Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet 3/25/13: Lunch with Home Depot’s CMO; Dollar General Profit Up
“Lunch with Trish Mueller, CMO of Home Depot” at Marketing Technology Insights. “One thing that Trish said that surprised a few marketers was that “[she didn’t] believe in segmentation.” She elaborates, “I don’t think it’s appropriate to slap labels on people. We look at the behavior. We look at what you did…Trish was also asked what advice she could give to female marketers and businesswomen. She says, “Screw ‘leaning’ in – step in.” Read more: https://www.marketingtechnologyinsights.com/2013/03/lunch-with-trish-mueller-cmo-of-home.html
“Dollar General Profit Up on Food Sales” at CNBC. “Dollar General said on Monday that its sales growth this year could surpass the strength it saw in 2012, as selling more food and other basics helps drive gains despite consumers’ concerns about the economy…Sales at stores open at least a year, or same-store sales, rose 3 percent. The same-store sales surpassed a 1 percent rise in such sales at Walmart U.S. in its fourth quarter, yet came in at the low end of Dollar General’s forecast of 3 to 4 percent growth.” Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/id/100587156
“Publix fights back against Walmart’s price-comparison campaign” by Susan Thurston at Tampa Bay Times. “Nearly a year after Walmart began its price-comparison ad campaign against smaller grocers, the Lakeland-based supermarket chain is battling back. Publix has launched what amounts to a “bring it on” campaign to reassure customers that the store has affordable prices — if you shop the sales and buy-one-get-one deals. The no-frills message is clear: “Walmart doesn’t always have the lowest price.” The ads started popping up a few weeks ago on area billboards and radio. Signs posted in Publix stores compare items in their weekly fliers to Walmart’s, much like Walmart does in its ad campaign.” Read more: https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/retail/publix-fights-back-against-walmarts-price-comparison-campaign/2110684
“Walmart ad chops Stop & Shop” by Donna Goodison at Boston Herald. “Walmart takes aim at competing local grocery stores in a new price-comparison advertising campaign, but a Somerville consumer advocate warns such ads are “inherently deceptive.” The Bentonville, Ark.-based retail giant specifically targets Quincy-based Stop & Shop, showing how a shopper saved 14 percent at its Walpole store on items that she had purchased at a Stop & Shop in the same town. Walmart launched the price-comparison campaign more than a year ago in Charlotte, N.C., and now is shooting commercials in some 50 markets across the country.” Read more: https://bostonherald.com/business/business_markets/2013/03/walmart_ad_chops_stop_shop
“Home Depot Manager’s Walk Recap” from Not Just a Housewife blog. “So as the day was wrapping up, I still had not had a chance to talk with my buddy Frank. I had met him at a previous event and was excited to see him again. He is seriously the NICEST guy ever. He had taken off after the interview with CNBC and was walking around like everyone else. We had the event planners with their walkie talkies trying to spot him for me. Finally right before I was about to leave Kelly and I spotted him. Insert random fact……. I am a hugger. I like to squeeze the crap out of people when I am excited to see them or meet them. I didn’t hug Frank Blake the first time because no one else was and I was so shocked to be actually meeting him. But I figured that since it was our second meeting, a hug was warranted. And really, I think he went in for the hug first. I think.” Read more: https://www.notjustahousewife.net/2013/03/the-day-i-met-martha-stewart.html
“Amazon’s Head of Mobile Speaks” by Rachel Metz at MIT Technology Review. “What are the most surprising things you’ve learned about people’s shopping behavior on mobile devices? I think people tend to assume there are certain categories that do better on mobile than others, but the reality is, customers are buying everything on their mobile phones. We’ve sold, believe it or not, engagement rings, bicycles, razor blades, jeans, dresses. People buy the whole variety of what Amazon has. Another recent observation that’s been interesting is that one of our busiest days happens to be on Christmas Day, for mobile phones and tablets in particular. My theory, at least, is you open up all your presents, you didn’t get what you want, and you’re able to quickly buy what you really wanted for Christmas.” Read more: https://www.technologyreview.com/news/511821/amazons-head-of-mobile-interfaces/
“Northeast Solar Sales Surge Through Home Depot” by Stephen Lacey at Green Tech Solar. “A year and a half ago, Roof Diagnostics participated in a Home Depot pilot program with one other company in fourteen New Jersey stores. It set out a kiosk with a laptop, 40-inch television, and a solar specialist who could do a simple assessment of a home from the store. The immediate reaction was “explosive,” said Pegler Jr., with 68 sales coming in the first 60 days. A couple weeks later, they were given twenty-one stores. And the company will be offering solar in 100 locations by the end of the year in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts — with most of those kiosks located in the first aisle of the stores. “Home Depot brings a lot of foot traffic,” he said. “They could put anything in the front of the store, but they’re choosing solar. We had to do it store by store and earn their respect.” Read more: https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/Northeast-Solar-Sales-Surge-through-Home-Depot
“Google Spreads Its Superspeed Internet Into New Playground” by Klint Finley at Wired. “This week, the company announced that it will expand Fiber beyond Kansas City, Missouri, and into Olathe, Kansas, one of the state’s fastest-growing cities. Olathe is about a 30-minute drive away from Kansas City, so it’s not a big geographic leap from Google’s existing service. But Olathe citizens shouldn’t get too excited yet. There’s no word on exactly when the service will be available. “We still have a lot of planning and engineering work to do before we’re ready to bring Fiber to Olathe,” reads Google’s announcement. “Once we get those processes underway, we’ll be able to announce more about pre-registration and construction timing.” Read more: https://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/03/google-fiber/
“Wegmans allegedly loaned David Bouley $7M to keep restaurant empire afloat” by Kathianne Boniello at NY Post. “A national supermarket chain allegedly loaned celebrity chef David Bouley a lot of lettuce to keep his restaurant empire afloat. Bouley was so hard up for cash at one point that his friends at Wegmans supermarkets covered millions in payroll at his Manhattan restaurants, a former employee claims in a lawsuit. New Jersey resident Mark Stiel alleges Bouley’s money issues sprang in part because he used cash from his businesses “to cover his personal expenses,” according to the Manhattan federal lawsuit filed last week.” Read more: https://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/bouley_got_wegmans_bread_suit_07QAswm4tPHGmmEw2cPkII
“New Kroger Executive Started as Bagger in ’80s” by Jonathan Cribbs at Patch. “Ruben Fernandez started as a bagger in the Toco Hill Kroger in 1982. It was the start of a 30-year journey up the supermarket’s chain that continues today. Kroger announced Thursday the promotion of Fernandez to vice president of merchandising for the grocery store chain’s Atlanta Division. In this new role, Fernandez will oversee merchandising efforts for all 213 stores in Georgia, Eastern Tennessee, Alabama and South Carolina.” Read more: https://northdruidhills.patch.com/articles/new-kroger-executive-started-as-toco-hill-bagger-in-80s
Thanks for reading…
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