“Interbrand Releases the 2014 Best Retail Brands Report (Target #2, H.Depot #3, Costco #13)”  “Walmart maintains its #1 spot on Interbrand’s 2014 Best Retail Brands list, and even with a 6% decline in brand value it preserves an enormous margin over the next closest brand. Four brands increased their brand value by more than 25% this year: Macy’s, Whole Foods, Amazon and Cabela’s.” See the Top 50 list

 

“Forbes on Interbrand: ‘Walmart Stumbles’ “ by Barbara Thau.  “According to Interbrand’s 2014 rankings, Walmart is more than $100 billion more valuable than Target, a distant second on the North American list.  Still, retailers, most notably dollar stores and Amazon, have chipped away at Walmart’s raison d’être: its low price, competitive edge.  Many shoppers who defected to dollar stores during the recession haven’t returned.”  Read more

 

“Billboard: Walmart Plans to Reduce Shelf Space for CDs by 40%” by Jessica Nicholson at Music Row.  “The retail giant will supposedly offset sales losses by displaying CDs more prominently in the electronics/entertainment department of its stores…Label sources estimate that Walmart’s average inventory will decline from approximately 3,500 titles to around 2,100.” Read more

 

“Target Partners with 17 Organic Brands for Exclusive Offerings” by John Ewoldt at Star-Tribune.  “The “Made to Matter — Hand-picked by Target” collection will feature about 120 products from brands as diverse as Burt’s Bees, Evol, Horizon Organic, Method, Seventh Generation and Kashi…All of the items are exclusive to Target for at least six months. Jones stressed that the new releases are not considered temporary as with a fast-fashion Phillip Lim collection, for example. “This is not a limited, one-time offer,” he said.”  Read more

 

“Wall Street Journal’s Interview with Walmart Chairman Michael Duke” “We said this past year that the buyers in Wal-Mart, part of their objective would be the growth of the use of the index in their categories of merchandise. It causes the merchants then to look at everything that we sell and say, “How do we improve the index? How do we make it better?”  Read more

 

**A message from Pro-Chlor Septic Tabs. Grow Plumbing category sales with this “must have” product.  Homeowners with Aerobic septic systems are required to use septic tabs to chlorinate their system or face fines upon mandated inspections. Talk about a retail traffic driver…and wait until you see the margins! Get in on the action, contact info@shiftmarketinggroup.net for program information or go to gwtcinc.com

 

“Houston:  In new Kroger, produce shares space with clothes” by David Kaplan at Houston Chronicle.  “The new Tomball area store is the first local Kroger Marketplace to sell apparel and shoes; so will the next one, at Barker Cypress and Tuckerton, when it opens later this year.  Leonard Moore, a district manager who was in the Tomball store on Tuesday, said he has had trouble keeping enough apparel products on the shelves at the Kroger Marketplace that opened early this year in the Dallas suburb of Forney, the first in Texas to carry clothing and shoes. Women’s casual clothing sells particularly well, Moore said.”  See the 22 pics / Read more

 

“Amazon expansion could be just what Canada’s e-commerce sector needs” by Kazi Stastna at CBC News.  “Online sales make up five to eight per cent of total retail sales in Canada and are expected to generate about $25 billion this year. In the U.K., meanwhile, they account for more than 20 per cent of retail and will reach almost $200 billion.”  Read more

 

“CVS Caremark to pay $20 million to settle SEC charges” by Ricardo Lopez at LA Times.  “CVS broke faith with investors in both its stock and its bonds by disguising significant setbacks for its pharmacy benefits management business,” said Andrew Ceresney, director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.”  Read more

 

“RadioShack Opens Concept Stores in China, Malaysia”  “These two new stores represent the second and third international concept stores for the brand, following the November 2013 debut of its international concept store in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.” Read the release

 

“EPA Names Home Depot 2014 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year” “The Home Depot’s accomplishments will be recognized in Washington, D.C. on April 29, 2014.”  Read the release

 

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