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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Retailer is Certifiably Organic
Whole Foods Market has announced its retail operations have been “Certified Organic” by Quality Assurance International (QAI), which means Whole Foods handles organics in line with national guidelines from receipt…
ConocoPhillips Sells Northeast Units to Cumberland Farms
Convenience store operator Cumberland Farms is going to grow by 200 service stations after reaching a deal with ConocoPhillips. ConocoPhillips readiness to get out of the retail end of the…
Company Owners to Vote on Union
Publix Super Markets, an employee-owned company, is having labor problems. Some of the company’s owners at its Deerfield Beach distribution center want to be represented by the United Food and…
Publix Opens Liquor Stores
Publix opened its second Publix Wine & Spirits liquor store in Kissimmee, Fla. last Saturday, reports the Lakeland Ledger. Publix had previously tried operating liquor stores in the late 1980s…
What Are Americans Eating?
At IDDBA convention, just held in Las Vegas, Harry Balzer of the NPD consulting group presented results from the research firm’s 17th annual “Eating Patterns in America” study. Some findings…
Mad Cow Disease Not Affecting U.S. Beef Sales
It’s barbecue season and Americans are grilling burgers and steaks despite Canada’s case of mad cow disease and higher prices on beef. According to Reuters, U.S. wholesale beef prices have…
SEC Asks Kroger and Albertsons for Accounting Data
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked Kroger and Albertsons to provide it with information on how the companies account for vendor payments. According to Reuters, Kroger said “it…
All Employees Are Not Created Equal
Every company has them. Workers that are “high performers” and those that, well, are not. An article on the KPMG Consumer Markets Insiders Web site maintains “there is growing evidence…
Roundy’s Takes Rainbow Foods
A bankruptcy court awarded Roundy’s with 31 Rainbow Foods stores when it disqualified the only other bidder. Bob Mariano, chief executive officer, Roundy’s will take over management of the Rainbow…
FT: Ahold To Sell US Foodservice, Reduce Debt
According to a Financial Times report, Ahold’s interim chief financial officer, Dudley Eustace, and other executives have mapped out a strategy to reduce its debt and regain credibility in the…
Sheetz Fights the Starbucks Phenomena
Starbucks has demonstrated that consumers will spend more for what they perceive as a superior cup of coffee. Now, Sheetz and others are trying to convince consumers they can get…
Stewart’s Legal Woes Grow
Federal prosecutors will seek an indictment against Martha Stewart in connection with the sale of 4,000 shares of ImClone, according to her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Company shares fell…
Consumers Just Looking
Few things are more important in retail than how store associates greet and offer to help customers. Why then, experts wonder, do so many do it so badly. Jeff Mowatt,…
Whole Foods Has Labor Issues
Some of employees of the country’s largest natural food store chain are painting a somewhat different picture of the way the organization treats its workers than management would like. Employees…
Moods Are Contagious
A new study reported in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology suggests “people are capable of ‘catching’ the mood of a spouse or friend.” One expert believes the findings…
Forget Cost, Think ROI with RFID
Concerns about the cost of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are keeping retailers and manufacturers from realizing the benefits of the technology, according to James Crawford, vice president, Retail Forward…
Restaurant Goes Low-Carb
Andrew Goldstein owner of the Good Ol’ Days restaurant wanted to lose weight so he went on a low-carb diet. Six inches smaller around the waist later, Mr. Goldstein decided…
Parking Lot Crimes Make Headlines
Violent crime taking place in the parking lots of retail establishments has taken on a higher profile in the news. Last year’s sniper shootings in the Washington, DC area and…
Top 10 List for Great Service
A list of top ten steps for creating superior customer service appeared in an article on the Hawaii Business Web site, beginning with, “Number 10 – Never settle for average…
E-Commerce Latino Style
Spanish-speaking consumers are flocking to the Internet and retailers and manufacturers are responding by building Spanish-language e-commerce sites, reports USA Today. The number of Hispanic consumers online grew seven percent…
Excess Inventory Drives Discounting
The weather and the war in Iraq are blamed for stores saddled with an oversupply of merchandise. To turn product, many are resorting to inventory markdowns. The net result, Todd…
