Stores Magazine - October 2007 - (Page 18) trEnDS 10 THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED Buying in bulk … Grocery retailers will be spending more than $9 billion on IT systems over the next 12 months, according to estimates from IHL Consulting Group. “Key areas of investment include POS, data warehousing, workforce management and fresh item management,” says IHL president Greg Buzek. The IHL report found that 92 percent of the supermarkets included in the study indicated that integrating POS with inventory management was a priority. Compiled by David P. Schulz 1 VK, erythromycin, ampicillin, sulfamethoxazole/trimethroprim and ciprofloxacin. The offer is good at 684 Publix instore pharmacies in five Southeastern states, and the retailer says it won’t even bill insurers — private companies or the government — for the drugs. Wee hours … Some people prefer to do their online shopping at off hours, and a few retailers make special offers aimed directly at these night owls. Sears, Kohl’s and Dick’s Sporting Goods are among those luring late-night shoppers with discounts that are only available online between midnight and 6 a.m. Kohl’s, for example, will give e-commerce grow from its present 5,400 franchised locations to 15,000 units by 2020. Menu changes include personal pizzas and flatbread sandwiches, which can be enjoyed while surfing the ‘Net via free WiFi. Spooky stuff … GB Merchant Partners is selling Spencer Gifts Holdings, parent of the Spirit Halloween and Spencer Gifts chains, to Acon Investments, an arm of a private equity group. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Spencer operates more than 600 mall-based gift and novelty shops, as well as temporary stores selling Halloween costumes, wigs, masks and seasonal accessories. opening to any of the company’s 283 other stores across Canada, according to a spokesman for Wal-Mart Canada. Four faces have I … People exhibit different “modes” while trolling supermarket aisles in the local supermarket, according to a Nielsen study of shopping behavior. The auto-pilot mode is for everyday purchases; buzz is for new and innovative products; bargain-hunting addresses promotions and sales; variety-seeking is used for searching out new tastes or products providing a “surprise.” That may explain why shoppers buy the same brand of orange juice each trip, yet purchase different cereals or candy. 8 6 4 Surf and turf … Darden Restaurants, owners of the Red Lobster and Olive Garden chains, has made a $1.4 billion offer to buy RARE Hospitality International, which operates 28 Capital Grille premium restaurants and 287 LongHorn Steakhouses in the popular-priced 2 category. “The combined organization is strongly positioned to capture the longterm growth opportunity in full-service restaurants,” says Darden CEO Clarence Otis. 100 percent off … Publix is taking lowpriced prescription-filling one step further and giving away seven popular antibiotics to consumers with appropriate prescriptions. The Floridabased supermarket chain has waived charges for amoxicillin, cephalexin, penicillin, customers a head start on sales; they begin at 7 a.m. in stores, but six hours earlier online. We ain’t just coffee and doughnuts … Goodbye, pink and orange decor; hello, granite countertops and walnut-stained paneling. This is the new Dunkin’ Donuts, which hopes to 5 3 Never on Sunday … Residents of Winnipeg’s North End are the first Canadians able to shop around the clock at Wal-Mart, though the retailer will observe local bylaws that restrict Sunday operating hours. There are no plans to expand the 24-hour 7 CE fashions … Best Buy has unveiled a line of consumer electronics accessories created by Liz Claiborne. The collection includes laptop bags and sleeves, business totes, cellphone and MP3 cases and camera covers available in a variety of designs and materials. Prices range from $4.99 to $199.99 for the items, which are being featured in 250 stores around the country. 9 Java jolt … The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Co., which once made the Eight O’Clock brand of coffee a household name, is partnering with Starbucks to open in-store coffee shops beginning next month. The number of A&P’s 337 units getting coffee kiosks was not disclosed. 10 18 STORES / OCTOBER 2007 WWW.STORES.ORG http://WWW.STORES.ORG
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