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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Wal-Mart Wants It All
The world’s largest retailer also wants to be the biggest thing in the virtual world. What are your thoughts on Wal-Mart’s approach to the Internet?
Ukrop’s Dresses Retail for Business
Ukrop’s is mostly known for being one of the nation’s most innovative grocery store chains but a side venture it started several years back is also beginning to gain notice…
Not Your Mother’s Department Store
Peter Williams, chief executive officer, Selfridges told the New York Times, “Part of the problem with the U.S. department stores is that you can be inside them and you’re not…
Operating Income and GMROI Up, Profits Down for Grocers
The Food Marketing Institute’s (FMI) Annual Financial Review, 2002-2003 released yesterday shows operating income and gross margin return on inventory (GMROI) for supermarkets are at five-year highs but industry profit…
Judge Cuts Off Wells to Nestle Waters
Ice Mountain Spring Water (Nestle Waters North America) is calling a decision by a judge in Minnesota that prevents the company from drawing water from wells in a Michigan county,…
Store Closed For Employees’ Personal Business
Von Maur, unlike the stores it competes with, closes for business on big retailing holidays such as Labor Day and even during special Sunday evening shopping events run at its…
Teamsters Refuse to Deliver to SoCal Chains
The other shoe has dropped in the lockout/strike of grocery workers in southern California as the Teamsters union ordered its drivers to stop making deliveries to the supermarket chains involved…
Shopper Sites Beyond Compare
Consumers are increasingly turning to comparison-shopping Web sites such as Shopping.com, BizRate.com, NexTag, and PriceGrabber to find the best deals on everything from airfare to wireless services. Will comparison-shopping Web…
Sixty Percent of Employees Looking for a Way Out
It will not take a good love gone bad, as in David Allan Coe’s country and western classic, Take This Job and Shove It, to motivate workers to quit their…
Glass Ceiling Joins List of Life’s Certainties
A report from the General Accounting Office (GAO) released last week said that, even when accounting for various factors such as marital status and the number of hours worked, women…
‘Tis the Season to be Marketing
The prospect that consumers may be willing to spend more this holiday season has retailers getting into their marketing budgets earlier and in a bigger way this year than in…
Borders Sources Nationally, Merchandises Locally
Borders Books may be a large national chain, but the retailer understands that the quickest path to maximizing growth is by catering to the needs of local consumers. According to…
Costco Proves It Pays To Pay Well
While supermarket operators are trying to hammer out deals with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) and others to reduce labor costs so they are more in line…
FMI Wants Medicare Bill Passed
The Food Marketing Institute (FMI), representing grocery retailers and wholesalers, has called on Congress to pass the Medicare prescription drug legislature it is considering. Should Congress pass the Medicare Prescription…
Hacking Suspects Indicted
Three Michigan men have been indicted for allegedly trying to hack into Lowe’s computer system for the purpose of stealing customer credit card information, reports the Associated Press. What is…
Let the Bidding for Eckerd Begin
At least two groups are expected to announce their initial interest in buying the Eckerd drugstore chain from JC Penney, reports the Financial Times. What do you see as the…
Labor Agreement Reached But Not In CA
Deli, meat and seafood department workers in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and Long Island, NY have reached agreement on a new four-year contract with the King Kullen, Pathmark, Stop-and-Shop and…
Who’s Going to Start the Revolution?
Ryan Mathews laments in an editorial on the Grocery Headquarters Web site, “It seems all but unthinkable that as we enter the 21st century, we can’t come up with a…
Victoria’s Dirty Little Secret
Is used underwear Victoria’s dirty little secret? On the same night it televised Victoria’s Secret’s fashion show, the CBS affiliate in New York ran a report in which hidden cameras…
KFC’s New Campaign Gets Fried
KFC has ended its advertising campaign aimed at convincing consumers that fried chicken could be included among the foods eaten in a balanced diet. Will the fried chicken commercials pulled…
Communist China Wants US Market Opened
The People’s Republic of China has reacted strongly to the decision by the Bush administration to impose quotas on textiles imported from this communist nation. The Chinese have called the…
