“DIY chain Menards bets bigger is better” by Karen Dybis at The Detroit News.  “According to marketing-research firm IBISWorld Inc., Home Depot and Lowe’s accounted for about 73.4 percent of industry revenue in 2012, making home improvement a highly concentrated industry.  IBISWorld estimates that Menards generated revenue of $7.6 billion during 2012, accounting for about 4.8 percent of the industry’s market share. Generally, IBISWorld estimates revenues at home-improvement stores will increase at an annualized rate of 3.1 percent to $191.5 billion by 2018.”  Read more:  https://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130423/BIZ/304230325#ixzz2RHgocIpE

 

“Big box uses emerge as more Wal-Mart sales go online” by Kim Souza at City Wire.  ““Could we imagine the extra space in stores going back to suppliers? … Wal-Mart saying if you want to take 1,000 square feet out of the supercenter and create a toy destination, or meal solution destination or beauty destination then go for it,” Sherk asked a group of suppliers during a recent conference in Bentonville”  Read more:  https://www.thecitywire.com/node/27474#.UXZsdLWG3X4

 

“A New Tax Could Send Shoppers Back to the Mall” by Josh Boak at CNBC.  “In a show of support for the Marketplace Fairness Act, its chief sponsor Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., attached the bill as an amendment last month to the budget resolution. The amendment was approved 75 to 24, a largely symbolic vote that led Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to fast track the measure…But the bill contains a relatively modest protection for small businesses—exempting those with less than $1 million in revenues.”  Read more:  https://www.cnbc.com/id/100661394

 

“Walmart Releases 2013 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting Materials”  “This year’s materials are available online at https://stock.walmart.com/annual-reports and through Walmart’s updated Investor Relations application on the iPad®, iPhone® and Android™ mobile devices. The app update, version 3.0, includes U.S. and U.K. virtual store tours, a financial fact book, and an interactive global footprint of stores and clubs.”  Read more:  https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20130422006766&div=-1245645151

 

“IGA Urges More Baking Innovation by David Orgell” at Supermarket News.  “In the same conference session, John Elstrott, chairman, Whole Foods Market, told bakers that understanding his company’s structure was essential to growing business with the natural foods chain.  Whole Foods has some 350 stores across 12 regions, and each of the 12 is independently run and customized for local and regional needs.  “We’re looking for you to help us find our weak spots, to fill a need,” he said. “Ask us which products we’re searching for.”  Read more:  https://supermarketnews.com/bakery/iga-urges-more-baking-innovation#ixzz2RHm81u78

 

“The Ecommerce Movement: 2003 vs. 2013” by Erin Lynch at Multi Channel Merchant.  “In the last 10 years the face of the ecommerce industry has changed significantly. In this infographic by Corra, you can go back in time and see how far the ecommerce industry has come in terms of technology.”  See infographic at:  https://multichannelmerchant.com/infographics/the-ecommerce-movement-then-and-now-2003-vs-2013-18042013/

 

“Rite Aid Unveils New and Improved Riteaid.com”  “Our internal research showed that 80% of visitors to Riteaid.com also visited a Rite Aid store, meaning the online experience we provide is a key driver of our in-store business.”  Read more:  https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20130422005837&div=-1245645151

 

“Walmart Giving in Last Fiscal Year Exceeds $1 Billion for the First Time”  “Today, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation announced that over the last fiscal year they gave more than $1 billion in cash and in-kind contributions, making it the first time Walmart or any U.S. retailer has achieved that level of giving.”  Read more:  https://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=6704975&access=EH

 

“Tesco treads cautiously in India” by Raghavendra Kamath at Business Standard.  “Tesco insiders say even though rules were relaxed to allow foreigner to own a majority stake in an Indian retailer early this year, the world’s third largest retailer has not been able to make much headway, largely because of the clauses on local sourcing and infrastructure investments. Multi-brand retailers with foreign investment are required to source 30 per cent of goods from small-and-medium enterprises locally, and invest $100 million in the first three years of setting up shop.”  Read more:  https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/tesco-treads-cautiously-in-india-113042200897_1.html

 

“Where bricks beat clicks” by Jon Bird at Inside Retail.  “In Australia, we’ve seen customised footwear e-tailer, Shoes of Prey, launch its first physical store inside David Jones in Sydney. As Shoes of Prey CEO, Michael Fox, told Inside Retail, “while the brand has experienced strong growth over the last three years online, two key opportunities identified were allowing customers to see, touch and try on our shoes…As I noted then, “depending upon the research source, the conversion rate for bricks and mortar stores is a minimum 20 per cent (much, much higher in the grocery category), while online is a maximum three to five per cent (and some quote far lower numbers).”  Read more:  https://www.insideretail.com.au/IR/IRNews/Where-bricks-beat-clicks-8136.aspx

 

Thanks for reading…

 

Twitter:  @retaileyeretail