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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Insider Trading at Safeway Raises Eyebrows
The word coming from the nation’s capital and executive offices across the country is the economy is on the rebound, even if the unemployment rate remains high. with so many…
Editorial: Council Should Limit Single-Serve Beer Sales
An editorial running in the Pantagraph says the Bloomington (IL) City Council is right to consider whether limits need to be placed on the sale of single-serve alcoholic beverages, primarily…
Sales Look Promising, Not Jobs
Don’t look for retail hiring to go up significantly this holiday season, even if the industry achieves the nearly six percent year over year growth it is expecting, says the…
Who Is In First, Walgreens or CVS?
The Monday Matchup feature on the Forbes’ Web site this week looked at how drug store chain competitors, Walgreen and CVS, stacked up against each other. Which is the stronger…
BJ’s Life-Size Strategy
BJ’s Wholesale Club is trying out a new tactic for fighting off competition from Costco, Sam’s Clubs and all the other retailers it competes with for consumer dollars. “The big…
Amazon’s CEO Focused on Customer
Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com’s chief executive is focused on the customer. In a recent interview, he told BusinessWeek, “The vast majority of my time goes into customer-experience issues, because that’s what…
Target to Become SuperTarget
The first SuperTarget in Southwest Florida will open next year in Fort Myers after the retailer expands an existing Target Greatland store. What is your assessment of the SuperTarget format…
The Bottom Line: DVD Rentals Good for Profits
The Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) 2003 Benchmarking Report says DVD rentals helped independent video rental stores to increase average net profits by five percent last year. Have DVDs enabled…
Best Buy Goes Dual Branding Route
Best Buy Co. is the largest consumer electronics retailer in Canada. It just happens that most of its sales are coming from its Future Shop business. A couple of years…
C-Store Goes Into Supermarket Business
Just-Food.com reported yesterday that Mace, an Irish convenience store chain with more than 450 stores, plans to open 30 supermarkets by 2004. Do you see US convenience store operators opening/acquiring…
Sales and Profits Up for Grocery Manufacturers
A new study from the Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA) conducted by Swander Pace & Company reports the consumer packaged goods industry was able to generate sales and a return…
Wal-Mart Controls Health Care Costs
As a piece in today’s Wall Street Journal points out, Wal-Mart “is famous for cutting costs everywhere it can. Today a giant target for the world’s biggest retailer is the…
Hardee’s Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Salad
While larger competitors such as McDonald’s and Burger King are looking to reposition themselves as healthier eating destinations, Hardee’s has chosen to go in the “Thickburger” direction. “People in the…
More Consumers Impoverished, Again
A report from the Census Bureau says the poverty rate in America grew .4% last year over 2001. It marked the second consecutive year the number of Americans living in…
Morrison’s Gets OK for Safeway Bid
England’s Competition Commission has given the family-owned William Morrison grocery chain approval to proceed with its bid to buy the Safeway supermarket chain, reports BBC News. What will the Competition…
The Day The Muzak Died
According to The Business Journal of Kansas City, “Sept. 19 was the day the Muzak died.” At 7:56 EST on that day, the Telstar 4 satellite short-circuited and businesses throughout…
Apple of VM+SD’s Eye
Apple Computer was named the winner of the third annual Visual Merchandising and Store Design/Peter Glen award as Retailer of the Year for 2003. What stores (any channel) do you…
Buzzwords du Jour: Prosumers, Metrosexuals, Globesity
Shifts are taking place in society and in consumer behavior and keeping pace with these changes is essential to retail performance. A DM News report identified four areas worthy of…
NJ Food Council Receives Training Grant
The New Jersey Department of Labor has awarded a grant of $250,000 to the New Jersey Food Council (NJFC) to continue its program of training workshops for food handlers employed…
AMA Awards Best Marketing Book Prize
The American Marketing Association (AMA) has named Will & Vision: How Latecomers Grow to Dominate Markets, by Gerard J. Tellis and Peter N. Golder, the winner of the 2003 Berry-AMA…
Food Lion’s $60 Million Makeover
Food Lion is going more upscale, with remodels of its stores in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina almost complete, reports the News & Observer. The Delhaize America division has…
