Wednesday’s Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet: Amazon Groc. Delivery in NYC? | Walgreens & Brow Waxing | Aldi vs. Walmart
“Walgreens & drugstores expand into brow waxing, beer on tap” by Tom Murphy at AP via Seattle Times. “At some Walgreen stores, there are health clinics staffed by nurse practitioners, cafes that sell barista-prepared coffee and Eyebrow Bars where professionals groom unruly facial hair. Oh, and pharmacists fill prescriptions, too. The nation’s major drugstore chains are moving beyond drugs and Kleenex.” Read more
“Why Is Amazon Hiring for a Secret New Jersey Warehouse?” by Jason Del Ray at All Things D. “Has Amazon taken a big step toward bringing its AmazonFresh grocery delivery business to the New York City area?…The educated guess was based on the knowledge that a developer partner of Amazon’s had purchased a 964,000-square-foot facility near New York City that had previously housed a grocery wholesaler and was equipped with refrigeration.” Read more
“Albertsons checking out of self-checkout” at Idaho Statesman via Retail Customer Experience. “The company is now getting rid of self-checkout at those three Boise stores and replacing them with “express lanes to provide a better, more personalized checkout experience,” said Dennis McCoy, communications and public affairs manager.” Read more
“Why ALDI Is Giving Walmart A Run For Its Money” by Chris DeRose and Noel Tichy. “What’s most impressive is how effective ALDI’s system seems to be at developing its new talent, often fresh out of college. While ALDI screens new hires for college leadership roles, only life experience can prepare them for dealing with grown men and women who sometimes are twice their age. The smart ones, from what we gather, go into these leadership positions acknowledging that they don’t know it all and with a willingness to learn from the people they are managing.” Read more
“Back-To-School Shopping Extends into Longer Season” by Gabrielle Karol at Fox Business. “Industry analyst Marshal Cohen at NPD Group says this will play out as a shift in consumer behavior – not a cutback in spending. “The back-to-school season is extending into a longer selling season,” says Cohen. “What you’re beginning to see for back-to-school is that what used to be a June, July and part of August season is now August, September and part of October.”Cohen says consumers are shopping more in-season, buying new items on an as-needed basis, as opposed to shopping for seasonal clothes ahead of time. “Retailers steeped in tradition are saying, ‘We’re not doing as well as in the past,’ but they’re not adjusting for this shift,” he says.” Read more
“More than Half of Digital Ads Never Seen by Consumers” by Tom Pepper at Econsultancy. “New figures from comScore show that more than half of digital ads (54%) are never seen by consumers. It’s a colossal waste, and demonstrates the need for brands and marketers to reassess their digital marketing approach.” Read more
“Retailers hope for a cool autumn” by Courney Reagan at CNBC. “The biggest beneficiaries of a “normal” fall could be retailers like the Gap, Macy’s and Kohl’s, which are heavily dependent on apparel sales. Off-mall department store Kohl’s might especially need a cool fall. Most of its sales come from stores in the Midwest and Northeast, regions that saw particularly unfavorable summer weather. Company executives may just use that weather line again when earnings are released on Thursday.” Read more
“Dollar-store Model Expands in Europe” by Deborah Ball at WSJ. “Poverty is returning to Europe,” says Jan Zijderveld, head of Europe for packaged-goods maker Unilever. “You see 120 million people in that low-income segment. We need to get our brands to consumers who are having a hard time making ends meet.” As a result, the one-euro price, about $1.30, is emerging as an important tool in responding to the euro zone’s crisis. Manufacturers are shrinking existing products to fit into the price.” Read more
“Former Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli Candidate for Office Max / Office Depot Board “ at WSJ. “An Office Depot spokesman…reiterated the board’s intention to hire a new CEO by September. The retailers on Monday said they’d already vetted more than 100 candidates and have interviewed eight top prospects…Starboard’s other (Board) nominee is former Home Depot Inc. (HD) Chief Executive Robert L. Nardelli.” Read more
“US retail sales up 0.2 percent in July” by Martin Cutsinger at AP via Seattle Times. “”Core” retail sales, which exclude the volatile auto, gas and building supply categories, rose 0.5 percent in July. It was the biggest such gain since a similar increase in December.” Read more
Follow Eye-on-Retail on Twitter @retaileyeretail