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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Redbox Stores Are Out-of-Order
Initially hailed as the future of convenience stores, McDonald’s shut down the four Redbox machines it was testing in the Washington, D.C. area when it became clear consumers weren’t buying…
You Can Go Home Again
Just when parents think their kids have left the nest for good, the phone rings or the doorbell announces that one of the kids, now an adult, is home to…
Mom and Pop Got a Brand New Bag
Just as immigrants from Europe and their descendents set up butcher shops, produce stands and small grocery stores at the beginning of the last century, today’s Mom and Pop proprietors…
Creating the Innovative Business
Jordan Ayan, futurist, consultant and author of Aha! 10 Ways to Free Your Creative Spirit and Find Your Great Ideas (Crown Publishing, 1997), once told us, “The average lifetime of…
Hybrids Designed for Greater Convenience
As the Promo Magazine article begins, “Everyone is selling convenience these days.” As such, convenience stores find themselves fighting competitors at every turn for the little available shopping time that…
Targeting Grocery Shoppers
Target is looking to set apart its SuperTarget food operation with the same type of distinctive company brand marketing it has done in its discount stores. Will Target’s unique marketing…
Atkins Squeezing OJ Category
Falling demand and a bumper crop are not good news for farmers in the orange groves of Florida. According to an Atlanta Journal Constitution piece, demand for orange juice appears…
The Giant Green Eagle
Giant Eagle seeks to be a leader in the grocery industry and now it is being recognized for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) by the Green Building Council…
Popping Off About Pop-Ups
We’ve all had it happen. Click on link to read a story online and get an unwanted pop-up ad first. At yesterday’s @d:tech New York conference, executives discussed how to…
Maytag Repairmen Goes on a House Call
Maytag, the manufacturer known for repairmen with nothing to do because it makes its home appliances so well, has finally found a job for them. Fix other manufacturers’ machines. Will…
Eddie Bauer Lives!
They’re back. In what appears to be a partial reversal of an earlier decision to close 60 stores, Spiegel has asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for approval to open seven…
Stores Hope Everyday High Prices Attract
Retailers such as Bath and Body Works, Federated Department Stores, Express and Gadzooks are adding high end, higher-priced items to their product mix in the hope consumers will view the…
SEC May Sue Fleming Food Vendors
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sent Wells Notices to at least three companies, Dean Foods, Frito-Lay and Kraft, advising them it may take legal action against the food…
Analyst: A&P Worth More in Pieces
An analyst with Merrill Lynch, Mark Husson, said the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. would be worth more to its shareholders if it would sell off its various divisions,…
W-M and McD’s in Separate Online Music Deals
According to two separate reports in the New York Post, Wal-Mart is planning to launch it’s own downloadable music service on www.walmart.com, while McDonald’s is expected to make an announcement…
Employers Shouldn’t Pay Health Benefits
The current labor unrest in the grocery industry has focused the media’s attention on the issue of health coverage. Associates represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union are…
Chain Says No to GMOs
Foodstuffs, the largest grocery store chain in New Zealand, operating stores under the New World, Pak’N Save, Four Square and Write Price banners, is asking all its private label product…
Racial Discrimination Claimed in Suit
A former employee at a Nabisco Bakery in Philadelphia is suing Kraft Foods charging that she and other African-Americans were discriminated against in the workplace because of their race. Have…
Penney Goes It Alone With Prototype
J.C. Penney has opened its new free-standing prototype department store in Cedar Hill, Texas, reports the Dallas Morning News. Are malls going the way of the dinosaur? What will it…
Counterfeits, Terrorists and Retailers, Oh My!
According to an Insight Magazine article by Timothy Maier, sales of counterfeit goods in the U.S. are up to roughly $500 billion a year. How are counterfeit goods making their…
Gentiles Go Kosher
Sales of kosher foods are hot and non-Jewish consumers are the ones driving much of the increase. A report on the CBS MarketWatch Web site says dollar sales of kosher…
