STORES Magazine - May 2008 - (Page 20)

trEnDS 10 THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED Grocers win in court … Politics and retailing were untangled a bit when grocery worker retention ordinances in several California municipalities were ruled illegal. The laws attempted to require certain supermarket operators to retain workers when store ownership changed hands; the judge said basing the requirements on size and the presence of collective bargaining agreements violated equal protection guarantees. The California Grocers Association had sued to have the ordinances overturned. Compiled by David P. Schulz 1 million credit and debit card numbers had been stolen. The hackers broke into the system on Dec. 7, 2007; more than 1,800 fraud cases related to the data thefts have been reported, involving Hannaford stores in New England, Sweetbay stores in Florida and several independent grocery stores. Discount store wars … It’s not exactly the good old days for Wal-Mart and Target, the nation’s two largest discount store chains, but the current economic difficulties haven’t hurt business — and may be driving more people into their stores. Up to the challenge, Wal-Mart plans to open 170 supercenters this year and, in March, cut the ribbon on 81 such locations. Target responded by opening the doors on 26 new stores in 16 states and the District of Columbia in a single day. tions in Delaware and Toronto. The bankruptcy filing “will enable the company to transition away from the Disney Store business in an orderly and expeditious manner,” says Chuck Crovitz, interim CEO of The Children’s Place. No cris de foie … Diners in Maryland will be able to enjoy foie gras for a while longer now that bills banning the delicacy have been withdrawn in both houses of the state legislature. Proponents of the legislation — which would have prohibited the production, transport and sale of the product — say the feeding of fowl to enlarge their livers for foie gras amounts to cruelty to animals. 6 4 Web chic … High-fashion e-commerce may not be as oxymoronic as it appears now that Saks Fifth Avenue is testing a video catalog complete with runway shows and voice-over commentary. The pilot project involves three departments — contemporary ready-to-wear, shoes and handbags. “People 9 Class action sought … Female employees of Sterling Jewelers, from store associates to district managers, are seeking class action status in a lawsuit alleging bias in promotions and compensation. The suit, filed by 15 women in seven states, could cover as many as 20,000 current or former employees if class action status is awarded. Sterling is owned by U.K.-based Signet Group and operates more than 1,300 stores in the United States under names such as Kay Jewelers, J.B. Robinsons Jewelers and Jared, the Galleria of Jewelry. 2 5 Hack attack … Hannaford Bros., a Mainebased supermarket chain owned by Belgium’s Delhaize Group, said its information security system had been breached and more than 4.2 3 Tempest in a coffee pot … Starbucks could be on the hook for $105 million if it loses an appeal on tip-sharing among employees at its California restaurants. A judge in San Diego ruled it was wrong to have baristas share gratuities with managers, even when the supervisors shared duties behind the counter. Judge Patricia Cowett said the managers were “agents” of the owners under California law and shouldn’t have received a cut of customer gratuities. Crossing over … Hedge fund management is not the same as operating retail businesses, but Edward S. Lampert senses that Sears’ appliances might sell well in Kmart stores. In a filing with the SEC, Sears Holdings says it “will continue to explore opportunities to profitably cross-merchandise products and services.” This spring, about three times as many Kmart stores are selling Kenmore appliances and other white goods as carried them two years ago. 7 have been seeing deterioration in direct mail catalogs,” says Denise Incandela, president of Saks Direct, “so we put a lot of thought into how we can combine our catalogs with the Internet and make it much more like interactive TV.” Pasta allegro … Pizza Hut deliveries now include the option for a pasta course. Last month, the company began offering Tuscani pastas with either a chicken alfredo or meat sauce. Pizza Hut says one order of pasta, delivered with five breadsticks, will feed a family of six and sell for the same price as a large onetopping pizza. Domino’s and Papa John’s said they had no plans to add pasta to their delivery menus. 10 Mickey Mouse deal … Walt Disney has worked out a deal with The Children’s Place Retail Stores to buy back two-thirds ownership of the Disney Store chain. Prior to the ownership change, Children’s Place subsidiary, Hoop Holdings, which runs the 335 Disney Stores in North America, filed bankruptcy peti- 8 20 STORES / MAY 2008 WWW.STORES.ORG http://WWW.STORES.ORG

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

Stores - May 2008 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Contrasting C-Level Compensation Across Segments What Shoppers Think 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Cover Story: Concepts That Clicked Concept2Watch Kiosks Artificial Intelligence Tech Support Online LPinformation Data Synchronization Human Resources Site Selection POS Selection Communications Biometrics Networking Systems Credit Loeb Retail Letter Arts Update Point of View NRF News Retail Crossword Retail Industry Calendar Last Laugh

STORES Magazine - May 2008

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