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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Yahoo! Signs Wine Auction Deal
Yahoo! has signed a multiyear deal with USWineAuction to bring the licensed wine seller’s entire inventory of collectible bottles to Yahoo’s auction site. Will online sales of wine have any…
Pen Scanner Speeds Grocery Shopping
Leading kiosk provider NCR Corporation has teamed with A.T. Cross Company, known for its fine writing instruments, to offer a kiosk solution that uses bar code scanning technology to provide…
Nestlé and L’Oréal Make Beautiful Food
Nestlé and L’Oréal are planning to set up an equal joint venture to develop “functional food” to enhance consumers’ physical appearances. What is the market opportunity for functional foods?
Starbucks Prospers in Blue-Collar Location
Following last weekend’s grand opening and a successful test run since June 8, Starbucks is already turning a profit and has attracted a loyal following in the blue-collar city of…
Rainbow Foods, Food4Less Gain In-Store Marketer
Chain Reaction, a unit of Bcom3 focused on marketing through retail, reports that it has been named the lead product demonstration management company for Rainbow Foods and Food4Less retail stores,…
Loyalty Programs and POS Top Retailers Priorities
Thirty-seven percent of survey respondents consider customer loyalty programs to be among their top priorities this year, tied with point-of-sale systems. Will Wal-Mart ever use a loyalty-card program? Is the…
Technology to Streamline Supply Chains
Companies presented a number of solutions to help retailers streamline supply chains and bolster their bottom line at the Retail Systems 2002 Conference in Chicago. What technologies offer retailers and…
Rite Aid Profits and Loses
Rite Aid Corp. posted its first quarterly profit for the three months ended June 1 in at least four years, while simultaneously continuing its 16-quarter losing streak. Did Rite Aid…
Nuts Good For the Heart
A new study has found that men who eat nuts regularly have roughly half the risk of sudden cardiac death as those who don’t consume them. As the population ages…
Cascadian Farm Introduces Tasty Organic Cereals
Cascadian Farm, a division of Small Planet Foods, a business unit of General Mills, Inc., offers a new line of four organic cereals focused on tastiness. Will Cascadian Farm be…
Observational Research Determines How Consumers Shop
Nowadays, technology allows retailers to conduct “observational” research of consumers. Many projects are being done quietly, because retailers fear a backlash from privacy-minded customers. Do retailers have systems in place…
McDonald’s Rallies Behind Lighter Fare
McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada has become the first McDonald’s to offer a full ‘Lighter Choices’ menu, backing it with one of the biggest mixed-media launch campaigns ever run by the…
Glass Ceiling Broken With New Zale CEO
Zale Corp., the jewelry retailer, has named Mary Forte, 51, to succeed Robert DiNicola, 54, who will retire for a second time on July 31 as CEO but will remain…
Cott Expands South of the Border
Toronto-based Cott Corp. is taking a 90 percent stake in a joint venture with Mexican bottler Embotelladora de Puebla, S.A. de C.V, a privately held supplier of retailer brand carbonated…
Vons Pumps Gas in Vegas
Vons, a division of Safeway, is introducing a combined supermarket, fuel station and convenience store in Las Vegas this week. How big a competitive threat are big box stores (supermarkets,…
Infant Walkers Delay Walking
A newly published study supports evidence that baby walkers can slow infants’ motor skill development, delaying such milestones as crawling, standing alone and walking. Should retailers voluntarily remove babywalkers from…
What Did Martha Know?
A Merrill Lynch & Co. sales assistant who handled a controversial trade of ImClone Systems Inc. stock for Martha Stewart provided new information late last week that contradicts the reason…
Prilosec Steps Closer to OTC Heartburn Relief
An U.S. Food and Drug Administration expert panel voted 16-2 in favor of recommending that the FDA approve over-the-counter sales of the heartburn drug Prilosec. What other significant Rx to…
Grand Jury Implicates Former Rite Aid Execs
A federal grand jury in Pennsylvania and the Securities and Exchange Commission charged three former Rite Aid Corp. executives with masterminding an illegal accounting scheme that triggered the largest corporate…
Ross Stores Pursues National Expansion
Last year, Ross Stores Inc. opened 13 stores in Georgia and the Carolinas, and earlier this month, a 1.3-million-square-foot distribution center in Fort Mill, S.C. The discount retailer expects to…
E-coupons Trade Data for Savings
E-coupons offer the retailer the benefit of knowing something about the customer who redeems them. The ability to match redemption with CoolSavings’ demographic customer base is valuable to retailers developing…
