Retail Industry Archive

Callaway Golf manufactures and sells golf clubs and golf balls, and related-golf accessories, under the Callaway Golf, Odyssey, Ben Hogan and Top-Flite brands, to pros such as two-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson, and amateurs alike. Chief Executive George Fellows describes himself as a part-time golfer — and not a particularly talented one at that. In an interview with The Economist...

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BIGResearch pegs Best Buy and Wal-Mart as the top destinations for consumer electronics, but Target may turn out to be a big beneficiary of Circuit City’s demise. The BIGResearch Consumer Equity Index indicates that Target is making fast gains in consumer electronics. CEI is a BIGResearch measurement quantifying growth in share of customer preference year-over-year, with an index of 100 being...

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Home furnishings has been a tough business over the past several years but the departure of Linens ‘N Things and other retailers from the market and the migration of Martha Stewart to the department store realm with Macy’s has created opportunity particularly in the mass-market sector where discounters, warehouse clubs and mid-tier retailers such as J.C. Penney and Sears compete. The...

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A new study by The Nielsen Co. suggests that consumers have become more price sensitive in the recession but that that their cost concerns are selective enough that pressure for broad-based roll backs is not pushing the market toward deflation, at least not yet. Consumers are looking for price breaks, but where and how they want them differs according to product category and type. One...

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For food retailers, the Easter season may be a bright spot in a gloomy year. According to IBISWorld, a research firm, grocery retailers will enjoy a 3.5 percent increase in food sales related to spring religious holidays. Households that are keeping their spending in check will prepare holiday meals at home rather than dining out, the firm asserted.  Of course, this year Passover and Easter...

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Wal-Mart is striving to become even more efficient and is seeing results. Speaking last week at a Morgan Stanley event in Arizona, Bill Simon, executive vice president and COO, Wal-Mart Stores U.S., detailed early results from Project Impact, an initiative that includes updating store lay outs and displays in new and remodeled stores to focus on merchandise that enjoys the best consumer...

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Wal-Mart and Tesco have company when it comes to launching new small store concepts, having been joined by the Major League Baseball Players Association. Yep, baseball players have their own store, The Player’s Clubhouse, and it’s in operation on the fifth level of Citi Field, new home of the New York Mets. MLBPA is pulling out its big guns to ensure the success of the program. Even before...

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In a move attempting to draw in a price-conscious consumer during the recession, Toys”R”Us has launched a section in its stores called $1-$2-$3 Fun! that sells toys for no more than $3. Hey, this economy is boosting sales at deep-discount retailers like Dollar General, so why not take a page out of their book? The sections, now being rolled out at the 512 Toys locations nationwide,...

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Costco has decided that there’s no place for home, at least not as regards its store strategy. The company has decided to close the two Costco Home stores it has been running in Kirkland, Wash., and Tempe, Ariz., as a test of furniture-oriented specialty retail operations. Costco CEO Jim Sinegal, insisted that the company had learned a lot from its experience with the home specialty...

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Super-hyped British retailer Topshop has finally opened its first U.S. store in Manhattan. The much-anticipated opening’s fanfare was punctuated by a large crowd and an appearance by supermodel Kate Moss, who has her own line of clothing for the discount-fashion outfit. And it looks like this might not be the chain’s first store on this side of the Atlantic. Management is also...

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