STORES Magazine - April 2008 - (Page 16)

trEnDS COMPILED BY STORES EDITORS Monthly No More The number of retailers turning away from reporting monthly retail sales continues to grow. Macy’s and AnnTaylor recently added their names to the list of more than two dozen retail companies pulling the plug on monthly comparable-store sales reports. Comp-store sales data is considered by some to be an important tool for gauging the health of a retail chain – and the overall U.S. economy. But retailers and a handful of experts feel that this metric has lost its luster as an economic indicator, in part because it does not reflect online sales. The timing of holidays on the calendar also can skew monthly sales figures. Some analysts have a different view. They claim monthly sales figures provide a timely peek at sales trends and stress that giving less information at a time of high investor concern raises cautionary red flags. It represents a significant change from existing Borders stores and expands the retailer’s boundaries as a source for knowledge and entertainment. Taking Green to the Court Turning a Page Borders Group could be close to turning a page in the company’s history. The bookseller recently announced that it is exploring a possible sale; a financing deal was signed late last month. While the latest news is sobering, Borders recently unveiled the first of its highly anticipated new-concept stores in its home market of Ann Arbor, Mich. The 28,900-sq.-ft. store — the first of 14 the company expects to open in 2008 — introduces a fresh new look and an exciting interactive dimension in the form of a Digital Center, where customers can mix and burn their own custom CDs, download books and music, publish their own books, explore their family history and create photo books. 16 STORES / APRIL 2008 WWW.STORES.ORG Nike is taking its green message to the street. The athletic footwear manufacturer recently introduced two line additions that set a new high-water mark in the quest to produce merchandise made from eco-friendly materials. The first, the Air Jordan XX3, debuted in January. The shoe is manufactured without the use of any glue — a first for a performance basketball shoe. Using complex engineering, the shoe relies on stitching on the side of the shoe for strength and stability – a manufacturing method that also makes the shoe harder to bootleg. The Air Jordan XX3 is the first basketball shoe to embrace the “Nike Considered” design ethos. A month later, Nike trotted out a shoe called Trash Talk. From the sole http://WWW.STORES.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of STORES Magazine - April 2008

STORES Magazine - April 2008 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page More Retailers Bagging Monthly Comp-Store Reports Time-Warner Center's Economy-Defying Results What Shoppers Think 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Eating Locally Grocery Concept2Watch Restaurants Online Services Marketing Human Resources Product Lifecycle Management E-Commerce: Peer Reviews Drive Online Buyers Kiosks Recycling Operations Payment Systems POS Logistics E-Commerce: Getting Personal Website Management LOEB Retail Letter Arts Update Point of View NRF News Retail Industry Calendar Last Laugh

STORES Magazine - April 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.