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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Customer Feedback May Give Supermarkets an Edge
One overlooked way for supermarket chains to compete with superstores and shopping clubs is to provide superior customer service through customer feedback. How would you rate the job supermarkets are…
Kids Going Vegetarian Route
More Americans, particularly young Americans, have started engaging in vegetarianism. What impact will veganism and pseudo-vegetarianism have on retail operations in the years to come?
Higher Rx Sales Drive June Numbers
CVS Corp. and Rite Aid Corp. reported higher monthly sales, helped by strong revenue from pharmaceuticals. How important are non-Rx sales to the performance of drug stores? What do drug…
Top Retailers Losing Market Share in the UK
The UK’s top retailers are no longer gaining collective market-share at the expense of their smaller rivals, according to a newly-published 700-page report. Do you believe that independents and…
President Talks Tough, Carries a Small Stick
Enron’s collapse, WorldCom’s accounting disclosure and other instances of corporate wrongdoing are spurring debate over new laws and government rules. President Bush is calling for harsher penalties for white-collar criminals…
DVD Players Blast Aside VCRs with Sales Explosion
DVD player unit sales jumped 39 percent from January through May from the same period a year ago, according to a study by researcher NPDTechworld. Is videotape going the way…
New Yorkers Have No Reservations on Tax-free Smokes
Manhattanites travel as far as 70 miles east of Times Square to four smoke shops on the five-square-block Poospatuck Reservation, population 220, to buy tax-free cigarettes. Many retailers count…
Study Shows Multi-channel as the Way to Go
Retailers have embraced multi-channel retailing, according to a new survey released yesterday by Gartner Consulting, Stamford, Conn. Nearly 75 percent of respondents either have a multi-channel retailing strategy (MRS) in…
7-Eleven Combines Slurp with Gulp
7-Eleven, Inc., will offer its latest beverage container on the eve of its 75th anniversary at up to 5,800 participating stores in the United States and Canada. Will 7-Eleven’s Slurp…
Target Selects Fleming for National Supply Agreement
Fleming has announced that it has been selected by Target to supply candy, cookies, and convenience frozen and refrigerated foods to all Target stores nationally. Fleming will also supply food…
Limited Casts Favorable Aura
In its test phase, Limited Brands’ new chain of skin-care and cosmetics stores, aura science, has outperformed expectations. How have specialty retail (category killer) stores affected the ways in which…
Tofu, Soya May Reduce Breast Cancer Risk
Tofu and soya milk may reduce the risk of breast cancer, according to the latest research. Will news such as this affect consumption and thereby alter space allotment within…
Study Says Vitamins Are Useless
According to a five-year study on 20,000 people by Oxford University scientists, over-the-counter vitamin supplements C and E, and beta-carotene (which the body converts into vitamin A) do not protect…
Hispanic-Oriented Products the Stand-Out at IDDBA Show
Having returned from last month’s International Dairy, Deli, Bakery trade show it is quite apparent that companies are finally recognizing the opportunity in catering to the Hispanic community. On…
Albertson’s Contemplates Hispanic Store
Albertson’s is considering a store designed to serve the growing Hispanic population, exclusively. Do Spanish-speaking consumers want Hispanic format retail stores?
A&P Restates Earnings
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. has submitted its belated annual 10-K report filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The delay was due to an internal review of…
Stonyfield Successfully Brands Ethics
Experienced as educators running non-profit organizations, Gary Hirshberg and Samuel Kaymen set out with a great recipe for yogurt in 1983, well before the era of organic awareness, to launch…
Accelerade Sponsors Hoop Group
Accelerade, the sports drink brand produced by PacificHealth Laboratories, has become the official sponsor of The Hoop Group, an organization that runs basketball-training camps for nearly 15,000 would-be student athletes…
A Question of Sears’ Brand Handling
Now that Sears has access to Lands’ End branded product, will it be savvy enough to evaluate the brand as one with more value than solely that of a branded…
Adamson Reports Kmart Demise Surprise
Even though he’d been on Kmart Corp.’s board of directors for more than five years, Jim Adamson told the Free Press on Monday that he “was totally surprised” by the…
Americans’ Confidence in Big Business, Organized Religion Falls
Gallup News Service reports that Americans’ confidence in organized religion and big business has fallen significantly during the last year, while confidence in the military and the presidency has increased…
