Retail Industry Archive

Retailers who have been successful in the recession usually have had some kind of value offering in food and consumables, which might range from inexpensive produce to discount pricing on diapers, products that seems like an everyday shopping bargain to some group of consumers, but progress for Family Dollar has also meant managing those parts of the business that are slumping while being...

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Whole Foods‘ settlement of the Federal Trade Commission anti-trust suit over its acquisition of the Wild Oats chain will be a relief to the entire retail industry, which has been concerned about just what the FTC was up to during then entire case. To settle with the FTC, Whole Foods agreed to sell the leases and local assets of for 19 non-operating former Wild Oats stores — 10...

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While Wal-Mart, Target and Costco make headlines for their success in selling food, Kroger has quietly maintained its invasion of their general merchandise territory by adding more of its marketplace stores. In one of its latest moves, Kroger plans to knock down two existing 70,000 square foot supermarkets in Fort Wayne, Ind., and replace them with 126,000 square foot marketplace stores. The...

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BJ’s has made itself the most food oriented of warehouse club chains and a competitor to supermarket, a position the company plans to use to its advantage in the recession. In a March 4 conference call, newly appointed CEO Laura Sen spelled out a BJ’s strategy for turning the recession into an opportunity. She said the company’s major priority is to continue taking market share at the...

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Anyone hankering for a positive retail story in this economy need look no further than AutoZone. The Memphis, Tenn.-based auto-parts chain turned in a great financial quarter and is actually opening stores, while most retailers’ sales are abysmal and store closings are rampant. More consumers are holding on to their cars longer, leading to the need for regular maintenance, and gas prices are...

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Costco earnings might be off in the most recent quarter, but it seems that the promotions that helped drive profits down accomplished something important for the company. For one thing, comparable store sales were up, excluding the effects of fuel and foreign exchange rates, by five percent. Not only that, they continued to advance at the same rate in February, the first month of the current...

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Macy’s is launching a new online promotion that will test if it can maintain the momentum it built with its online holiday efforts, including the Believe promotion and microsite, which fueled a 24% lift in internet sales at year’s end. A new promotion, Macy’s & Clinton Kelly Make Over America, includes a fresh microsite that uses a central interactive element to tie into television...

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Target may have gone light on supercenters in its latest round of store openings, but it is pressing another big food initiative, testing a recently announced perishable food expansion in discount stores at two locations, one in Minneapolis and the other in the city’s suburb of Ridgedale. The expanded perishables test is ongoing, said Target spokesperson Delia McClinden, and a roll out date...

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Kohl’s is going Hollywood, so to speak, using its recent acquisition of Mervyns stores to establish a more powerful presence in California and promoting a decision to make Britney Spears the spokesperson for its Candie’s brand. Kohl’s is out to increase market share and has shown a disposition to snatch new real estate and empty stores at bargain prices. It snapped up 31 former Mervyns...

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In a move demonstrating that it has learned to go with what works in the international sphere, Wal-Mart announced that it would close its six Sam’s Clubs in Canada while opening 26 new supercenters to bring its total to 82 or about a quarter of the stores it operates in the country. When Wal-Mart launched Sam’s in Canada six years ago, it repeated a procedure it had followed in the United...

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