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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Grocers Put Brakes on Cart-napping
A shopping cart anti-theft device, which stores have been testing for months, is ready to go statewide. Should stores actively prosecute shopping cart (trolley to some) thieves?
Yahoo Shopping Volume Surges During Sale
Yahoo! Inc.’s special three-day sale offered last week produced a 25 percent increase in gross merchandise sales over normal levels on Yahoo Shopping. What can be learned from the…
Mystery Shopping Draws Blank on Improvements
Gallup research finds that doing spot-checks in a company’s stores by surveyors posing as shoppers doesn’t work. Is Mystery Shopping a valid tool for evaluating a shopper’s experience and customer…
Bush Proposes Tax-Cuts for Small Businesses
President Bush’s newly proposed tax cuts package targets small businesses and would cost more than $117 billion over 10 years. As the cuts may deepen federal budget deficits and undermine…
Family Dollar’s New-Store Sales Increase
Family Dollar Stores Inc.’s new stores are performing better than a year ago, with new-store sales running at about 86 percent of the average existing store, compared to a low-80…
Unattended Allergies, Colds Drip into Sinusitis
The incidence of sinusitis appears to be increasing. According to a survey of consumers and primary care physicians, 42 percent of people surveyed reported having at least one sinus infection…
Consumer Products Hit Birdie with Earnings
U.S. makers of consumer products ranging from bleach to golf balls issued an upbeat earnings guidance, led by Procter & Gamble Co., which said it would return to double-digit earnings…
Nearly Two-Thirds of Americans Cell-Phone Home
The latest study shows a 29 percent growth rate for cell phone ownership over the past two years with almost two-thirds of American adults owning a cell phone. What business…
Fleming Strikes Supply Agreement with Albertson’s
Fleming has reached an agreement with Albertson’s, Inc., to provide procurement and distribution services to Albertson’s stores in two states. What do you make of this agreement? Do you…
Cosmeceuticals Face $5 Billion in Sales
Baby boomers are opening their wallets to an increasingly sophisticated array of anti-aging products, creating a billion-dollar market in so-called “cosmeceuticals.” What do retailers need from manufacturers to take advantage…
Test Kitchens Seek Convenience for People on the Go
Twenty percent of all meals are now consumed in a car and about 47 percent of food expenditures are made on food away from home. We’ve become a fast-food…
Discounters Bask in Glow of Wal-Mart, Target
More than a half-dozen discount- and value-priced chains are faring as well or better than the Wal-Mart/Target juggernauts. Which discount/mass retailer not named Wal-Mart or Target impresses you the most…
IGA Courts Town Shoppers
T.W. Johnston & Sons is content to build IGA stores in small towns. Its latest acquisition pits itself directly against a new Farmer Jack that sits across the street. It…
Customs Seizes Millions of Smuggled Cigarettes
Almost three million smuggled cigarettes destined for both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have been seized in Co Antrim. What can be done about the black market…
New Kmart CEO Discusses Mistakes and Strategy
In an interview with BusinessWeek, Kmart’s new CEO, James B. Adamson discusses what went wrong, and his strategy for rebuilding Kmart. Did James Adamson, put too much blame on Charles…
CVS Withheld Annual Bonuses for 2001, 2002 Looks up
CVS Corp. did not award annual million-dollar bonuses to its top executives as it missed its financial targets for fiscal 2001. Should bonus programs for top management be directly…
Supermarkets Placate Customer Grievances
Several separate complaints about product quality submitted to a major supermarket by Benjamin Bateman of The Guardian elicited only a single response so far. Do retailers actively use customer complaints…
Girls Can Pick up Pill for Free at Supermarkets
Tesco supermarkets in north Somerset, England, is offering morning-after pills for free to teenagers after a detailed interview at their local supermarket. What do you think about Tesco’s program?
Acme Reclaims Market Share
Acme Markets Inc. may have stopped the decline in market share that has plagued the Philadelphia region’s largest grocery-store chain for more than a decade. Should Albertson’s continue with…
Burger King Flame-Broils First Veggie Burger
Burger King Corporation and its franchisees will introduce the first nationally available, fast-food veggie burger on Monday. Is there a mass consumer market for fast-food vegetarian meals?
CVS.com Launches Baby Department
CVS.com launched a new Baby Department with products and information devoted exclusively to mothers and babies last week. Are retailers fully leveraging the business opportunities associated with breastfeeding?
