StORES Magazine - September 2007 - (Page 18) trEnDS 10 THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED Compiled by David P. Schulz 1 Rising in the East … Wal-Mart plans to double the number of stores it operates in China (85) over the Department Store Union has filed a grievance. Macy’s wants associates to wear black tops and bottoms, black dresses or suits with blouses, shirts and ties of any color. In a letter to the labor relations manager for Macy’s Midwest, the union complained the dress requirement “will result in significant out-of-pocket expense to members of Local 101.” Gobbled up? IHOP, the restaurant operator that got its start nearly 50 years ago as a pancake house, has made a $2.1 billion offer to buy Applebee’s. IHOP has transformed itself from an owner/operator to a business in which nearly all of its 1,319 locations are franchised: It says Chang’s, dessert at Cold Stone Creamery and coffee at Starbucks would have one eating at platinum-category restaurants as selected by Consumers’ Choice in Chains, an annual study con- next five years. “No real market leader has emerged and our eyes are on market leadership of some sort,” says vice president of China operations Terrence Cullen. “What we’ll see is aggressive organic growth, probably accelerating each year.” Wal-Mart opened 15 locations in China in 2006 and almost that many in the first seven months of the current fiscal year. Food fight … Lucky once was a big name in West Coast grocery retailing. Through decades of mergers and acquisitions, Lucky Stores wound up under the Albertsons banner. Now, California companies Grocery Outlet and Save Mart want to use the Lucky name. Save Mart claims the name via its acquisition of 130 Albertsons stores earlier this year. Grocery Outlet, which had opened a store with the Lucky nameplate in Rocklin, Calif., has sued for the right to use the name, which it claims was abandoned by Albertsons in 1999. 4 Finally … Jones Apparel accepted a $942 million offer for Barneys New York, a company Jones bought three years ago for $400 million. The purchaser is Istithmar, a private equity firm funded by the Dubai government. Istithmar, which originally had offered to pay $825 million for Barneys, won out after a protracted bidding war with Japan’s Fast Retailing, parent of the Uniqlo chain. 8 9 ducted by Restaurants and Institutions magazine. Other platinum chains in their respective categories include Red Lobster, Panera Bread, Outback Steakhouse, Olive Garden, Chick-fil-A, Baja Fresh Mexican Grill and Papa Murphy’s pizza. Let’s make a deal … Blockbuster is offering an array of subscription plans with pricing as low as $4.99 a month and the option of exchanging online movies for discounted games or free movie rentals at its stores. The promotion is one of the first under chairman and CEO James W. Keyes, who took over in July after successfully turning around 7-Eleven convenience stores. Blockbuster has lost money in nine of the last 10 years, while 7-Eleven enjoyed 36 straight profitable quarters under Keyes. 2 7 it would follow a similar strategy with Applebee’s. Back where it started … South Park, in downtown Los Angeles, is home to a new Ralphs Grocery, nestled in the shadows of the Staples Center and amid towering condominiums. Ralphs, which opened its first store in 1873 in the same vicinity, hasn’t operated in downtown L.A. since 1950, when it shuttered a store at 7th and Figueroa. The new 50,000-sq.-ft. Fresh Fare store stands on 9th Street between Flower and Olive Streets. 5 Wheels of justice … Identity thieves have entered guilty pleas for using personal information obtained in TJX’s payment card data breach, but the masterminds behind the years-long scheme have yet to be identified or apprehended. The Boston Globe reports that federal authorities have declined to discuss the case, but a Secret Service press release connected some of those who have pled guilty with “an organized electronic crime ring” that purchased stolen information from “known cybercriminals in Eastern Europe.” Booted out … Home Depot has dismissed four flooring buyers and merchandise managers for allegedly accepting kickbacks. The four headquarters associates received at least $1 million in payments for purchasing certain flooring products and displaying them prominently in stores, Home Depot said. Law enforcement agencies are investigating; meanwhile, Home Depot has instituted a “zero-tolerance” policy involving gifts and entertainment connected with vendor-merchandiser relationships. 10 3 In the black … A dress code Macy’s imposed on associates at the former Kaufmann’s flagship store in Pittsburgh isn’t wearing well, and the Retail, Wholesale and Restaurant stars … Dinner at Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores or P.F. 6 18 STORES / SEPTEMBER 2007 WWW.STORES.ORG http://WWW.STORES.ORG
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