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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
GMA Goes Beyond Grocery
The Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA) has announced changes the association says will better enable it and its members to address cross-channel challenges and opportunities. GMA has named staff to…
Influential 10 Percent Prefer Surfing
The 10 percent of people who influence the behavior of the other ninety-percent prefer to get their information on the Web, according to a RoperASW and WashingtonPost/Newsweek Interactive study. How…
Who Will Pass Back-to-School Test?
A new study from The National Retail Federation says families with school-age kids will spend an average of $9.16 more this year on school supplies, clothing and other back-to-school items…
Are Dollar Sections Producing Big Bucks?
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then retailers such as Dollar General, Family Dollar and others must feel highly flattered as retailers from A&P to Wal-Mart test dollar…
No Pudge! Goes Nationwide
In an era of consolidation and mega-brand corporations, it isn’t often a small food manufacturer to make it big in supermarkets. No Pudge! Foods appears as though it will become…
Diversity Benefits Questioned
A slow growth economy and new research has helped renew the debate on whether there are any tangible benefits to promoting diversity in the workplace, reports USA Today. A recent…
Slotting Fees Retard Differentiation
Differentiation in grocery retailing is being hampered by the supermarket industry’s reliance on slotting allowances, according to KPMG’s Consumer Markets Insider. Industry insiders and analysts don’t see grocers giving up…
Oil Companies Leaving Retail Behind
Shell, ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil and others have been turning over company-owned properties to multi-store operators (MSOs) in the face of “an increasingly-tough uphill battle trying to compete with heavily-subsidized…
Store Vs. National Brands
Retailers are emphasizing their own store brands as branded manufacturers such as Kraft Foods are saying it’s hurting their business. Last week, Kraft attributed weaker than expected financial results for…
Independent Chain Thinks Smaller
Heinen’s Fine Foods is looking to open and test a store format smaller than its traditional stores, according to a report on the Gourmet News Web site. The 15-store chain…
Downtown Prices Move Uptown
Bargains are in these days in the best of circles. Discount retailers such as Stein Mart, covered in a Washington Post report, are finding new homes and greater success in…
Nader Calls Study Meaningless
Ralph Nader called the results of a new study on corporate ethics conducted for the US Chamber of Commerce, “meaningless”. The study asked executives at 515 companies if they believed…
Industry’s Cost for Unsaleables Rises
The cost of unsaleables rose from $2.5 billion to $2.6 billion last year, according to the newly released 2003 Unsaleables Benchmark Report. Manufacturer costs for unsaleables in the drug channel…
Coupons Are Not McDonald’s Own
McDonald’s Premium Salads have been well received by consumers but the fast food chain has experienced an unexpected and unwelcome boost in demand because of fake coupons being distributed over…
Wal-Mart Sues Kmart
Wal-Mart says Kmart has infringed on a patent it was granted for its checkout bag carousel so it is taking its smaller rival to court in Delaware. Wal-Mart has its…
Unhappy Consumers Still Shop Chain Stores
A report from the nonprofit Boston Consumers’ Checkbook says consumers are unhappy with large chain retail stores, even as they continue to shop in them anyway. Stop & Shop’s and…
Small Stores and Big Rewards
In the UK, grocery chains such as Sainsbury are making the move to smaller and, some might say, more personal stores as the availability of suitable construction space shrinks. Sainsbury’s…
Shoes and Salads
Payless ShoeSource is getting into the grocery business, sort of. The footwear chain has opened a 700-square-foot Express Store in an HEB in Laredo, Texas. Payless will own and…
The ‘New’ Consumer
In a presentation at IIR’s Consumer Insights in Action conference on Monday, J. Walker Smith, president of research/consulting company Yankelovich asserted that many business models are built around consumers that…
GM Crops Not Wanted
The chief executives of the UK chains, Tesco, Sainsbury, Safeway and Asda plan to tell ministers that their customers do not want products made from genetically modified (GM) foods and…
Melon Farmers Want Slice of Chain Business
A report on the WLOX News Web site says watermelon farmers in Mississippi are upset about their inability to get large chain stores to purchase from them. Farmer Clarence Lee…
