Archive for month: April, 2013

 

“Target learns a second language as it expands to Quebec” by Thomas Lee at Star-Tribune.  “This month, Target Corp. will officially open its stores in Canada, its first reach beyond the United States. But if the Minneapolis-based retailer wants to truly master the art of operating in a foreign country, the province of Quebec offers the best chance to do so. Unlike the rest of Canada, French trumps English in Quebec, a reflection of the province’s deep attachment to its Quebecois culture and history.”  Read more:  https://www.startribune.com/business/201720981.html

 

“Investing in Africa – The hottest frontier” by Harare and Johannesberg at The Economist.  “When you are trying to keep a retail outfit afloat amid hyperinflation, it helps to have a sideline. “We had a business selling crocodile skins to Hermès and Gucci for shoes and handbags,” says John Koumides, chief executive of Innscor, a conglomerate based in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare. The currency earned from this exotic export was a lifeline for the firm’s other arms”  Read more:  https://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21575769-strategies-putting-money-work-fast-growing-continent-hottest?fsrc=scn/tw_ec/the_hottest_frontier

 

“Costco: Things Are Looking Up” at Seeking Alpha.  “Two of Costco’s main competitors are BJ’s Wholesale and Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Club. But still, despite this competition, Costco remains dominant. Costco’s net sales are at about $97 billion, while Sam’s Club’s are at $56.4 billion. The privately-owned BJ’s has revenues that are only about one-tenth of Costco’s.”  Read more:  https://seekingalpha.com/article/1323771-costco-things-are-looking-up?source=email_rt_article_title

 

“Is Google Fiber coming to Austin?” by Marguerite Reardon at CNET.  “Google and Austin, Texas, have invited press and business leaders to a joint event in the city, which has some people speculating whether Austin might be the next place to get Google Fiber.  The event, which is to be held this Tuesday at 11 a.m., doesn’t specify what will be announced. It simply says that “the City of Austin and Google will make a very important announcement that will have a positive impact on Austinites and the future of the city.”  Read more:  https://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57578226-93/is-google-fiber-coming-to-austin/

 

“Target releases flyer for Friday’s grand openings (in Canada)” by Carys Mills at Toronto Star.  “With Target’s grand opening of two dozen Ontario stores Friday, comes its first Canadian flyer.  The stores have been open since March but Target will make it official Friday, focusing on its flyer, Target Canada president Tony Fisher said last month.”  Read more:  https://www.thestar.com/business/2013/04/04/target_releases_flyer_for_fridays_grand_openings.html

 

Target’s first Canadian flyer:

https://f3.flyertown.ca/flyers/33387/5eb8c46fe765a501.pdf

 

“Sport Chalet joins Wal-Mart, Amazon in same-day-delivery parade” by Tiffany Hsu at LA Times.  “The La Cañada Flintridge-based company also does brisk business renting sports equipment to customers. And for those reluctant to haul the goods back to a Sport Chalet store themselves, the company said it will “drive to their home or office and retrieve the gear for them.”  Read more:  https://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-sport-chalet-same-day-delivery-20130404,0,1552114.story?source=email_rt_mc_body

 

“Macy’s, J.C. Penney Set to Resume Trial Over Martha Stewart” at Reuters via CNBC.  “Justice Jeffrey Oing last month ordered Macy’s, J.C. Penney and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc into mediation in the hopes of resolving the dispute while the non-jury trial was in recess because of scheduling conflicts.  But, as of Friday, no deal had been struck and witnesses were scheduled to testify on Monday and Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the case.”  Read more:  https://www.cnbc.com/id/100622926

 

“Retail chain sees value in Google Plus” by Adam Bender at Computerworld.  “Retail chain Dick Smith will use Google Hangouts to share best practices among its stores and bring employees closer together, according to the retailer’s IT director, Linda Venables.  The retailer plans to phase in Hangouts and other Google Apps starting with select staff next week, and will migrate the rest over the following several weeks, Venables said. The platform replaces a Microsoft environment.”  Read more:  https://www.computerworld.com.au/article/458183/retail_chain_sees_value_google_plus/

 

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“The Home Depot’s Spring Black Friday” at El Editor.  “The Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement retailer, today announced it will implement its fourth annual Spring Black Friday event, a weekend of regional savings on hundreds of items to improve the home in preparation for spring starting April 4, 2013.”  Read more:  https://www.eleditor.com/noticiashispanicprwire/23987/spring-black-friday-marks-the-start-of-home-improvements-busiest-shopping-season

 

“What a Discount Retailer Could Teach Apple” by Suzanne McGee at Fiscal Times.  “Dollar General is well aware of what kind of company it is, its target audience and how to serve them better: its version of innovation, for instance, is to add tobacco products to the list of goods available in its stores. Apple, however, is a business whose model is caught in between the wariness of non-devotees – why should we pay up just for the brand name and the design, these folks argue? – and a lack of new products to appeal to its fans.”  Read more:  https://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2013/04/04/What-a-Discount-Retailer-Could-Teach-Apple.aspx#0ouRDijbZtgwLg8s.99

 

“Apple, Walmart Fight Back After Chinese Media Attack” by Doug Young at Forbes.  “Chinese media have feasted on the fact that the world’s biggest retailer has closed a number of stores recently in the cities of Shanghai, Shenzhen and Zhengzhou…Walmart is finally fighting back with a rare series of media interviews aimed to show how the company is still expanding in China. The articles themselves are rather dull, pointing out that Walmart plans to open 30 new stores this year and spend 500 million yuan to upgrade 50 existing ones.”  Read more:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/dougyoung/2013/04/03/apple-walmart-fight-back-after-chinese-media-attack/

 

“Target Takes Bigger Steps Into Home Furnishings” at Fox Business.  “Target could use a boost in home-product sales. Home furnishings and decor made up 18% of Target’s annual sales in 2012, the same as the prior year and down from 19% in 2010. As part of the rollout, Target plans to advertise heavily in print, television and social media, although a spokeswoman declined to say how much the retailer is spending.  “Home decor is the new fashion,” independent analyst Marie Driscoll said. “The consumer is tired of buying another pair of jeans and turning to housewares for fashion and newness.”  Read more:  https://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2013/04/03/target-takes-bigger-steps-into-home-furnishings/

 

“Walmart Allegedly Keeps Changing ‘Best By’ Date On Its Donuts” by Carey Polis at Huff Po.  “When you look at “best by” dates on grocery items, you want to trust them — but if different dates are on stickers slapped atop one another, it makes it rather difficult.  Redditor Planet_Rock discovered some apparently not-so-fresh donuts at Walmart. He said he ate them anyway, despite the staleness.”  Read more:  https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/02/walmart-donuts-best-by-date_n_3001563.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

 

“Walgreen Clinics Add Care of Chronic Illnesses to Boost Sales” at Bloomberg.   “More than 330 of Walgreen’s roughly 370 Take Care Clinics in stores are now offering chronic-care services as well as advising consumers on whether to seek preventive care such as laboratory tests, the Deerfield, Illinois-based company said today in a statement.”  Read more:  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-04/walgreen-clinics-add-care-of-chronic-illnesses-to-boost-sales.html

 

“Google Glass Testing Goes To High School” by Ellis Booker at Information Week.  “”I found out Saturday morning. They sent an email and a tweet,” Wettrick told InformationWeek Education in a phone interview. Although happy about being selected, Wettrick said he wasn’t all that surprised, because his class was, he said, a “perfect match.”  “I hate to sound arrogant, but a lot of applicants wanted to film a wedding or a basketball game,” he said. “We represent Google’s spirit.”  Read more:  https://www.informationweek.com/development/mobility/google-glass-testing-goes-to-high-school/240152117

 

“Family Dollar Stores to Host Second Quarter 2013 Earnings Conference Call”  WHEN: Wednesday, April 10, 2013 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time.  Read more:  https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20130403006402&div=-1245645151

 

“SUPERVALU Announces Changes to Executive Leadership Team”  “Sherry Smith, executive vice president and chief financial officer, will leave the company at the end of May. Smith has served as the company’s CFO since her appointment in December 2010. She has spent 26 years with SUPERVALU and previously served as senior vice president, finance. The company plans to announce a new CFO at a later date.”  Read more:  https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20130403005733&div=-1245645151

 

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“Target Sets Sights on Thrifty Canadians” by Mark Hamstra at Supermarket News.  “In Canada, thrift is not a virtue that businesses may or may not choose to embrace — it is often ingrained as a core value.  To be fair, Canada’s economy was weaker then than it is now, imposing a tight-fisted mentality upon both consumers and merchants. But I have since learned that value and thrift are still generally more important and pervasive qualities in Canada than they are in the U.S…Those will both be formidable obstacles for Minneapolis-based Target Corp. to overcome as it seeks to export its “cheap chic” ethos to the land of the loonie.”  Read more: https://supermarketnews.com/blog/target-sets-sights-thrifty-canadians#ixzz2PJ3VSB6f

 

“Walmart Rings up the Savings with the Return of its Great Gas Rollback”  “Beginning April 1, Walmart is easing pain at the pump with the return of its Great Gas Rollback program, helping customers save on their fuel purchases. Walmart customers using a Walmart gift card will receive a 10 cent per gallon discount; customers who use a Walmart MoneyCard® or Walmart Credit Card will save 15 cents per gallon on their fuel purchase.  Gas will be discounted at more than 1,000 Murphy USA and Walmart gas stations located at Walmart stores in 21 participating states.”  Read more:  https://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=6573516&access=EH

 

“Work needed to educate online shoppers on the benefits of gTLDs: study” at Internet Retailing.  “Generic Top-Level Domains (GTLDs) will start to be launched this year by companies such as Amazon, Nike and Google. But research from Afilias, which provides domain registry services around the world, has found that few consumers are aware of the change – and many would rather use traditional web addresses than the new formats. Thus, 73% of UK adults would rather visit a heritage address such as www.adidas.com/shop, rather than www.shop.adidas. In the US the figure is 61%.”   Read more:  https://etail.sharedby.co/share/MjPVXA

 

“Several major retailers grow online sales faster than Amazon in Q4” at Internet Retailer.  “The Top 500 retailers that did the best job of growing their year-end sales generally were those that got their discount message—and strategy—out early and often, says Howard Davidowitz, chairman of retail consulting firm Davidowitz & Associates. For example, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (No. 4) announced in September it was giving its Facebook fans early access to layaway and in early October Sears Holdings Corp. (No.8), which operates Sears.com and Kmart.com, added a layaway delivery option.”  Read more:  https://www.internetretailer.com/2013/04/01/several-major-retailers-grow-online-sales-faster-amazon

 

“Publix breaks ground for first N.C. supermarket” at South Charlotte Weekly.  “Todd Jones, the president of Publix, said company leaders chose Charlotte for their first location in the state because of the vibrant community and room to grow. There also will be another North Carolina location in the Dilworth area, but any future locations have not been selected as of now.”  Read more:  https://www.thecharlotteweekly.com/news/2013/04/publix-breaks-ground-for-first-n-c-supermarket/

 

“A Snapshot Of Wal-Mart’s International Business And How It Can Boost Growth” at Seeking Alpha.  “As opposed to controlled expansion in Brazil, Mexico and China, Wal-Mart is aggressively expanding in Canada. For fiscal 2013, Wal-Mart had planned 73 store projects, which was largest annual expansion in Wal-Mart Canada’s history. In the current fiscal year, it plans to open about 37 more supercenters.”  Read more:  https://seekingalpha.com/article/1312511-a-snapshot-of-wal-mart-s-international-business-and-how-it-can-boost-growth?source=email_rt_article_title

 

“How Sears Got Into the Data-Services Game” by Kate Kaye at Ad Age.  “So, why would a nearly 130-year-old company venture into an emerging data-services sector? It was a natural progression. Sears was “leading edge in terms of the use of these big-data tools,” said Mr. Shelley, who increasingly found himself sharing knowledge with other large companies seeking advice about how to modernize their data systems.  “They asked how they could use some of the same techniques. I used to do that on a voluntary basis on a phone call,” he said. “We said, “This looks like a commercial opportunity here.'”  Read more:  https://adage.com/article/dataworks/sears-data-services-game/240635/

 

“Whole Foods to Build Rooftop Greenhouse Above Brooklyn Store” at Progressive Grocer.  “Whole Foods Market and Gotham Greens are building what they say is the nation’s first commercial-scale greenhouse farm integrated within a retail grocery space.  The 20,000-square-foot greenhouse, currently being constructed on the roof of the forthcoming Whole Foods Market store in the Gowanus neignborhood of Brooklyn, is scheduled to open later this fall.”  Read more:  https://www.progressivegrocer.com/top-stories/headlines/fresh-food/id37722/whole-foods-to-build-rooftop-greenhouse-above-brooklyn-store/

 

“Tesco sticks its neck out” by Richard Cottrell at Retail-Focus.  “News that Tesco has acquired the Giraffe restaurant chain in a bid to create ‘retail destinations’ is a bold move in the industry and shows a real willingness to diversify in order to win the battle for customers.  Now, Tesco – and any other retailer looking to broaden its appeal to the high street (or out-of-town) shopper – may well have to incorporate new technologies or use existing devices in different ways.”  Read more:  https://www.retail-focus.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=863:opinion-tesco-sticks-its-neck-out&catid=37:latest-news&Itemid=67

 

“Retail fraud is more than just shoplifting — and now it’s a felony” by Bill Laitner at Detroit Free Press.  “Law enforcement agents are seeing more sophisticated thefts that they are calling organized retail fraud.  Aimed at this sophisticated style of shoplifting, a new state law goes into effect Sunday with stiffer penalties against organized retail crime.”  Read more:  https://www.freep.com/article/20130330/NEWS06/303300100/Retail-fraud-more-than-just-shoplifting-now-s-felony

 

“Facebook Phone Announcement: What to Expect” by Julie Boorstin at CNBC.  “On Thursday, Facebook is hosting a big event to unveil its “new home on Android.”  What does that mean? We expect to see a new Facebook operating system for Google’s Android phone, which the social network will showcase on an HTC handset. Sources said it will effectively give users the option of making Facebook your phone’s home screen of sorts.”  Read more:  https://www.cnbc.com/id/100606927

 

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