh & Wild, a small natural foods grocer operating seven stores in the UK. The acquisition marks Whole Foods first venture overseas…
RedEnvelope Gets Too Much of a Good Thing
Of all the items that make the list of things you can have too much of, business is not usually near the top. For RedEnvelope, the luxury gift e-tailer, however,…
Commercials Go Online
Marketers, including Pepsi, McDonald’s and AT&T, will begin showing commercials produced for television online through a new format from Unicast using Microsoft’s Media technology. What do you see as the…
U.S. Wants Obesity Fight Plan Changed
The Bush administration has asked the World Health Organization (WHO) to make changes to its plan to reduce obesity throughout the world because it considers many of the recommendations being…
Kash n’ Karry Kuts Store Kount
The Kash n’ Karry division of Delhaize America announced it was closing 34 of its stores in Florida as part of its plan to turn its business around. What are…
Target Puts Signature on Levi’s Deal
Target has made a me-too move with the announcement it would sell Levi Strauss’ discount store line of jeans under the Signature brand. Wal-Mart has carried the Signature brand since…
Shopper Loyalty Not in the Cards
Many consumers in the UK fail to see the value of having a loyalty card and either don’t use them at all or fail to redeem rewards associated with their…
Study: Few Think Retailers Committed to Service
A new nationwide telephone study from Novations Group, reports only 28 percent of consumers believe retailers are committed to providing a high level of service. Does it cost a retailer…
