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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Infant Walkers Delay Walking
A newly published study supports evidence that baby walkers can slow infants’ motor skill development, delaying such milestones as crawling, standing alone and walking. Should retailers voluntarily remove babywalkers from…
What Did Martha Know?
A Merrill Lynch & Co. sales assistant who handled a controversial trade of ImClone Systems Inc. stock for Martha Stewart provided new information late last week that contradicts the reason…
Prilosec Steps Closer to OTC Heartburn Relief
An U.S. Food and Drug Administration expert panel voted 16-2 in favor of recommending that the FDA approve over-the-counter sales of the heartburn drug Prilosec. What other significant Rx to…
Grand Jury Implicates Former Rite Aid Execs
A federal grand jury in Pennsylvania and the Securities and Exchange Commission charged three former Rite Aid Corp. executives with masterminding an illegal accounting scheme that triggered the largest corporate…
Ross Stores Pursues National Expansion
Last year, Ross Stores Inc. opened 13 stores in Georgia and the Carolinas, and earlier this month, a 1.3-million-square-foot distribution center in Fort Mill, S.C. The discount retailer expects to…
E-coupons Trade Data for Savings
E-coupons offer the retailer the benefit of knowing something about the customer who redeems them. The ability to match redemption with CoolSavings’ demographic customer base is valuable to retailers developing…
Male Marketing from Mars
In a recent editorial on Just-Food.com, Managing Editor Catherine Sleep takes issue with Nestlé Rowntree’s sexist marketing tactics. Nestlé’s Yorkie bar campaign insists its “not for girls” in a bid…
Pepsi Bottling Group Drops 7 UP for Sierra Mist
The Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc. will discontinue distribution of 7 UP, effective December 31, as it begins to manufacture, sell and distribute Sierra Mist in all of its U.S. marketing…
Pharmacies Take Part in Diabetes Initiatives
Retail pharmacies and pharmacists across the country continue to make major strides in helping diabetes patients. Are retailers doing enough to address the near epidemic rise of diabetes in the…
Software Facilitates Online Orders for Photos
Consumers using Kodak’s EasyShare software will be able to place the orders online, and then they can either pick up the prints at the stores or have them shipped to…
Kings Finds Buyer, Eagle Food Won’t
Gristede’s Foods says it will buy Kings Super Markets, the only North American company left in Marks & Spencer’s portfolio, for $155 million. In other news, a proposal to sell…
Heinz Introduces Its Organic Ketchup to U.S.
H.J. Heinz Co. is unveiling organic ketchup, which it is selling in Europe and Canada, to the U.S. market. Will Heinz Organic Ketchup find a mass consumer audience or will…
Home Depot Declines Fed’s Paperwork
Home Depot says a policy against sales to the federal government was meant to cut down on paperwork, not skirt U.S. anti-discrimination rules. Is doing business with the federal government…
Pfizer May Sell Candy and Razors Tomorrow
Pfizer Inc. will be free later this week to shave off more than an estimated five billion dollars worth of razors, gum and mints after two years of waiting. What…
Kmart Grabs Online Spotlight from BlueLight
Kmart reintroduced BlueLight.com with the Kmart brand name and URL on Tuesday. What do you think of Kmart’s latest action concerning BlueLight.com?
Urbanites Migrate to Exurbs and New Sunbelt
Census 2000 reveals that a second wave of one of the most significant demographic trends of the latter half of the 20th century, white migration, is occurring today to the…
Dominick’s Gets Safewayed
Safeway Inc. is cutting dozens of jobs at Dominick’s Finer Foods’ headquarters, which it acquired nearly four years ago. It aims to consolidate buying, marketing and other functions at its…
Snapple Bags Deli Business
As part of one of its quirky marketing efforts, Snapple has teamed with eight Long Island and Queens, N.Y., delis to package sandwiches in paper bags bearing pictures of Snapple…
FDA to Regulate Tobacco if Bill Passes
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration would be given the authority to regulate tobacco products under legislation introduced by Democratic Senators Kennedy, DeWine and Durbin. Should the FDA be responsible…
Shaws’ Cuts HR Costs Online
In just two weeks last fall, 20,000 employees of Shaws’ Supermarkets enrolled for health and dental insurance and flexible spending accounts over the Internet saving the chain $150,000 in administrative…
Exchanges: Will They Survive or Die?
Of the nearly 200 transactional e-marketplaces in the summer of 2000, which were forecast to double by 2004 fewer than 100 remain today. Many of the survivors have changed their…
