PROFILE
George Anderson
Editor-in-Chief, RetailWire
George Anderson has extensive executive-level experience in editorial, marketing and sales in the advertising, retail/wholesale and print, video and digital media industries.
Mr. Anderson has served as the editorial voice of RetailWire since the site's founding in 2002 and has been interviewed by a wide variety of media outlets including the Charlotte Observer, Providence Journal, MarketWatch, NPR, Wall Street Journal Radio and others.
Previously, Mr. Anderson served as president and creative director of the IdeaBeat Creative division of IdeaBeat.com. His duties included creating Online Profit Guides and Company Spotlights recognized as "Best of the Net" by About.com for a blue-chip list of consumer goods manufacturers and technology companies.
Before joining IdeaBeat, Mr. Anderson created a successful sales and marketing communications and custom publishing company called Not Your Average Agency.
Mr. Anderson's experience includes eight years with Progressive Grocer Associates/Maclean Hunter Media, where he held a variety of marketing services and sales management roles. His assignments included work in the company's four divisions including Progressive Grocer, Frozen Food Age, Retail Technology, and Retail Insights (Supermarket Insights and Convenience Store Insights video division.)
For editorial inquiries, please contact George at:
RetailWire
116 South Union Avenue
Cranford, NJ 07016
908-325-2499
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- Posted on: 03/14/2023
Do retailers need a more data-driven approach to in-store merchandising?
The challenge in grocery for years was about who gets the credit for the sale. I remember a center store merchandising group wanted to place steak sauce bottles in a refrigerated coffin holding case-ready fresh meats. The meat merchandiser at the chain objected because the bottles would take space away from cuts his department sold. His department's performance wasn't evaluated by cross-merchandising lift. It only got credit for meat sales. - Posted on: 03/02/2023
Are grocers under-marketing their store brands?
Grocers have always talked to me about two realities regarding this subject. One - national brand co-marketing and display plans and the dollars they bring in are critical to their stores' top and bottom-line performance. Two - private label investments are being made in ingredients and labeling to drive revenues without spending big on advertising, sales promotion, and displays. - Posted on: 02/23/2023
Will Target become the king of next-day deliveries?
Walmart is also moving more of its fulfillment to the store level. Shorter distances = lower cost. - Posted on: 02/13/2023
The best commercial of Super Bowl LVII is…
Watching the game last night with my border collie I felt both guilty about and pressured into liking The Farmer's Dog and Amazon spots. ;o) She sat up during the Sarah McLaughlin commercial to look at the screen with her head tilting. Others that I liked from a pure entertainment standpoint included PopCorners, Workday, Dunkin', Miller/Coors/Blue Moon, GM/Netflix, Crown Royal, Temu and Dodge Ram. Tubi got my attention when it looked like the broadcast was hijacked. I was happy when it was over. - Posted on: 02/03/2023
Are grocers becoming conflicted over love and football?
The Pack in 2024! - Posted on: 01/10/2023
Do drinking and shopping mix?
I wonder what the return rate is for people who shopped while they were drinking. - Posted on: 11/21/2022
Will cracking down on serial returners solve retailers’ return problem?
What happens when "serial returners" also turn out to be the retailer's best customers? A lack of size standardization in apparel, for example, is largely to blame for bracketing and returns. The fix is needed on the manufacturer and retailer ends. - Posted on: 11/11/2022
Is Trader Joe’s success formula becoming obsolete?
Trader Joe's rationale has been that it offers the lowest price possible to customers on a day-in and day-out basis and that added expenses such as loyalty programs will only drive prices up. The company counts on developing true loyalty with its customers, in the human sense, by offering products they value and backing them up with a no questions asked and no receipt required guarantee. It also excels at hiring people who are true brand ambassadors who customers value for their knowledge and willingness to help. If there was ever a retailer that didn't need a loyalty program - Trader Joe's is it. The only real pain point for Trader Joe's customers is the chain's parking lots. There is a method to the madness there, as well. Crowded stores suggest that it isn't being hurt too badly. - Posted on: 10/26/2022
Are backorders costing retailers sales and profits?
An unnamed major U.S. clothing retailer was the source of the study's data. - Posted on: 10/14/2022
Kroger and Albertsons are merging
The National Grocers Association issued the following statement concerning the merger announcement: "A merger of the nation’s top two grocery chains should raise serious questions about a single supermarket giant gaining unprecedented dominance over the nation’s food supply chain," said Greg Ferrara, NGA president and CEO. "A merger would not only put smaller competitors at an unfair disadvantage, but also increase anticompetitive buyer power over grocery suppliers, which ultimately would harm consumers. It is our expectation that this deal will receive rigorous scrutiny from federal antitrust enforcers." - Posted on: 10/05/2022
GoodwillFinds.com gives shoppers more reasons to feel good about buying secondhand
Nicole Morrison, director of marketing and communications for Goodwill of Orange County, told RetailWire via email today that another site, ShopGoodwill.com, went live in 1999, becoming the "first online e-commerce resale site launched and operated by a nonprofit organization." Total sales on site have "surpassed $1.4 billion – with the majority of that coming in the last five years," she added. ShopGoodwill.com generated $21.2 million in sales last month. A total of 135 Goodwills across the country sell items on the site. - Posted on: 09/29/2022
A bag ban is all part of the brand at Wegmans
I don't have anything to show from Wegmans but here’s just a small sample of the reusable bags we’ve collected placing curbside pickup orders at Whole Foods and Drive Up orders at Target since the plastic bag ban went into effect in New Jersey. https://retailwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/geoanderson-bags-600.jpg The dog was not part of any of those transactions but insisted on being in the shot anyway. - Posted on: 08/04/2022
Are grocers profiteering from inflation?
Grocers typically operate on net margins of one to two percent so it's hard to see how they are gouging their customers in any serious way. Most of the quarterly sales reports coming in have shown net revenue gains equal to or below the current year-over-year inflation rate. Any additional profits that supermarkets are reaping at this point likely come from several factors including:- Consumers buying everyday essentials and reducing discretionary spending;
- A higher percentage of market baskets with plus margin private labels;
- Moderating energy costs;
- A reduction in promotions as rivals such as Target and Walmart focus most of their sales/inventory clearance deals on discretionary categories that have seen turns stall through the first half of the year.
- Posted on: 07/18/2022
Is closing stores the best solution to Starbucks’ safety concerns?
I wonder if they considered converting these locations into order in advance and pickup-only stores before choosing to shut them down? They have opened these types of stores elsewhere. - Posted on: 06/30/2022
Will consumers become even more frugal post-pandemic?
I agree but market corrections also include companies such as Hy-Vee, Netflix and Tesla laying off workers in anticipation of a recession. These types of actions when multiplied can lead to an economic downturn. It may not be exactly talking our way into a recession but it isn't far removed. Thoughts lead to actions and what I'm hearing from some is that current corporate pessimism may have some basis in reality but that doesn't make it reality itself.
