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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
The Un-Wal-Mart
The strike continues in California and coincidentally, or not, Wal-Mart has moved up its plans to open its Supercenters in the state beginning next year with 40 units to be…
Cub Foods Splits Merchandising Duties
The Packer reports Cub Foods has plans to split its merchandising functions into two divisions in an attempt to be more responsive to the needs of local consumers. Is there…
OJ Promises to Lower Cholesterol
Minute Maid will begin rolling-out its new cholesterol-lowering orange juice with plant sterols, Minute Maid Premium Heart Wise, today with plans to have the product in national distribution by Thanksgiving…
Feds Arrest Illegals Cleaning Wal-Marts
Federal agents arrested more than 250 alleged illegal immigrants working as janitors in 60 separate Wal-Mart stores across the country yesterday, reports the New York Times. What are your thoughts…
Drugstore.com Campaign Warning
Drugstore.com announced yesterday it was launching a public awareness campaign to warn consumers about the dangers of buying medications online, reports the Washington Post. Has the Internet turned the prescription…
Judge Rules on Unsavory Sauce Case
By accounts, Maurice Bessinger makes a pretty decent barbecue sauce. It was good enough to be sold in retail stores including Sam’s, Wal-Mart, Food Lion and Winn-Dixie at one point…
McD’s Settles Different Kind of Obesity Suit
When you hear McDonald’s is being sued again, you almost immediately think the chain is being hit with another nuisance suit by a super-sized consumer who treats every drive-thru window…
Marshall Field’s Boutique Motors Along
The department store chain, which has been criticized in the past for offering a less than scintillating shopping experience, has opened a new in-store boutique selling, of all things, Italian…
Commissary’s Sales Take Sail Due to Strike
Commissaries at the San Diego Naval Station and in other areas with military installations dealing with the strike by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union are among the…
Discrimination Suit Settled
Albertsons has settled a suit, which alleged the grocery chain discriminated against female employees by excluding prescription contraceptives from the company’s health care plan. Do you agree? Does the exclusion…
Pricing for Profit
A study conducted by University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business professor Marshall Fisher and Vishal Gaur of NYU’s Stern School of Business points out the need for retailers to…
Greenpeace: Pajamas Are Toxic
The international environmental action group, Greenpeace, is demanding retailers, including Disney, Mothercare, Toys R Us and Woolworth’s, stop selling children’s pajamas containing phthalates and other potentially harmful chemicals. How should…
Grocers Try To Find Way Around Picket Lines
Schnuck Markets is St. Louis has resumed taking online orders for groceries in an attempt to win back the business of consumers unwilling to cross the picket line, reports the…
Sony and Wal-Mart Sued Over Video Game
Lawyers have filed a suit for $246 million against Sony and Wal-Mart for the shootings of two motorists by teenagers in Tennessee who said they got the idea from the…
Amazon Cuts Prices, Raises Profits
Amazon.com reported yesterday it has generated its very first profit in a quarter other than the fourth. What do you see as Amazon’s greatest opportunity and biggest obstacle to continued…
Manager’s Lessons Go Beyond Baseball
An opinion piece in the Christian Science Monitor says society has a lot to learn from the example of Jack McKeon, the 72-year old manager of the Florida Marlins.”McKeon’s story…
Whole Foods Says Activists Are Right
Whole Foods Market is expected to announce plans today to allow an independent third party audit of the company’s compliance with standards set for the humane treatment of animals whose…
Eight O’Clock Has New Owner
Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Co. has announced an agreement to sell Eight O’Clock coffee to Gryphon Investors, a private equity firm. What are your thoughts on the Eight O’Clock…
Labor Strife Reality
The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) strike in California and elsewhere continues on with seemingly little hope of a quick resolution. Play the arbitration game. What is a fair…
Universal Health Care Favored
More than 15 percent of the US population had no health care in 2002. Sixty-percent of people surveyed said they are concerned about their ability to afford health insurance in…
Cos. Cut Back Quality of Life Perks
A survey by the Society for Human Resource Management has found companies, offering employees the option to telecommute and work flextime schedules, have cut back on these family-friendly perks. What…
