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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Blackout Thursday
A major power failure left consumers and businesses from New York to the Midwest in the black yesterday with many still wondering when the lights will come back on. Wal-Mart…
Grocer Tries to Stop Fights at Checkouts
Safeway in Australia is doing away with its eight items or less express lanes in an attempt to reduce arguments between customers at the checkout. The arguments, which can be…
Some May Pay More Online
An Associated Press report suggests that access to personal information may help retailers get top dollar on sales to some consumers while others pay lower prices for the same items…
Kings Not For Sale Again
Reuters reports Marks & Spencer has decided to take Kings Super Markets off the market citing current market conditions, which made it impossible for potential buyers to raise sufficient cash…
Wal-Mart Hires Image Consultant
Wal-Mart hired the consultancy of Fleishman-Hillard to research how stakeholder groups, including consumers, employees, community leaders and vendors, view the relationships each has with the retailer, reports The New York…
Drugstore.com Going Au Naturale
Drugstore.com has launched a new online store featuring natural HBC products produced by environmentally friendly companies. The natural store features the slogan “Good for You. Good for the Earth.” The…
Companies That Lose Weight Together, Stay Together
VSM Abrasives, a maker of industrial sandpaper, needed to find a way to reduce health insurance costs for its employees and so it did. The company created its “Get Healthy…
Drivers Should Be Liable For Being Drunk
The Quad City Times reports restaurant and bar owners are unhappy about a rate hike in their dram-shop insurance. The coverage offers protection for establishments sued for selling alcohol to…
Amazon Targets Future Growth With Agreement
Amazon.com and Target have extended their agreement for Amazon to provide order fulfillment and customer service for Target’s online businesses including Target.com, MarshallFields.com and Mervyns.com until August 2008. How important…
Eckerd CEO: “Shame on me and shame on us.”
Wayne Harris, Eckerd’s chairman and chief executive officer, is looking for answers after the drug store subsidiary of J.C. Penney announced weaker than expected operating results last quarter. Eckerd’s operating…
Meijer Pays Union Its Dues and Likes It
The Associated Press reported yesterday that Meijer and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union have reached a tentative agreement on a labor contract for 36,000 Michigan employees of the…
The Same Approach to Being Different
In a recent editorial, Warren Thayer describes a trip to Chicago during which he searched for a grocery operator who was trying to find points of differentiation that didn’t begin…
What’s Up With Milk Prices in Seattle?
If the government-set price for milk in the state of Washington is one of the lowest in the country, then why are consumers in Seattle and Tacoma paying more for…
Home Depot Trades Spaces With Lowe’s
Home Depot has signed an agreement with Discovery Networks, the television home of “Trading Spaces”, making the DIY retailer the sole home improvement category sponsor for the popular show. The…
Consumers Beware Retailers Bearing Discounts and Rebates
An article in The Washington Post warns consumers to be wary of sales promotion deals offered by or through retailers. It turns out, according to the piece, retailers understand consumers…
Supervalu To Buy Piece of Fleming from C&S
Reuters reports Supervalu has reached an agreement to purchase assets of Fleming from C&S Wholesalers, pending that company receiving approval from a bankruptcy court to buy Fleming’s wholesale grocery business…
Retail Sales Heat Up
The record heat wave that has hit the UK has an upside for retailers. Wal-Mart’s Asda division saw sales climb 365 percent for barbecues, 250 percent for suntan/sun block and…
Taco Bell Agrees to Pay Overtime
The Associated Press reports Taco Bell has agreed to a settlement with former employees who brought a class action lawsuit against the restaurant chain claiming violations in overtime and meal-break…
Check It Out, Retail Sales Looking Good
The numbers are in and there’s much rejoicing in retailing and analyst circles as sales are growing well above expectations for the industry as a whole.
Office Depot Enters New Millennium
The Atlanta Business Chronicle has reported Office Depot is testing a new store concept that is a departure from its traditional warehouse design and layout. It features lower shelves with…
Fat Kids Are Our Fault
Chris Plummer believes future generations may very well resemble Jaba the Hutt from Star Wars if something isn’t done quickly about the obesity problem affecting the country today.
