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Discussions
Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Albertsons Cuts Back
Albertsons chairman and chief executive officer, Larry Johnston, told the Idaho Statesman a little over a month ago that the company was doing business in one of the “toughest competitive…
Who Really Matters
Art Kleiner’s Who Really Matters focuses on the people who make businesses run – and they may not be who you think. According to Simon London’s review in the Financial…
The Book on Winning Customer Loyalty
A new book, Scoring Points: How Tesco is Winning Customer Loyalty, looks at how the retailing giant’s Clubcard program has helped it gain insights into the shopping habits of 10…
Consumers Plan To Eat Right, Next Year
A new study conducted for the Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA) on the SupermarketGuru web site, says consumers plan on eating healthier and cooking more of their own meals at…
Hitachi Tags and Tracks Veggies
Hitachi has developed a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag small enough to be embedded into the inedible parts of fresh vegetables, reports Just-Food.com. What will RFID technology mean to the…
No Insurance for GMO Farmers
A report in The Guardian on Tuesday, said insurance companies in the UK are refusing to cover farmers growing genetically modified crops or for others seeking insurance to cover possible…
Fortune Favors Companies With Chief Knowledge Officers
A new book by the economist Lester Thurow, Fortune Favors the Bold, contends that businesses such as Kmart and McDonald’s may have avoided some of their recent difficulties if they…
Kraft Joins Fair-Trade Movement
Kraft Foods announced yesterday it would begin selling “fair-trade” coffee certified by the Rainforest Alliance. Is fair-trade coffee ready to enter the mainstream coffee market? What will be the next…
7-Eleven in Coffee Program Revamp
Competition is fierce and 7-Eleven management intends to stay number one in the US convenience store industry by, among other things, revamping its coffee program. The chain announced earlier this…
Triple Bottom Line Performance
Scott Bedbury, founder and chief executive of Brandstream, and author of A New Brand World is a much sought after speaker on marketing and brand development issues. Do you agree…
KB Sets Up Toy Shop in Sears
KB Toys will be setting up temporary shops within 600 Sears stores from mid-October to early January, reports Reuters. What are your thoughts on the Sears/KB Toys deal?
Online Grocery Lives
Webvan, Streamline and Publix may not have made a go at online groceries but that hasn’t stopped others from aggressively going after the affluent and time-pressed consumers who want the…
Duane Reade’s Front-End Slips
Duane Reade has been successful by building a front-end business that accounts for approximately 75 percent of the company’s sales. Last quarter, however, the company said profits would fall below…
Circle Kanada
Canada’s largest convenience store operator, Alimentation Couche-Tard, has agreed to purchase 1,600 Circle K stores in 16 states from ConocoPhillips for $830 million, reports Reuters. What will Couche-Tard need to…
Dot-Com Survivors
While the spectacular failure of high profile e-tail operations such as eToys and Webvan has been widely documented and discussed, a number of less publicized dot-com stores not only survived…
McNuggets Lose Fat and Calories
McDonald’s has taken another step in answering critics of its fast food fare. The chain is rolling out a new, smaller all-white-meat Chicken McNugget. What are your thoughts on McDonald’s…
Analyst: Organic Everywhere In Five Years
Although organic items currently account for only two percent of food sales, there are those who believe, “In five years, organic products will be everywhere.” How can a retailer carve…
Small Stores Growing
Retailers are learning that when it comes to store size, bigger isn’t necessarily better. Chains such as Publix with its 29,000 square foot store in the Jacksonville, FL market are…
K-VA-T Breaks Up Dollar Section
Supermarket News reports K-VA-T Food Stores has abandoned a single stand-alone dollar merchandise section in its stores for four-foot sections inserted into aisles with category-related items. What “how to” advice…
World Wide Woman’s Web
The profile of the online shopper is changing says Chuck Davis, chief executive of BizRate.com. “We’re seeing a shift to women and 62 percent of purchases are now by women.”…
McDonald’s Hires Worldwide Nutrition Director
Yesterday, the company named Cathy Kapica, Ph.D., R.D. as its director, worldwide nutrition, reports Reuters. What is your reaction to McDonald’s appointing a director of worldwide nutrition?
