Archive for month: June, 2013

 

“Home Depot No. 5 on J.D. Power Home Improvement Retailer Satisfaction rankings” by Jacques Couret at Atlanta Business Journal.  “The Home Depot Inc. ranked fifth place on the J.D. Power 2013 Home Improvement Retailer Satisfaction Study.  The Atlanta-based home improvement giant scored 747 (out of 1,000) in the study, which was below the industry average of 758.  Ace Hardware topped the list, followed by Menard’s, Lowe’s and True Value.”  Read more:  https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2013/06/05/home-depot-no-5-on-jd-power-home.html

 

“Costco Same-Store Sales +5% in May ” (Co. Press Release).  “For the thirty-nine weeks ended June 2, 2013, the Company reported net sales of $77.13 billion, an increase of eight percent from $71.28 billion during the similar period last year.”  Read more:  https://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=83830&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1827540&highlight=

 

“Costco May same-store sales miss expectations” at Reuters.  “Analysts on average were expecting sales to rise 5.5 percent, including the effects of fuel, according to Thomson Reuters Data.  Net sales at the Issaquah, Washington-based retailer rose 7 percent to $8.13 billion for the four-week period ended June 2.”  Read more:  https://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/06/costco-results-idUSL3N0EI0Z820130606

 

“Duck Dynasty Sings Praises of Association with Walmart” by Kim Souza at The City Wire.  “Willie Robertson said the family’s duck calls got into 40 stores originally from going door-to-door. He said the hit television show, was launched from a series of DVDs first made for distribution at Wal-Mart.  “Back then I told them not to film my uncle Si, and boy was that a mistake. Everywhere I go today, people ask me where is Si and if he is really that way. He is quite the cat for sure,” Robertson said…Korie Robertson said the Robertson men used to shave their beards before calling on Wal-Mart at the home office in Bentonville.  “Nobody could recognize them without the facial hair so Willie said the beards are who we are and they haven’t shaved since,” she said.”  Read more:  https://www.thecitywire.com/node/28162#.UbBc90DVDpU

 

“Brand Z Releases 100 Most Valuable Global Brands”

*  #14 – Amazon

*  #18 – Walmart

*  #41 – Home Depot

See the rankings:  https://www.millwardbrown.com/brandz/2013/Top100/Docs/2013_BrandZ_Top100_Chart.pdf

 

“Suppliers benefit from Wal-Mart sourcing goals” by Kim Souza at The City Wire.  “Michelle Gloeckler, senior vice president of Walmart home, told the media Wednesday afternoon that the retailer is making “great strides” since the (Buy U.S.) initiative was announced earlier this year. She said two-thirds of the products in Walmart U.S. stores are already sourced from the U.S.”  Read more:  https://www.thecitywire.com/node/28164#.UbBV4UDVDpU

 

“Walgreens May Sales Increase 4.3 Percent”  “Total front-end sales increased 3.4 percent compared with the same month in fiscal 2012, while comparable store front-end sales increased 1.2 percent. Customer traffic in comparable stores decreased 3.5 percent while basket size increased 4.7 percent.”  Read more:  https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20130605005277&div=-1245645151

 

“Brands and Retailers Holding Back On Green Message”  “Notably, markedly few executives (less than one in six) felt sustainability was being driven by consumer demand. Communication (or lack thereof) continues to be at the core of this issue.  According to the Market LOHAS Research and Insight Team, “What this means is that shoppers remain unaware of the growing range of sustainable options across category and channel. They may not be able to put their money where their hearts are as much as they’d like.” Read more:  https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/brands-and-retailers-holding-back-on-green-message-210275831.html

 

“Consumer Study Says Many Dads Lean in at Home to Share Roles as Caregiver and Shopper”  “Many American fathers are embracing their dual roles at home as nurturer and household manager, with roughly 2 in 5 (43 percent) saying they share equally in acting as a caregiver to their children and nearly half (45 percent) reporting sole responsibility for managing home expenses, according to the Gibbs & Soell Domestic Dads™ Study.”  Read more:  https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20130605006182&div=-1245645151

 

“Consumers Shop Convenience Stores As Regularly As Supermarkets”  “When asked how often consumers shop in a convenience store, 59% of the respondents reported more than once a week, with that number increasing to over 70% among 18-44 year olds. Surprisingly 25% of the consumers surveyed reported that they shop in a convenience store more or as frequently as they shop at the supermarket or grocery store.”  Read more:  https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/consumers-shop-convenience-stores-as-regularly-as-supermarkets-210221691.html

 

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“Walmart offers fresh produce guarantee to shoppers”  “Walmart is able to cut the time it takes to get produce into stores by buying directly from growers and relying on its own distribution centers and trucking systems. It has produce experts working with farmers in key growing regions and aims to double its sales of locally grown produce by December 2015.”  Read more:  https://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/03/us-walmart-grocery-produce-idUSBRE9520OM20130603

 

“Costco’s Growth Engine Keeps Purring Fueled By New Memberships” at Forbes.  “While the retailer added 2.3 million members in 2009, more than 4 million customers signed up in 2011. Over 1.6 million new members joined Costco during the first two quarters of fiscal 2013. Furthermore, it saw a rise of 19% in new membership signups in fiscal Q3, as compared to the previous year.”  Read more:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2013/06/03/costcos-growth-engine-keeps-purring-fueled-by-new-memberships/

 

“Dollar General Same-Store Sales +2.6% in Q1” at Reuters.  “Dollar General said it expected same-store sales to increase by 4-5 percent through the year as key initiatives, including the rollout of tobacco products, gain traction.  Same-store sales rose 2.6 percent in the first quarter ended May 3, reflecting growth in the consumables category, which more than offset weak sales of weather-sensitive products.”  Read more:  https://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/04/us-dollargeneral-results-idUSBRE9530EX20130604

 

“Scotts CEO Reprimanded for Language” by Serena Ng at WSJ.  “In a statement Monday evening, the 57-year old chief executive said he has “a tendency to use colorful language,” and apologized for what he said were “inappropriate” comments. He said he has made “a personal commitment to prevent a future recurrence.”…He also has interests in unusual areas. Two years ago he told The Wall Street Journal that he was exploring growth areas including medical marijuana and “the pot market” that might present opportunities for Scotts.”  Read more:  https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324423904578523852025605618.html?mod=pls_whats_news_us_business_f

 

“Walmart to Celebrate its 2.2 million Associates From Around the World at its Annual Shareholders Meeting”  “Associates began arriving in Northwest Arkansas this past weekend and will participate in festivities all week long. Among the many activities, associates can see performances from iconic music legend Elton John and rising country star Luke Bryan . They will also be able to tour the Home Office campus and attend a minor league baseball game at Arvest Ballpark.”  Read more:  https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/walmart-to-celebrate-its-22-million-associates-from-around-the-world-at-its-annual-shareholders-meeting-209904091.html

 

“How the Women Running Ruffles Unscrambled the ‘Bro Code'” by E.J. Schultz at Ad Age.  “If men are from Mars and women from Venus, then Christina Menendez, Pam Forbus and Christine Kalvenes have just completed a galactic journey in potato-chip marketing…The three-year effort culminated a few weeks ago with a guy named “Ruff McThickridge,” a Ron-Burgundy-meets-Burt Reynolds-meets-Clint Eastwood character starring in a campaign that parodies 1970s action movies.”  Read more:  https://adage.com/article/news/women-running-ruffles-unscrambled-bro-code/241821/

 

“Sears joins retail’s real estate push” by Marina Strauss at Globe & Mail.  “Sears Canada Inc. plans to build a $1-billion office and condominium tower complex on 3.6 hectares of property it owns in Burnaby, B.C., part of a wider strategy among merchants to try to cash in on healthy real estate values in an increasingly competitive retail market. It joins a growing group of retailers rushing to unlock the value of their properties during a time when real estate values remain strong.”  Read more:  https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/sears-joins-retails-real-estate-push/article12325885/

 

“Obama Plans to Take Action Against Patent-Holding Firms” by Favole and Kendall at WSJ.  “The White House on Tuesday plans to announce a set of executive actions President Barack Obama will take that are aimed at reining in certain patent-holding firms, known as “patent trolls” to their detractors, amid concerns that the firms are abusing the patent system and disrupting competition.”  Read more:  https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324563004578524182593163220.html?mod=pls_whats_news_us_business_f

 

“How To Improve Any Service By Simplifying It” by Irene Etzkorn at Fast Company.  “Breaking new ground via simplicity isn’t so simple, of course. Part of what makes it hard is that within almost any industry or product category, complexity builds over time–and gradually comes to be accepted as an unavoidable part of doing business in that sector. It takes a maverick to come along and say, “Maybe things really don’t have to be so complicated.”  Read more:  https://www.fastcodesign.com/1672583/how-to-improve-any-service-by-simplifying-it?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+fastcompany%2Fheadlines+%28Fast+Company%29

 

“Survey Shows People Would Love To Install Drywall Themselves But Fear They Wouldn’t Know How Or What To Buy”  “The survey found that more than half of homeowners would consider installing drywall themselves, and those a little less confident were concerned they wouldn’t know how to install drywall. They also thought it would be too difficult to install or they wouldn’t know what kind of drywall to buy.  Now a new website, AskForPURPLE.com, offers tips and tools, shopping lists, videos, room-by-room inspiration, where to buy PURPLE® high-performance drywall products and much more.”  Read more:  https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/survey-shows-people-would-love-to-install-drywall-themselves-but-fear-they-wouldnt-know-how-or-what-to-buy-209941351.html

 

Thanks for reading…

 

Follow on Twitter @retaileyeretail