STORES Magazine - July 2008 - (Page 20)

trEnDS 10 THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED Amazonia … Amazon.com is almost as much a shopping center as it is a retailer, CEO Jeff Bezos told shareholders at Amazon’s annual meeting in Seattle. Third-party sellers account for 30 percent of the items sold, he said, with an increasing number of them letting Amazon do their shipping for them. Also growing are web services like providing server storage space and cloud computing for other retailers. Compiled by David P. Schulz 1 Seidman. Also among the top five risks are supplier/vendor concerns, impediments to further domestic expansion and labor issues. Of relatively low concern are such things as currency exchange rates, balancing inventory, international operations in general and changes in accounting standards and regulations. 4 Liver ordinance chopped … By a vote of 37-6, Chicago’s City Coun- Widget technology … When Meijer launched its online Mealbox tool this spring, it had no idea how popular the coupon-issuing feature would be. Mealbox allows consumers to create and maintain shopping lists on their computers or personal web pages, as well as communicate with social networking sites. The coupon can be used online for Meijer’s 2 supercenter general merchandise or be printed and redeemed for in-store groceries (Meijer doesn’t sell groceries online). Risk analysis … Competition and consolidation are the biggest risks facing retailers today, followed by general economic conditions, according to a survey of the nation’s 100 largest public retailers conducted by BDO cil repealed a ban on foie gras, which had been in effect for two years since it was slipped into an omnibus package of legislation. Some aldermen admitted they weren’t aware of everything they voted on when they initially approved the package. Mayor Richard M. Daley had characterized the ban as “the silliest law the city council ever passed.” Gesundheit … Borrowing a page from Walgreen and CVS, Kroger has made an investment in an operator of in-store health clinics and will accelerate openings in its stores across the county. The Little Clinic currently operates 26 facilities inside Kroger locations. End of the line … Linens ’n Things, which filed for bankruptcy protection in May, has received court permission to close 120 of its more than 500 stores. SB Capital, an affiliate of Schottenstein Corp., and Tiger Capital are assisting with the liquidations. Meanwhile, Phillips-Van Heusen says it will close all Geoffrey Beene outlet stores by the end of the current fiscal year. Approximately 25 of the locations will be converted to Calvin Klein outlet stores. 6 Beyond from trans-border activity. The company has purchased a 50 percent interest in Mexico’s Home & More, operator of two stores in Mexico City. Bed Bath & Beyond opened its first Canadian store earlier this year. No word yet on Mexican expansion, but the company is looking at a dozen sites north of the border. Innovations … Department stores may be a mature retail format, but they’re still trying new things. Macy’s is rolling out vending machines to 400 stores, offering personal electronics such as music players, digital cameras and headphones. 9 5 3 Tsk, tsk … People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals would be the first to cry out if someone were beating a dead horse, but the organization doesn’t mind kicking a struggling retailer for its inability to strong-arm suppliers into changing their pigand chicken-raising practices. PETA claims Winn-Dixie “lags far behind” more financially sound rivals like “Safeway, Harris Teeter and others who have updated their purchasing practices to improve animal welfare for some animals.” Winn-Dixie emerged from bankruptcy in November 2006. 7 Mervyns is growing again, with five new stores set to open next year and an e-commerce site launching later this year. And, beginning this fall, Lord & Taylor will convert all in-store restaurants to Sarabeth’s Kitchen. 10 Mi casa, su casa …The last couple of years haven’t been kind to home goods retailers, but that isn’t stopping Bed Bath & 8 Rolling ahead … Wal-Mart’s green efforts don’t include letting grass grow under its feet. Among its current projects are the launch of small-format Marketside grocery stores in Arizona, a higher standard for toy safety being imposed on suppliers beginning this fall and a major expansion in Canada. 20 STORES / JULY 2008 WWW.STORES.ORG http://zon.com http://WWW.STORES.ORG

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

STORES Magazine - July 2008 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Dearth of Retail Creativity What Shoppers Think Wow, Is That a Wawa? 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Merchandising Strategy Concept2Watch Point of Sale Outsourcing Human Resources Top 100 Retailers Store Design RFID IT Operations Systems Managements LP Vantage Point Newsbeat Cover Story Emergency Response Systems Background Checks LOEB Retail Letter Point of View NRF News Retail Crossword Retail Industry Calendar Last Laugh

STORES Magazine - July 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.