Retail Industry Archive

Consumers are learning important lessons in the recession, ones that will benefit supermarket operators such as A&P long term. Yesterday, in the first part of Bnet’s Q&A with Christian Haub, executive chairman of A&P, the topic of discussion was better food and how A&P had adapted its strategy of improving the quality of the edibles it offers in the economic downturn. Today,...

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Kroger’s approach to the market, honed in competition with Wal-Mart, is seeing it through the recession, and the company will continue to deliberately pursue the initiatives that have kept it strong, including tamping down prices and pushing private label. Just released first quarter results put Kroger’s net income at 66 cents per share, up from 58 cents per share in the period last year...

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Kmart is once again furthering Sears Holding’s goals of expanding alternative media marketing, this time by launching a website focusing on design. The Kmartdesign.com site was first announced on Twitter, said Lisa Schultz, Sears Holdings executive vice president of apparel design, and continues to be linked to the social network via Twitter.com/Kmartdesign. That in turn is linked to a web...

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Not long before the recession’s start, A&P launched a strategy of significantly enhancing the quality of the food in its supermarkets, particularly in departments where it believed it could establish a competitive advantage, and, despite the recession, it isn’t backing off its better edibles stance. A&P is adapting, however, Christian Haub, the supermarket chain’s executive...

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As reported earlier in this blog, Duckwall-ALCO has reached a critical point in efforts to turn around its operation, developing a strategy to get out of a long sales and profits skid and get back on the path to growth, which the company plans to do by adding new locations but also by reconfiguring its existing stores. A store remodel program is ready to roll and incorporates basic features...

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Best Buy is caught in a recessionary malaise and, while effectively managing operations, it’s stuck in a tough spot as the main rivals the company faces now a days have more than electronics to lure frugal consumers into stores. In the first quarter ended May 30, repair services – the kind of operation that gains in a recession, as auto supplies chains know — turned out to be among...

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Restaurant-review empire Zagat Survey recently released the results of its second survey of the fast food industry. Just over 6,100 respondents weighed in on 103 chains across the country, nearly double the number of outfits analyzed two years ago, when Zagat put out its first fast-food barometer. Combined, all surveyors ate out an average of 11 times per month and ate more than 800,000 fast...

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Safeway is taking a local produce promotion nationwide to better establish itself as a leader in fresh food. According to the company, almost a third of its overall produce presentation comes from local sources, with stores-level assortments ranging from 20 percent in some areas and to as much as 45 percent in California. Geoff White, Safeway group vice president of produce, said in launching...

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As promised in yesterday’s Duckwall-ALCO post on this blog, the nitty-gritty of how the company is conducting its turnaround follows, and it demonstrates how a focused, multi-part strategy can revitalize a declining retail organization. As related recently by Duckwall-ALCO CEO Larry Zigerelli, the company’ strategic plan includes five elements: Revamping company merchandising and marketing...

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Abercrombie & Fitch recently announced it will pull the plug on its RUEHL chain, a concept with 29 stores in high-profile malls across the country that targeted well-heeled consumers in their 20s. Abercrombie blamed “the severe economic downturn” for sinking the stores, which launched in 2004, generating an operating loss of $58 million during the company’s prior fiscal...

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